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I knew what Leander craved, and it wasn’t power. It was freedom. From his father, from the burden of his kingdom.
Did he even realize everything he’d just given up?
Now I had to watch him, my one ally, destroy himself just like my father had. And not only that, but Claira would be there, suffering alongside him.
I would never let that happen.
Leander had chosen the path of retribution, tossing away his one chance at happiness. But that was his choice, and now it was my turn to make a choice of my own.
“Claira,” I said, and she let out a startled gasp, jolting like the ground had just opened underneath her.
“Y-yes, Barren?”
I cleared my throat. “Would you like me to make you something to eat?”
Wonder passed over her gray eyes as she blinked up through long lashes. Her soft lips parted, and dark, wicked thoughts rushed at me, the same ones that had been haunting me since I’d first picked her up and carried her across the sand. “Why? Are you hungry?”
Mouth dry, my throat bobbed in a hard swallow. “Kai will be when he wakes up.”
She glanced at where Kai was laid out on the bed and nodded slowly. “You’re right. He’ll need to eat to get his strength back. Really, all of us should after the hell we just went through.”
“Mmh.” I was about to ask her what kind of food she wanted when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Before I even had it out, I knew whose name would be on it. There was no telling how many of her calls I’d missed after leaving my phone up on shore.
My thumb tapped the icon to answer just as my eyes passed over the caller’s name, and I forced back a frown.Lynn.A little self-reminder that those closest to me were the ones who had the power to hurt me the most.
“Speak,” a familiar voice demanded before I even had the phone up to my ear.
I knew better than to keep her waiting. “My queen.”
“So you still remember who it is you serve,” she hissed, her sentiments crackling in her voice like a bubbly acid. “I will tell you this once, so listen closely,dear brother. I gave you one task: grab the mermaid and bring her to me, and yet, where is she? You are useful to me. That is why I keep you around. But you know I will cut you down the second you’re no longer needed. Tell me, have you stopped being useful, Barren? You have kept me waiting long enough!”
The call clicked off, but I stood with the phone pressed to my ear long after it had disconnected.
“Are you hungry, Leander? Barren is going to make us some food,” Claira asked softly, and when she glanced up, the ghost of a smile formed over her lips when our gazes met. Color washed over her cheeks as her eyes darted back away.
Right. Food.
Pocketing my phone, I left through the door. As I headed for the elevators, I wondered what dish Claira would enjoy the most. Should I just throw together something light and savory? Or maybe something sweet?
