Page 90 of Ballad of Sea and Sky

“It’s not like he could have prevented it, Zeph,” Astraios cut in reasonably as I stood to check behind the curtain.

Marina was still asleep, her breathing even and peaceful and her heart thumping a steady rhythm in both of our chests. Her hair splayed out around her like a blue halo, and she was utterly perfect.

“Mates are fated,” he continued as I made my way back to my friends. I had given Astraios endless grief for his interruption earlier, and he was firmly erring on the side of team Cas now, running interference between me and Zephyr. “You know this as well as any of us. Better even, since you have one. The kelpie must have just sped up the claiming of the bond.”

“She won’t understand,” Zephyr said, looking angrily up at me. “And she’ll be furious that you kept this from her.”

I realized with a start that Zephyr cared about Marina. Maybe viewed her as a possible friend. She was worried that I would hurt her, as much as she worried about what might happen to me.

It both warmed and chilled me.

“We can explain it to her,” I said, trying to convince myself just as much as Zephyr. “I’ll explain it. She’s not completely indifferent to me, you know.”

“You’re asking her to give up everything she knows,” Zephyr retorted, clearly not willing to lose this argument. “To bind herself to you at the risk of everything else.”

I sighed, too tired to fight her. “Then I’ll let her go,” I said wearily, the idea making something inside me ache. “If she doesn’t want this, I’ll take her home and find another way to save us.”

“It will kill you,” Zephyr hissed, looking murderous. “Breaking the bond will destroy you, and we can’t afford it! Weneedyou, Cas.”

“Be reasonable, Zephyr,” Astraios said, the voice of reason for a rare moment in his life. “Marina is half in love with him already. Anyone can see it. She won’t reject him.”

“I don’t have a choice, Zeph,” I replied, irritation prickling at my second-in-command. For a female who had a mate of her own, it seemed incomprehensible that she couldn’t understand my feelings. “I didn’t choose the bond, but yes, I want it. Whether or not Marina wants it back is up toher.I won’t force her to accept it against her will.”

I was already getting flashes Marina’s feelings and thoughts, and I knew that bond would strengthen until there was no denying what we were to each other. I would need to tell her the truth before long.

Bedding her, like I’d been aching to do for days, would lock that bond in place and make her miserable if she chose to leave me in the end. It was safer to wait until she knew. Until she could decide for herself what to do about it.

She should have the right to refuse me on her own terms.

Marina’s choices had been taken from her already, by Rannoch and by me. By her father and mother. By the stars themselves, if the origins of mates were to be believed.

I’d be damned if I took this choice from her, even though I already knew that my heart was irrevocably hers, no matter what she decided.

“I’ll tell her when she’s better,” I declared, locking eyes with my first mate and trying to fill my words with conviction. I could wait a little longer. Let Marina have a little more time before forcing her to choose. “When she’s had a chance to meet our people and understand our history. I promise.”

“And you think this will end the war?” Zephyr asked, looking at me sadly. “That if you love each other enough, all will be forgiven and forgotten? That you can undo centuries of prejudice and misunderstanding by declaring your feelings and sharing them with the world?”

“I don’t know,” I said honestly, my heart making an odd thump as Zephyr voiced what I hadn’t yet said aloud to Marina.

That I loved her. And skies above, I really did.

I looked between my friends, who shared an anxious glance as they turned back to me, their captain and their king, for the only truth I could offer them. “But I have hope.”

Chapter 33

Thethroneroomofthe Siren Cliffs was made of stone walls, just like my father’s keep. But it was somehow more warm and vibrant than my home, filled with rustling wings and feathers and excited chatter.

The sirens were gathered to hear the official announcement of our betrothal, after several days of rampant rumors and speculation, and I was unaccountably nervous.

It was my first time out of Caspian’s rooms, as he hadn’t deemed me well enough to show me anything more than his own chambers, which included a living area and bathing chamber aside from his bedroom.

We had flown from his rooms to the throne room, Caspian explaining that there was truly no other way to get there than by wing. The flight had left me a bit disheveled and windswept, despite his claim that he had shielded me from most of the wind.

I didn’t care.

Flying had been magical. The feeling of weightlessness as Caspian held me close to his chest, only the wind and his heartbeat pounding in my ears. I had begged him to keep flying, and he had laughed, promising to take me out on a proper flight once I was well enough to enjoy it.

“You’re fidgeting like a fledgling,” Caspian teased as I adjusted the golden hoop that held my gown up around my neck.