That night before we left made sense now.
Gavin had vowed to find proof. And he'd returned with a jagged cut on his temple. He had looked broken. He must have gone to Reid for answers—and found only more loss.
Then I chained him to a rail.
I tipped my head back, a hollow laugh escaping at the cruelty of it all. I hadn't listened to him, tried everything I could to push him away.
And in return, Gavin had used his desires to create a map, followed me up the vine, and carried me through the nightmarish bog.
The thief who stayed when he should have run.
If that didn’t deserve my trust and my love, then nothing did.
Tears blurred the pages. I swiped at my eyes, willing myself to focus. There was more here. Entries I needed to understand. After the details from the sea witch, Reid had written another line.
Marin? Keeper of the ocean’s magic?
I turned to the next page, and my eyes flared. Another drawing. This one was of a towering estate perched on a cliff overlooking the sea. My manor. Reid had been researching my family history. His notes sprawled beneath the sketch:
The house is more than a home. It was built as a gift of love for a woman born of the sea who saved a drowning man at the base of the cliffs.
Their legacy was formed, a covenant with the ocean itself, binding its magic into the stone and glass. Through the generations, that magic remained, tied to the house and its keeper.
The Keeper's duty is simple but sacred: protect the magic, keep the covenant alive for those caught between two worlds while bearing the blood of the sea.
I already knew the stories my father told me about our home were real. That the drowning man and the mermaid he loved were my ancestors. And now I knew more about the legacy I'd inherited. The ocean's magic was woven into the very foundation of the manor. Magic that needed to be preserved. And I was the keeper.
I closed Reid’s journal and tucked it carefully inside Gavin’s pack. I should tell him what I found. But the weight of it, the shame of everything I'd done to him, locked the words inside me.
Not yet. When this was over, I'd face the look in his eyes when he realized how little I had trusted him.
Only five more days.
Five days to find the shard, right the wrongs of the past, and finally keep the promise I made to my father.
But now, I knew the truth about my family, about the magic, and about Gavin. The innkeeper had said knowledge was power. I just hoped I lived long enough to wield it.
Chapter 36
Marin
The castle emerged inthe distance, its spires piercing through a maze of twisting tree branches, all shrouded in a silver mist. A stone wall encased the labyrinth, accessible only by a single line of eroded, narrow steps.
No rail.
No handholds.
A hundred feet to the top, or a hundred feet to your death, depending on your level of optimism.
“That’s menacing,” I said, shifting the weight of my pack to relieve the tension in my neck.
“I don’t know.” Gavin tilted his head, surveying the stone wall like a man calculating its worth. “A little stonework, maybe trim back some of those trees so you can actually see the spires, and it might be tolerable.”
“First, you rebuilt my house, now you want to restore a giant’s castle?”
He shrugged, a slow, lazy grin spreading across his face. “What can I say? I look good wielding a hammer… at least, you didn’t seem to complain.”
I cocked my head, countering his lazy grin with one that had more bite. “The sun was in my eyes. Must’ve blinded me because I don’t remember seeing anything that impressive.”
