Page 25 of The Dark Sea Calls

“No one can remember what we are fighting for,” I told him. “Why can’t the killing stop? When does it become enough? When does it break even?”

Rainn considered my words, troubled, before he shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“I walked away from it all,” I told him. Meeting his eyes and holding his gaze for the first time. “Why don’t you?”

Rainn heaved a heavy sigh. “The Skala Isles are not as affected as Tarsainn and Cruinn. For the most part, we are far enough from both cities and the front line to be left alone. Save for the memories of what King Irvine has done to the Selkies, we don’t fight unless we are threatened.”

I nodded, taking in his words. “Unless Cormac pulls the strings of your friendship.”

“We are bound by the Mad Queen’s prophecy, whether we like it or not,” Rainn said gravely. “Though you might not put stock in your mother’s words, many people, like me, do. She might have been mad, but it was known that the very gods whispered in her ear.”

I shifted uncomfortably. “You need to go,” I told him. “And I need to take that blanket back to the Siren stronghold. This isn’t the time to be having this conversation.”

“When is the time?” Rainn growled in frustration. He reached up and cupped my chin. “Will you please think on my words? Think about coming back with me.”

“I can’t,” I whispered.

He pressed his mouth against mine, and I went boneless. I sagged against Rainn’s hard body as his soft lips opened mine and his tongue dipped inside. He moaned into my mouth as if I tasted as good as he had remembered. My hands scrambled for purchase, landing on the hard planes of his chest before I regained my senses enough to push him away.

Rainn’s eyes sparkled as he stepped back. “Still hate me, Princess?”

I hadn’t heard that nickname in an age, and I hated that it made my stomach flutter.

My eyes narrowed. “Get out of my sight before I kick you in the balls.”

“As if you could,” he teased.

A shadow fell over both of us, and we both turned simultaneously.

Arden crossed his arms over his chest as his wings folded into his back. The sand at his feet had rippled from his silent landing. “She might not be able to, Selkie. But I can,” Arden warned.

Rainn, surprisingly, did not fight when Arden told him that all guests to the cradle had to first visit the Siren Queen—despite my warnings that she could kill him without blinking.

As far as I was aware, Rainn was around my age. Which wasn’t very old at all for a Fae to be. Selkies didn’t reach their magical majorities; there was no gift of magic. They were beastkin, with an animal form, unlike the Undine or the Mer.

The journey back to the stronghold passed more quickly than I expected. Arden had let me sip from his canteen, but I needed a hearty meal and a warm bath before I could feel myself again. I would have stretched for a nap, but I didn’t think I could sleep. Not while knowing that Rainn had made his way across the Night Court. He had found me.

Of all of the princelings, Rainn was the lesser evil. He was not cruel. He was generous with his smiles and seemed to care about me. Though I knew I couldn’t trust him.

If Rainn could find me, then it stood to reason that the others could too.

Howdid Rainn find me?

Arden had marched Rainn away to meet with the queen when we crossed the threshold to the stronghold. I was sent back to my room like an errant child.

Moira found me on the edge of her bed, looking down at my hands as if I had never seen them before. My lips still tingled from Rainn’s kiss, and my brain was full of fog.

Moira sat next to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked.

I didn’t look at her. “I’m worried you will judge me.”

“Never,” Moira said fiercely, pushing herself against my arm to embrace me despite the awkward position.

“I didn’t tell you much of what happened after the Frosted Sands. Only that I was taken to Tarsainn and held prisoner.”

Moira said nothing as she waited for me to continue.

“I was the reason that the Mer found the beach. Do you remember the migration? How far away I was in the crowd?” I wondered, smiling bitterly.

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