Page 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
VAARIN
T he ocean churns and writhes beneath a melancholy sky preparing for another storm when the sand is still wet from the last. Cool grains sink beneath my bare feet and push up between my toes, grounding me.
Thalia’s people will begin arriving in a week to take their place on this isle. A gift from me. And maybe, one day, there will be another princess to match to a royal sea heir. Maybe one day my people will be saved also.
There is a cold place inside me, nestled beside my fractured heart, one that I know I will never fill. The only person that can heal it is gone.
A month since I have seen her.
A month since I exiled her.
It hurts every day, and yet I stand firm in my decision.
I cannot flounder. I will not submit to the aching desire to retract my sentence.
A shadow moves on the outcrop of rocks that overlook the ocean up ahead. A figure…female.
Long crimson hair flows down her back as she looks out to sea. Who is she? Not a subject I recognize.
An interloper? I lengthen my stride, eating away at the distance between us to climb the rock face. Wind whips at my hair, pulling it out of its braid so tendrils slap at my cheeks. “Excuse me?” My voice is stolen by a gust. “Hello!” My greeting is loud in the sudden silence as the wind decides it’s had enough of blowing for now. “Excuse me?” Irritation taints my tone because how dare she ignore me, on my land?
“I was wondering when you’d show up,” she says coolly before turning her head to look me directly in the eye.
My heart stutters at the ancient wisdom in the depths of her gaze. “Who are you?”
“A friend…for now,” she says. “I felt the need to visit and give you some advice.”
My instinct to scoff at her words is tempered by the aura of power that she exudes, one which calls to my own, telling me that I should listen. “Go on.”
“Put aside your pride and claim what is yours.” She arches a brow. “You know of what and whom I speak.”
“Thalia…”
“I did not save her life and awaken her power for you to exile her. Are you so arrogant as to punish the woman who saved your life?”
My mouth is dry. “She lied to me. She?—”
“You sound like a petulant child. Yes, she lied, and would you have done differently in her position? Would you not do whatever it takes to save your people?”
I’m lost for words because yes, the answer will always be yes.
“Your pride was hurt, and you made a choice. The wrong choice. Because, dear King Vaarin, the legends that you readily spurned are true. Well, mostly. The four sea kings of old did trap horrors in the abyss, and to do so, they employed the aid of ancient sea mages called the Neath. But the seal, the powerful wards, required an equally powerful sacrifice. Each king sacrificed something they prized. The Eastern Sea King was an artist, and so he relinquished his ability to see the colors he so loved. The Western Sea monarch had the most beautiful face, and so he sacrificed his good looks. The southern king had the voice of an angel and loved to sing, so he sacrificed his voice, and the Northern Sea monarch, your ancestor, loved only one thing more than life itself. His wife. His soul mate. And so he sacrificed his ability to love her.
“But there was a consequence to this sacrifice that no one foresaw. The fact that it would feed down for generations, tainting the royal bloodline. To be heir to the crown is to be cursed.
“The eastern kings are blind to color, the western kings are beastly in appearance, and the southern are mute. And you, King Vaarin, could not love. Not because you lacked the ability but because the key to your heart, your soul mate, was born on land, again and again. Out of your reach.”
“Are you saying…You’re saying that Thalia is my soul mate?”
“Yes. And that fact that she has found you is a portent we must heed.”
“What do you mean?”
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “It is not for you to concern yourself with. What you must focus on is the fertility of your heart. My advice is that you reconsider your choice.” She stands and smooths down her flowing skirt. “It looks as if the new tenants of the island have arrived.”
I follow her gaze out to sea to where a fleet of ships is visible on the horizon. Thalia’s people.
When I look back at the woman, she’s gone, leaving me stranded with the unshakable conviction that I’ve ruined everything.
I know what I have to do. But first I must welcome King Bronan and his people.
As I hurry back up the beach, I spot Lyam running down to meet me.
He joins me a moment later and doubles over, hands on knees, panting heavily.
“What is it? What’s happened?”
He looks up at me with bright eyes filled with hope. “Good news. So much good news.”