Page 39 of Beacon

“How I wish I knew what you were thinking,” he murmured. “While I enjoy spending time with you, I’m not sure how pleasant the experience is for you considering I’m not an interesting conversationalist. I’m sure what you have to share is much more interesting, words that are beyond the scope of which can be expressed through the picture dictionary we often use.”

I didn’t think I was the least bit interesting. I wrinkled my nose.

“Don’t give me that. I already find you interesting even without you speaking, so if you could talk, I imagine I’d only find you more so.” He became pensive. “Admittedly, part of that comes from the mystery surrounding you, a treasure I’m becoming more eager to unearth. Since you can’t provide the answers yourself, I have no other option than to guess.” He considered the matter carefully before offering a mischievous grin. “Considering you’ve already disputed my mermaid theory, perhaps you’re a siren.”

I wrinkled my nose again, earning me a chuckle.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t tease you…though I’d hoped doing so would earn me one of your smiles.”

His fingertip teased the corner of my mouth, a heated touch that once more caused my skin to tingle. The sensation was pleasant, making me wonder what about him caused me to respond in such a way. My cheeks heated beneath his touch, and as if fearing my blush meant he was making me uncomfortable, he finally withdrew with a shy smile that attempted to dispel the awkwardness that had settled around us.

“You may keep your secrets…for now, but I’ll find a way to discover them.”

Even with my embarrassment, my heart warmed at how much he was trying. Though I could contribute little to our interactions, he remained patient. Other than Father, no one else had ever expended such effort to communicate with me.

This time when silence settled back around us, it only bridged the gaps between us, drawing us closer and deepening our interactions to something deeper than I could have ever imagined when we’d begun the charade. The longer we participated, the more real it seemed…and thus the more difficult it’d be when it eventually came to an end.

CHAPTER14

The last person I ever expected to seek me out was Princess Lavena when I sat alone practicing my letters on my usual balcony the day after the garden party. I searched her condescending expression as she looked me up and down, as if determining whether she deemed me worthy enough to speak to. The silence stretched between us long enough that even I found it uncomfortable.

Finally, she spoke. “I need to discuss something with you…in private.” Her tone was dismissive yet filled with the expectation for me to obey her wish. Without even awaiting a response, she walked away with the clear expectation I was to follow.

I debated the wisdom of such a venture before giving in with a quiet sigh. The princess led me to an out-of-the-way sitting room that seemed purposefully chosen for its obscurity, lowering the risk of our being discovered by any passerby. After ordering her guard to remain in the corridor, Princess Lavena firmly shut the door and turned the lock. I instinctively tensed, uncomfortable with the thought of being alone in a locked room with a rather unpleasant royal.

If she noticed my apprehension, she purposefully ignored it as she settled near me, where she wasted no time in fulfilling the mysterious purpose for her unexpected invitation.

“There’s something I must discuss with you. I’ve debated the wisdom in speaking of it and am only assured that your muteness gives me little reason to fear you’ll expose my secret.”

The familiar annoyance at the princess’s offensive comments flared. With the repulsive way she so often treated me, whatever direction I’d expected a private conversation with her to go, it certainly hadn’t been one where she took me into her confidence. Despite my shock and confusion, I managed a nod.

Her tense posture relaxed. “I should preface my request with some background.” She held up a well-worn book whose title my illiteracy made indiscernible. “I have an unconventional hobby I’ve never spoken about with anyone: I study old legends.” She offered a tight smile at my raised eyebrows. “I know it’s surprising, but I have a reason for my interest, and it’s not for the sake of the legends themselves. There’s truth in old stories, though over the years they’ve become embellished, leaving it up to the reader to decipher what is and isn’t fact. My desires to uncover those facts have all been for a single purpose, which I have no need to divulge to you.”

I remained puzzled why she felt compelled to share even this much. Somehow I suspected it was for a reason other than to relieve herself of the burden of carrying such a heavy secret, one she felt would be safe to unload on a mute girl.

The princess continued. “When I first heard about our journey to Bytamia, I immediately began researching the legends that are unique to this island kingdom. If I could discover additional information about the one I’m specifically searching for, it’d make this otherwise undesirable trip worthwhile. During my research I came across a legend that was…rather unique.” She opened her book to its bookmarked page. “It’s said that somewhere on this island is a pool that resides in a magical cavern, one nearly impossible to discover unless one is led to it. This pool has the power to reveal the desires of one’s heart.”

My breath hitched. I only knew of one such pool and one cavern that fit her description, the very place I had frequently revisited to relive my worst memory.

Princess Lavena was studying my expression closely. “You know of it?”

Too late I hastily tried to tuck away any emotion that would reveal my knowledge…but by the glint in her eyes, she’d already seen it.

She leaned closer. “You clearly know what I’m referring to.” She frowned when I hastily shook my head. “Don’t lie. Even if your expression hadn’t betrayed you, my research has concluded that this pool cannot be accessed through regular means, but only through the guidance of a lighthouse whose source of power apparently comes from the very cavern where the pool is said to reside. And with you being a lighthouse keeper’s daughter…” She lifted her brows, a silent challenge for me to deny it.

My mouth had gone dry. I stared, first at her and then at the words on the page, ones still entirely devoid of meaning, giving me no way to verify how much they divulged my lighthouse’s secrets. As much as I ached to, I couldn’t doubt that the legend about my lighthouse was in the princess’s book, for there was no other way she could have possibly learned of it, the pool, the cavern of crystals…

“So you do know of it. Tell me where it is.”

The princess’s entire expression changed, no longer hardened but soft with hope, a light that transformed her entire expression. Once more I tried shaking my head; my secret island and the enchanted cavern it contained were too special to share with the likes ofher.

“I told you not to even try to lie,” she snapped, her softness immediately gone. “I refused to be toyed with and will do all in my power to get the information I require. Now tell me: do you know about this magical pool?”

I debated the wisdom of continuing to try to refute her claim…but the princess was not someone I wanted for an enemy. I hesitated a moment more before managing a reluctant nod.

She leaned forward. “Then you will take me to it immediately.”

I couldn’t quite mask my shock at such an absurd request. I shook my head again and her eyes narrowed.

---