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There was a crowd of drinkers standing in front of the bar and Arielle tried to squeeze past them. ‘Well, look what the cat’s dragged in,’ said a familiar voice.
‘Shut up, Tamara,’ Danny Bray muttered to his sister. Arielle did not understand why he was defending her. It was because of what Danny had told the journalist that she had fled from Fjernland.
‘Well, I think you’ve got a nerve coming in here,’ Tamara told Arielle. ‘After what your father did.’
‘Yes, what my father did, not me.’ Anger rushed like scalding lava through Arielle. She’d had enough of being voiceless and picked on by the Brays and others who blamed her for crimes she hadn’t committed. The pub grew quiet, and everyone stared at her. Good. Let them stare.
She pushed her windswept curls off her face and looked around the pub. ‘Most of you have known me since I was a baby. I went to school with some of you, and all of you—all of you—knew what my father was like. He was a violent bully and he treated me badly. But not one person in Penash tried to help me or questioned whether Gerran Rowse should be allowed to bring up a child after my mum died. You accused me of being involved in my father’s crimes, but I had no part in his disgusting drug dealing. As for poor Josh Bray...’ her voice trembled ‘...I wish I could have saved him, but I was terrified of my father. I will regret for ever that I was a coward.’
‘Never a coward,skatta. You are the most courageous person I have ever known, and a million times braver than everyone in this room.’
Arielle heard Eirik’s voice but told herself she must have imagined it. He wasn’t here in Penash. He couldn’t be.
The crowd of drinkers in the pub moved aside and she stared at the impossibly handsome man who was standing in the doorway. His dark blond hair was ruffled as though he’d been running his fingers through it, although now he had shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, which had the effect of drawing her attention to his hard thighs.
‘He’s a prince,’ someone said. ‘Of that principality called Ferneyland or something.’
A few people bowed, and the pub landlady, Julie, came round the bar and curtseyed. ‘We’ve never had a royal visitor in the Sailor’s Rest before. I’d be honoured to get you a drink, Your Highness.’
‘Thank you, but there is only one reason I am here.’ Eirik’s blue eyes blazed across the distance of the pub and held Arielle’s startled gaze. ‘I would like to talk to you, Arielle,’ he said intently. ‘Will you come with me, elskeda?’
She couldn’t move, and her heart was thumping so hard that she was surprised it wasn’t visible through her tee shirt.
‘Go on, lass.’ Julie nudged her, taking the paintings that Arielle was still holding out of her trembling fingers. Convinced that this was all a dream, she walked towards Eirik and followed him outside.
‘You shouldn’t be here.’ She forced her voice to work.
‘I had to come. You didn’t go to the Winter Place and wait for me as I’d asked you to,’ he reminded her, sounding oddly tense.
She lifted her chin. ‘The last time I was there for the masquerade ball you had me smuggled into the palace secretly. I won’t be hidden away or feel that I am a dirty secret ever again.’
‘I’m sorry I made you feel like that. I want you to come back to Fjernland and I swear that you will only ever be treated with the respect you deserve.’
Her heart ached. ‘I don’t belong in your world.’
‘Youaremy world.’ Eirik held out his hand to her. ‘Will you listen to what I have to say? If you decide that there is no future for us, I will respect your choice, even though it will kill me,’ he said tautly.
He was talking in riddles. But she would agree to travel to the ends of the earth to spend five more minutes with him. When she put her hand in his, he gripped her fingers tightly. They walked down the cobbled street towards the harbour in silence. Arielle let him lead her aboard a small motorboat and her sense of unreality grew when he cast off and the boat chugged out of the harbour.
The sky was cornflower blue, and the May sunshine was warm on her face as the boat skimmed across the bay. The breeze ruffled the blond hairs on Eirik’s forearms as he steered the boat. Arielle took the opportunity while he was looking straight ahead to drink in his chiselled features. He turned his head towards her, and his smile stole her breath. How she loved him! She quickly broke eye contact, afraid that he would see her emotions that she must hide from him.
She recognised this part of the coastline and minutes later they arrived at Pixie Cove. Eirik dropped the anchor and jumped over the side of the boat into the shallow water. Arielle made to follow him, but he scooped her into his arms and carried her up the beach. It felt so good to be held by him once again and feel his heart thudding erratically beneath her ear when she rested her head against his chest. As he lowered her to her feet, her body brushed against his and he groaned and hauled her closer.
‘I told myself I would be patient and court you,’ he rasped. ‘But when you are in my arms, I can’t think of anything but how much I want to do this...’
Eirik brought his mouth down on hers and with a helpless sigh Arielle responded to his kiss, parting her lips to allow his tongue to probe between them. She had left Fjernland a week ago, but it felt like a lifetime without him and for a few moments she was lost in the beauty and passion of his kiss.
But reality returned and she eased away from him. They were both breathing hard. ‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ she choked out. ‘Why have you brought me here?’
‘This is where it began,’ he said softly. ‘I was saved from the sea by a mermaid. But in return for my life, she stole my heart.’
‘Eirik...don’t say such things.’ Tears filled her eyes. ‘We can never be together.’
‘We will never be apart again.’ He slid his hand beneath her chin and tilted her face up to his. ‘Don’t cry,min elskeda.’
A tear rolled down her cheek. ‘You were angry when I told you about my father.’
‘My anger was not with you.’ His face twisted as if he were in pain. ‘Faen, when you told me that your father had hit you and was responsible for this—’ he brushed his thumb gently over the scar on her cheek ‘—I felt so much rage and hatred for him. I wished I had been there to protect you as you should have been protected by the local community.’
