Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“Yes,” she says, her eyes watering. “Yes, because I would have done anything to bring my sister back into my life. I need your magic, Aragon. I need you to let her have a proper life with me.”
Priest’s intense gaze slides over to mine. “And you, Larimar? Is this what you want? Or are these your sister’s wishes?”
Everyone is looking at me, waiting for an answer.
But I’m afraid to speak the truth.
I’m afraid if I do, it won’t happen.
Because this monster still has so much power over me, and I hate him for it.
I hate him for so much.
But mostly, I hate him because I loved him.
“Yes,” I finally say, trying to sound strong and commanding, the opposite of how I feel. “I want you to give me legs again so I may join my sister on land, and I want to be able to turn into a Syren when I’m back in the ocean. Most of all, I want you to disappear afterwards. As soon as this storm clears, I want you on one of those small boats over there, and I want you set adrift.”
“We can at least wait until we get to our next port,” Ramsay suggests.
I shake my head. “No. I don’t know how long that will be, and I don’t want to be stuck on this ship any longer than I have to with that creature over there.”
If Priest is hurt by my words, he doesn’t show it.
Now, every head swivels toward him, waiting for his reaction.
He stares at me, and I can almost feel him probing into my mind, searching deep into the recesses of my heart and soul. What is he looking to find? I just told him—and everyone else—everything there is.
Then, he exhales deeply, his features softening a little. “I will give you what you desire,” he says slowly, “but it comes with a catch.”
“Of course it does,” Maren mutters.
He keeps his focus on me. “I will do all that if you’ll talk to me alone.”
“And how can we trust you won’t do anything to harm her?” Maren asks.
“You can’t,” he tells her. “But your trust isn’t what I’m after. It’s hers. And this decision isn’t yours to make.”
He’s right. The decision is mine, and it weighs more than anything.
“You don’t have to fear me, Larimar,” he says, his gaze steady. “Though you have every reason to. I will even be restrained in chains if that makes you feel better.”
Frankly, that does make me feel better.
“You’ll be restrained? Chained up?”
He nods gravely.
Oh, how the tables have turned. I almost smile at the idea of him being locked up for a change, with me being the one in control.
“And you’ll grant me my wish first?” I certainly don’t feel powerful as a Syren out of water, having to be carried everywhere.
“It might take a few days,” he says. He looks at Ramsay. “Unless you have some provisions that might help speed this spell along? I work with physical matter; I can’t conjure a spell from thin air.”
Ramsay nods. “I can try and get you what you need. We have tonics, dried herbs, fresh ones that Sedge grows. Elixirs. You name it.”
“A few days?” Maren says, brow heavy with disappointment. “What is she supposed to do before then? She’s too malnourished to keep up swimming with the ship—in a storm, mind you—even with Nill’s support keeping her afloat.”
A pause stretches out between us.
“Do you have a bathtub?” I ask.
“The sun came out,” Maren says as she steps inside, closing the door behind her. “The storm has come to an end.”
“I could tell,” I remark. “Most of the water has been staying inside the tub.”
I’ve been in the copper bathtub in Ramsay and Maren’s private lavatory for the last few days while Priest does what he needs to do to conduct his spell. The ship has been rolling and rocking with the storm, which in turn has made my bathwater slosh wildly, until I woke this morning to utter calm.
But though the end of the storm means smooth sailing for the ship, there’s nothing calm about how any of us are feeling. Maren’s voice may be bright, but there’s an edge to her gaze, and I know from the way she gnaws at her lip that she’s been just as anxious as I have about what’s supposed to transpire.
“Have you talked to him today?” I ask her, meaning Priest.
She shakes her head. “No. He’s been busy in his quarters.” She pauses as she crouches beside the tub, putting her hand over mine as I rest it on the edge. “Is this really what you want, sister? Or am I forcing your hand?”
I give her a faint smile. “You know it’s difficult to force me to do anything. This is what I want. Part of me feels like a traitor to all Syrens for doing this, but I’m not about to lose you again. I looked for you all those years so I could talk to you again, just like this. I made Priest give me legs in the hopes I would escape and then find you on land. I want to join you, you and this crew.”