Page 23 of Seas and Scepters

Live well, my scarred prince.Rule justly.Find happiness where you can.And when you stand by the sea on moonlit nights, know that somewhere in its depths, my soul remembers you.

Selene

I folded the letter carefully and sealed it with a drop of wax from the candle burning on my desk.I would arrange for it to be delivered after...after it was done.

The bells tolled the hour—ten strokes that resonated through the city.Two hours until the ceremony.Two hours until Eirik would be lost to me forever.

It was time.

I took up the dagger once more, studying the mermaid's face carved into the hilt.She seemed to smile at me, understanding what I was about to do.Perhaps she too had loved a human once.Perhaps she too had found herself caught between worlds.

I pressed the tip of the blade against my breastbone, feeling its sharp point even through the fabric of my gown.One quick thrust—that was all it would take.One moment of pain and then release from this impossible choice.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself.My hand tightened on the hilt.

"Selene!"

The door burst open with such force it crashed against the wall.Eirik stood in the doorway, still dressed in the clothes he'd worn yesterday, his hair wild, his face haggard with exhaustion and fear.His eyes widened as he took in the scene before him—me, alone in my chamber, a dagger poised at my heart.

"No!"He lunged forward, crossing the room in two long strides.His hand closed over mine, wrenching the dagger away with such force that we both stumbled.The blade clattered to the floor, skidding beneath the bed.

"What are you doing?"His voice broke as he gripped my shoulders, his fingers digging into my flesh almost painfully."What in God's name are you doing?"

I stared at him, unable to form words.He shouldn't be here.He should be at the palace, preparing for his wedding.Why was he here?

"You didn't come," he said, answering my unspoken question."I waited all night at The Siren's Call.When dawn broke and you still hadn't appeared, I thought—I feared something had happened to you.That you'd been prevented somehow, or that Lydia had discovered our plans..."His eyes fell on the letter on my desk, my name clearly visible on the folded paper."What is that?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, finding my voice at last."It's nothing."

But he was already reaching for it, breaking the seal before I could stop him.I watched his face as he read—saw the confusion, the disbelief, the horror dawning in his eyes.

"What is this?"he whispered, looking up at me."Some kind of jest?Or madness brought on by—"

"It's the truth," I said quietly."Every word."

He shook his head, the letter trembling in his hand."No.This isn't possible.You can't be—"

"A siren?"I finished for him."The creature that sang your men to their deaths?The monster your scars protected you from?"I laughed, a hollow sound devoid of humor."I am.Or I was.Each day I lose more of what I once was, becoming more human, more trapped in this form."

"But how?Why?"His eyes searched mine, desperate for some explanation that would make sense of what he was reading.

I sank onto the edge of the bed, suddenly weary beyond measure."My father is King Nereon, ruler of the seas.To prove my worthiness as his heir, I had to complete thirteen trials—each one ending with a human death.You were to be my thirteenth victim, but your protection prevented my song from claiming you.As punishment for my failure, my father transformed me into a human and cast me out, declaring I could only return to the sea after killing you with my own hands."

"So everything between us—it was all a lie?A means to get close enough to kill me?"His voice hardened, the pain in his eyes giving way to anger.

"At first, yes," I admitted.There was no point in lying now."Lydia rescued me from the shore, not knowing what I was.When she told me of a special client—a disfigured prince—I knew it had to be you.I planned to seduce you, gain your trust, and then..."I gestured toward the dagger beneath the bed.

"But you didn't."It wasn't a question.

"No.I couldn't."I looked up at him, letting him see the truth in my eyes."Somewhere between plotting your death and finding myself in your arms, I fell in love with you.Real love, Eirik.The kind that makes death preferable to harming you."

He was silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable.Then, slowly, he knelt before me, taking my hands in his.

"You were going to kill yourself rather than harm me," he said softly.

I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.

"The siren I saw that night—silver hair, green eyes—that was you?"

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