Page 41 of Ocean of Ink
“You shouldn’t disparage an entire island simply because you don’t know your way around it.”
The barb was meant to see what she did when antagonized. He hoped the results would be intriguing.
“Suppose I did not know my way, a gentleman should offer to guide me to my destination, rather than insult me. Don’t you agree,PrinceValengard?”
“Perhaps,” Castien conceded. “But he could only do so if the lady was honest about her state and asked for assistance. Don’t you agree,LadyKalyxi?”
Wren crossed her arms and tipped her head back to meet his gaze. Fog swirled around them both, but instead of dulling the blue color of her irises, the contrast only brightened them.
“Your cousin is much more amiable than you.”
Castien scoffed at her attempt at an insult. She didn’t know of Finn’s ability. Her confidence would falter when he informed her of the truth.
“Perhaps I could be as amiable as Finn if my Gift was charisma, too.”
He watched as his words sank in. Her shoulders drooped like a wilting flower.
“He is charming because of his Gift?” she questioned.
Castien nodded. “I suppose one can’t know where the Gift ends and Finn begins as it is so a part of him, but yes, he was Gifted with charm.”
Wren’s brow furrowed. Castien suspected she was reviewing her interactions with his cousin in her mind.
“Many women have been susceptible to his charm. It is nothing to be ashamed of if you garnered feelings for him. I should warn you that he has yet to find a woman to hold his interest for longer than a moon’s passing.”
Wren’s eyes flashed in anger. Castien found the change in demeanor riveting.
“I have no affection for Finn! Do you think me so shallow as to fall for a man I have only just met?”
Castien shrugged nonchalantly. “Why should I not? I do not know you.”
“That is precisely why not,” she said in an incredulous tone. “If you do not know me, then you cannot possibly know where my affections lie.”
“That is where you are incorrect. I can observe patterns and trends. Finn’s charm often leaves a trail of broken hearts behind him. I saw you smiling with him and you let him walk you to class. That fits with the pattern.”
Castien knew she did not truly fit in the typical paradigm. Finn’s Gift could never be turned off, but he certainly knew how to increase it and had not done so around Wren. He would have told Castien if he had. But the more Castien pushed, the more Wren pushed back. That gave him something to observe outside of her careful demeanor.
Wren rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Castien noticed she wasn’t wearing a shawl or cloak to keep warm. If they stayed out here much longer, she might get Tidesick.
“I suppose because your Gift is strategy you believe that everything fits into patterns and puzzles,” Wren said as if her words were an accusation. “But that is whereyouare incorrect. Humanity is not a logic problem for you to solve. People have emotions and complex thoughts.”
All of which could be explained with patterns, Castien thought, but did not say. It would do them no good to argue about such trivial nonsense. He enjoyed sparring, but they needed to make progress on this assignment. Though in a roundabout way, they managed to uncover a piece of how each of them viewed the world. He would count that as a small success.
“Let’s go to the library before you turn blue,” Castien said and started in the direction of the building.
“That’s it? You have no rebuttal?” Wren called after him.
“I am attempting to be agentlemanand guide you to your destination, Kalyxi. You can come along and we can work on the assignment, or you can wander about until you reach the Tides. Your choice.”
She caught up to him and shot him a glare.
“I am going to write that you are unpleasant to work with.”
A wry smile twisted his lips. “Then our essays shall be so similar we’ll be accused of plagiarism.”
Wren placed a hand over her heart as she followed Castien up the stairs to the library. The organ pounded a steady rhythm against her palm. She shouldn’t have spoken so freely, yet it was the freedom she felt that prompted her to do so. Castien’s emotions were imperceptible. As enshrouded as the island was by the umbral fog that took it captive. Wren had no way of determining his feelings during their conversation.
When she was first learning how to manage her Curse as a child, she started by avoiding any behaviors that angered her parents. That gradually evolved into discerning contempt or disdain in dinner guests and dance partners. Wren quickly realized that she could avoid conflict almost entirely with this sensitivity she had been plagued with. This was the only positive she had found since the Curse manifested.
