Page 46 of The Stolen Crown

“How?”

“Some Sea Folk can tidecall.”

“Like Celine?”

Celine Tidecaller had a voice that split through the waters of the Ever Seas, delivering messages and word to the various houses in the kingdom.

“Tidecaller was a siren, if you recall. She learned tidecalling from Erik.” Tait rose, brushing the sand off his damp trousers. “Don’t get your hopes up. I’ve never been good at it.”

“I thought the royal house was—”

“Our lineage is not like yours. Yes, I’m the king’s cousin, but the blood crown would not choose me if Erik were to die. I’m certain it would go to Livia, and if she could not rule, then the crown would choose another. Unlike the king, I’m not…skilled at tidecalling.”

“It’s sweet, you know. Watching you admit that you have flaws.”

Tait’s mouth tightened. “Just stay here while I try to get free of you.”

“Ah, many a man has tried, but I’m much too intoxicating. They never truly can quit me.”

Tait cursed under his breath and stormed out of the cavern. At the shore, he scooped a handful of water. Even from this distance, the low, smooth rumble of his voice taunted my ears. I could listen to Tait use his sea voice from the earliest dawn to the deepest night.

He paused, waiting. Again, he scooped water and sang.

No less than ten times, Tait tried, pausing longer between each attempt. At long last, he strode away from the edge of the shore, frustration carved into the sharp edges of his face.

“I heard nothing. Either we’re too far, or my voice isn’t calling.”

“Worth a try,” I said, voice soft. “Now what?”

Tait picked up another leaf and replaced the older piece with the new. “If you would stop twitching and hold this against your head, that would be a starting point. Here.” He guided my hand to the side of my brow again. “I’d guess a bit of the ship struck you when it went under.”

“I didn’t think sea fae ships could sink,” I said.

“Nor I.” There was a chill to his words, one that burrowed into my bones. Tait blinked and took a step back. “I’m going to forage right around here, see if there is anything useful outside the cavern.” He jabbed a finger in my direction. “Keep the press on your head.”

“Hearttalker,” I called out when he turned away. One breath, two, then he turned to look at me. “What happened out there? You said you weren’t certain it was an ordinary storm. Why did you say that?”

A muscle in his jaw pulsed. “I’ve never seen such a storm. It swallowed us. We couldn’t remain on the ship.”

My heart thundered in my ribs. “Like the tale. The song.”

The Summons. The eerie tune we’d danced to on the deck, a tale about darkness that destroyed the fishers.

“That’s a myth, Vicious.” Tait moved away again. “I won’t be long.”

Then he was gone.

I wasn’t certain how long Tait had been out in the unknown isle, but the blood from my wound eased, and the ache dulled by the time I heard his fearful shout in the darkness.

14

The Illusionist

The isle was lush, but beneath the flora were dark stones slick from the damp air. More than once, I slipped and tumbled into a shrub with pointed leaves or into small pockets of sapphire pools that speckled the land.

Where the hells was Tait?

On my next step, my toe caught a bulging root, and I only saved my face from splitting over a jagged stone by catching hold of a spindly tree trunk. With my fingers curled tightly around the tree, I peered over a slight slope that led down to the shore.