Page 70 of Beacon

Bewilderment furrowed his brow. “Magic? But how—”

I wrote out more words:I show you?

He seemed both intrigued and undeniably nervous, but in the end his curiosity was stronger than his reservations, compelling him to nod.

I finally had the opportunity I’d been seeking to show him the secret pool. I couldn’t explain my desire to share this part of my life with him, only that I wanted him to know.

I retrieved the crystal that would transport us to the lighthouse on my secret island. I led him from the lighthouse and down the sloping beach to the shoreline, where I paused to point to the water before lifting my arm parallel to the beach to represent the ocean’s surface. I used my other arm to mimic diving beneath it, wriggling my hand in a swimming motion as I moved it far beneath the water.

Owen understood. “Whatever you have to show me is deep beneath the ocean?”

I wondered if the thought would deter him, but he only nodded acceptingly, even managing a teasing grin.

“You’ve saved me once, so I trust you’re not about to lead me to my death…unless this entire time you’ve been not a mermaid but a siren in disguise.”

I fought my smile as I waded into the cold water. He followed, and although I knew he’d only been teasing about my being a siren, my heart still warmed at the trust he placed in me.

He handled the swim much better than the princess had and easily followed as I led him through the water towards the cavern’s opening. After we’d squeezed through and clambered onto the rocks, I pointed to the shimmering pool, whose glowing light glistened off the crystals filling the cavern.

I hadn’t been able to bring my writing instruments to explain how the pool worked, but it was relatively simple to mimic the instructions. When I finished, he approached it slowly, looking both intrigued and rather wary as he knelt beside it. “I just dip my hand inside?”

Even at my nod, he made no motion to obey, simply continued to stare at the pool.

“What will it show me?” he asked. “Will it be…the memory I was going to tell you about?”

I bit my lip and nodded again. For a moment fear flickered across his expression, and I wondered if despite the effort it’d taken to get here, he’d change his mind.

After a wavering breath he dipped in finger into the water. Ripples extended from his touch even as colors swirled within the pool before settling on a scene of a much younger Owen on the beach. His breath hooked and he leaned closer, his eyes wide as he watched the memory unfold.

Owen and Prince Ronan walked along the shore, the older brother holding the hand of a girl who was no more than two or three years old. She toddled along happily, seeming pleased to be outside with her brothers.

“Are you excited to play pirates, Renee?” Owen asked.

She responded with a bright smile. “Play with Owen and Ronan. Play, play, play, play…” Her tone was singsong, and a skip filled her step.

Owen smiled down at her. “We’re going to have fun together. You’re the princess the pirates have kidnapped while on our quest for buried treasure.”

“Treasure, treasure, treasure…” She seemed positively tickled by the idea. Owen’s grin grew at her delight, but Prince Ronan didn’t seem quite as enthusiastic.

He bit his lip as he glanced back towards the palace. “I don’t feel right about having her accompany us without her governess knowing.”

“It wouldn’t be a proper kidnapping if we tell her what we’re up to,” Owen protested. “Informing her would defeat the entire purpose of our game.”

“Renee’s governess accompanying us won’t ruin anything; we can still pretend we’ve kidnapped our sister.”

Owen opened his mouth as if to protest, but Prince Ronan had already given his sister’s hand to Owen and turned back towards the palace.

“I’m going to retrieve her. Watch Renee carefully until I get back.”

Owen’s shoulders slumped with a resolute sigh. “Very well.”

Prince Ronan paused to glance back, his expression deadly serious. “I mean it, Owen.Watch her.”

“Of course I will. Now hurry back so we can start our game sooner.” He watched Prince Ronan retrace their route back to the palace until he was nearly out of sight before turning towards his sister, who stared after their older brother with a tilted head.

“Ronan not want to play anymore?”

“He’ll be back. While we wait, we can prepare the ship.” Owen immediately set to work making a makeshift ship out of sand and rocks. Renee seemed eager to help, so he sent her to retrieve items nearby, which she did with contagious good cheer, seeming thrilled to not only be assisting her older brother but to be so near the wondrous ocean.

---