She nods. “That’s why we search every day for a way home, one without him.”
My stomach rolls and I double over, bile burning the back of my throat as I heave and gag.
I thought I loved this man. I thought he was everything I ever wanted, and it turns out it was all a lie, concocted by a murderer to keep control of everyone on the island.
Sig’s hand strokes circles on my back as my body heaves and sobs.
“I didn’t know,” I choke out.
“There’s no way you could have.”
I sit back on my heels and look at Sig, only to find sympathy written all over her face.
“It’s Dane that wants the healing waters for himself, isn’t it?” I murmur.
She nods, her eyes softening. “It’s why Cap won’t let any of us go back to him. Dane can’t find out where the waters are hidden.”
“How could I be so stupid?” I sob, running my fingers through my hair.
“You aren’t stupid, Lennox. An evil person weaponizes love and affection. They use it to blind someone, and get them to believe it is all true, while tearing them down and making them dependent. Just because Dane did this to you doesn’t mean it’s your fault. It’s hard to see it when you are immersed in it.Sometimes, we need someone to help us see through it, to show us that the reality we know isn’t the only one.”
Tears cascade down my cheeks as emotions crash through me. My shoulders shake and my face is swollen, but Sig stays beside me the entire time, letting me know I’m not alone.
“He let me hate him, all for what Dane did to him,” I say, choking on the words.
“He tends to do that,” Sig says with a soft smile. “He doesn’t like to see other people suffer. He’d rather do that himself.”
I scrub my hands over my face, trying to push away the pain that is overwhelming my body.
“You never answered my question,” I say, once I’m finally able to catch my breath again. “Why does Weston have a ring with the Blackwood seal on it?”
“You’ll have to ask him that.”
I hold her gaze, trying to read what she isn’t telling me, the part that shecan’ttell me.
Because he told her not to.
“You know who I am, don’t you?”
“I—” she starts, then stops, her eyes widening.
I jump to my feet. “Don’t lie to me, Sig! You know who I am, don’t you? Does he know too?” I point behind me, toward the main deck.
“Lennox...” She pushes to her feet, her voice pleading, but I don’t hear if she says anything more.
My head spins and rifles through every detail, every conversation, every word ever spoken between us.
The panic on his face when I almost died, his demands that I eat, his orders to confine me to the ship, to be in his presence, his constant protectiveness.
His regret after kissing me.
Princess.
It isn’t just a stupid nickname he uses to irritate me.
Weston knows who I am. He forced Sig to keep it a secret.
I need to find out how.
