Page 45 of Whispers of the Starlit Sea
Even if she hated him, he wasn’t leaving Sorcha unprotected with stones falling down on her head. He spared a glance at the sky, wondering whether this was a precursor to another storm, but the overcast day grew no darker.
He pulled her to her feet and tugged her along the shore. She resisted, shoving him away. He pointed ahead. “Let’s go inside. We’ll find Ailsa and Thomas and talk.”
She shouted at him, but there was only one word he was able to understand: “No.”
His mind reeled as he watched her.
She had spoken to the merfolk in the dungeons. They had understood each other.
And the woman in the water, with the shimmering black scales.
He’d been trying for over a week to understand Sorcha. The scholars had been trying to communicate with the captives for far longer.
They’d first met on the shore after the storm. She’d been completely devoid of clothing. Unsure how to walk. He glanced back at her, and a memory flashed across his vision. A face in the water. Hands reaching for him. A voice so beautiful it had made him desire nothing more than to hear it again.
Her.
Sorcha had saved him.
Had only been able to save him because she was a mermaid.
He stumbled away from her.
Why hadn’t she told him?
She stood swaying in the light wind like a sapling alone in a field. Her head hung down, her hair loose and covering her face.
A shout heralded the arrival of several guards, pulling his attention from her. They gathered around, asking if he was alright. Arick nodded, still dazed by his revelation.
“You’re needed inside, sir,” a guard told him.
He hesitated, not wanting to leave her alone.
“Keep an eye on her. Take her to the infirmary, if she’ll go,” he ordered one of the guards. He didn’t know whether she was a prisoner. Surely she wasn’t their enemy. But…she had lied, hadn’t told him who she was. So it was safer to have them take her somewhere she could be watched.
He trailed behind the other guards as they entered the castle’s shore entrance. He would go find the king and tell him what he knew. As he climbed the stairs to the main level, he thought of how to approach the topic.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he muttered under his breath. “I did bring an enemy into the castle and introduce them to your children.”
But how was he to know? Mermaids were a thing of the past — creatures of stories and lore. They weren’treal.
Yet they were. The dungeon was full of proof of that.
He clenched his fist. That was another thing he needed to speak to the king about. That creature studying the mermaids hadn’t loosed the one in chains as he’d been ordered. Arick should have stayed and ensured it was done this time, but he’d been too distracted by Sorcha.
His mind was so busy he didn’t pay attention to who else was near until a dour figure stepped in front of him.
“Ah, Sir Arick. Just who I was hoping to speak to.” MacIsaac smoothed his lapel. “Do be so kind as to join us for a moment, won’t you?”
Arick kicked himself for not noticing in time to escape. “I’m sorry, Councilman. I’m on my way to a hearing with the king, so if you —”
“The king has just left for a ride with his queen, so you’ll have plenty of time to hear us out.”
He was cornered with no way out, so he followed MacIsaac to a large room near the council chambers. A quick glance around the room proved that most of the council was present. Remnants of tea and sandwiches testified they’d been there for quite some time. The chatter stopped as he entered, and all turned to face him.
The door clicked shut behind him, and MacIsaac strode to the center of the room. “I’ll cut to the chase, my lord. It’s time for you to stop running about town with that bungaid of a woman and step up to your responsibilities.”
“I beg your pardon?” Arick demanded. He wasn’t sure whether he was more offended at the insult to Sorcha or the implication he was neglecting his duties. “I am doing exactly what the king has requested of me.”
