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The yano bird waits patiently, but I have no intention of sending a response. I know silence is the best way to push my father. Let him stew over the loss of his siren.
Over the loss of me.
I wonder which upsets him more.
I was his means of making it to and from the Isla de Canta alive. My female crew and I are the only ones resistant to sirensong. Vordan was wrong about Kalligan having a device to protect him. My father and I have always suspected he is immune to my abilities because of the blood we share. But his immunity should only apply to me. Any other siren shouldn’t have a problem enchanting him. That makes him vulnerable on the Isla de Canta.
And now that he’s lost me, he will have to figure things out on his own.
I shoo the bird with my hands. It squawks as it flies into the air, retreating northeast. It’s easy to forget danger is near when one cannot see it, but that bird won’t fly long before it lands on the deck of theDragon’s Skull.
“Trouble?” asks a voice.
A masculine voice.
Riden’s voice.
“Nothing new,” I say. “The pirate king wants his siren back.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“I didn’t deign to respond.”
“That ought to cheer him up.”
He’s trying to make light of the situation. Trying to make light ofoursituation, but I’m not having any of it.
“What do you want, Riden?”
“Right now? Nothing.”
He has his hair pulled back in a band at the base of his neck, but a burst of wind pulls a strand free.
I chastise myself for wanting to touch it.
“Why are you on my ship?” Reading my father’s note seems to have brought on a bout of distrust.
He watches me carefully, his eyes turning inquisitive. “Is it not obvious?”
“If it were, would I be asking?” I say, irritation coloring my tone.
He smiles as though I’ve just said the most amusing thing in the world.
It makes me want to hit him.
Since that’s not the best idea, I turn around to leave him, but he puts his hand on my arm. Before I can do anything else, he’s right there. His chest pressed against my back, his breath warm on my ear.
“I’m here because when I tried to get in that rowboat with my brother, I realized the last thing I wanted was to be away from you.” His hand runs up the length of my left arm, which is facing toward the sea. Away from the eyes of the crew. “I’m here for you, Alosa.” His fingers flutter against my neck, sending a shiver down my back. “If you can’t tell that, I’m not doing a good job of showing you.”
His lips graze my earlobe. To anyone else on the ship, it must look as though he’s only sharing a secret with me.
Nowhe wants to touch me? What happened to fleeing to the opposite side of the room? That memory boils back to the surface. I bite out, “You’re forgetting. I’m far too emotional for your taste.”
I pull out of his grasp and don’t look back.
Rejection stings, doesn’t it, Riden?
***
