Page 12 of Of Songs and Silence

“Which is why we proposed that the two of you stay on the boat,” Zaina declares.

Einar opens his mouth to argue but it’s Remy who cuts in, his cinnamon eyes boring into Zaina’s.

“No.” The word is final.

No explanation. No debate. Just, no.

Something passes between them, an undercurrent like water just before it boils over. To my surprise, it’s Zaina who looks away first.

“Fine,” she says darkly. “We all go in.”

CHAPTERSEVEN

MELODI

The king of the entire sea, of all the seas, is the one who wants me.

I rack my brain for what I know of him, but it’s very little. The Mayima themselves have a reputation for brutality, and Kane made a joke earlier about the king liking corpses brought to him.

That could have been more of Kane’s dark humor, except for the way that both men appeared to be almost…pitying when they told me.

For all that I was relieved to be staying a moment ago, tendrils of fear race up my spine. Is the king interested in me because of whatever weird half Mayima hybrid I am?

Or was I right before? Is this about punishing my mother? I think of her strength, her speed, her predatorial senses. If I am a hybrid, then I suspect I’m not the only one.

Can she breathe underwater, too? Is that how she made enemies here?

A small irrational part of me wonders if he could be my father. Reaching up, I grab hold of my necklace, my fingers following the grooves. It hardly seems like a gift from a king, but what do I know of Mayiman culture?

“What does he want with me?” I finally come out and ask, even though I doubt I will get an answer, given their reticence on the subject thus far.

Sure enough, Ari stiffens, the muscle in his jaw clenching as he forms his response.

“That’s for the king to tell you.” Though his tone is neutral to the point of being cold, something that might be remorse flickers in his gaze.

Kane nods reluctantly, and gestures to the bundle in my arms. “Well then, I suppose you should change so we can get going.”

Going. Farther away from Delphine.

Though I still can’t quell the unreasonable panic about leaving Ari, the realization that I am, instead, leaving the chateau where my sisters will undoubtedly come to find me fills me with an entirely different anxiety.

Belatedly, I slam my mental walls into place—a little too hard, it would appear, because they both wince.

I have no doubt that Zaina and Aika will come for me. Ours is not a bond that either of them would abandon. They will tear the island apart to find me, and the stars only know what Mother will do to them for it.

“I have a condition,” I say, lowering my shields enough to get the words out.

“Weren’t you just panicking over going home roughly thirty seconds ago?” Kane’s mental tone drips with sarcasm while Ari studies me, his jaw still clenching.

Home. Even though I’ve always referred to the chateau that way before, the word sounds off now, like a dissonant chord. Brushing that feeling off, I focus on the issue at hand.

“I need to get word to my sisters.”

“You’re hardly in a position to make demands.” Again, Ari’s words are factual, but something brims beneath the surface.

“I assumed it would be easier if I cooperated.” I’m not posturing.

Idoassume that.

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