AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But could I live for a lifetime with the knowledge that those who loved me were under a spell?
Evenings had become cooler, the summer fading into fall. When the sun had fully set and my father had gone to sleep, I stood on the balcony, looking out over the sea as the moon and stars shone above it. Every night I looked at the star that hung over the Den of Sirens, wondering about the people who lived there. I missed the king. I missed Luc. I even missed Hugo and Vito and their constant bickering.
Jacques had left back to the den to train Henrik, and now I was left alone with no proof that anything had happened at all in the last few months. The loneliness was chilling. All I could do was go on the balcony each night and look at the star that hung over the Den of Sirens.
I would make it back home someday. Whether it was in this body or the next, it didn’t matter.
I sometimes imagined hijacking a ship myself to get there, but I couldn’t leave my earthly father behind. Even so, as I dreamed of sailing on the sea, I couldn’t help but think of the crew I once knew. And as I stood on the balcony each night, Icouldn’t help but think of the captain of the ship himself, who had once kidnapped me from this very spot.
I remembered the way my heart had fluttered the moment I saw him…the way his velvety voice made me shiver.
Even though I was the one with the power to charm, perhaps he, too, was a siren in another life.
Because in the end, he had me completely charmed.
“Even if you don’t remember me fondly, at least remember how warm it felt sleeping next to me.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing I could feel that warmth once more.
But how could I ask for that? How could I ask him to come back to me when I knew it was a spell?
“Are you making a wish?” a voice asked behind me.
Every muscle in my body seized. That voice… It was my imagination, right?
“A woman only looks at the stars that intensely when she has a deep wish,” the voice continued.
I turned. Adrian stood right behind me, the same smile on his lips that he had the night we first met. The autumn breeze brought over the scent of cinnamon and rum, and I realized I wasn’t dreaming.
“Adrian…” I whispered, my heart racing. “How did you get here?”
He made his way toward me, nodding over the side of the balcony. “I wanted to see if I was strong enough to climb again.”
I huffed, pointing to his side.
“Honestly! Why would you risk such a thing?” I asked. “Don’t you know how much you could have gotten hurt—”
“Seeing you again made it worth it.” He stopped right in front of me, close enough for me to reach out and touch his face. “It may have been reckless, but as soon as they released me, I had to find you.”
He smiled. My heart fluttered and broke at the same time.
“I thought the distance would have broken the spell,” I said. “You realize that these feelings aren’t real.”
He stepped in even closer. “Aren’t they?”
When I didn’t answer, he stepped to the side and leaned against the balcony rail, facing me but looking at the stars over his shoulder. The wind blew through his hair, making my fingertips eager to touch the tresses.
“Even when we were apart,” he said, “I still couldn’t get you out of my mind. Aren’t your charms only supposed to work when we’re in the same room?”
I thought about it and shrugged, trying to let go of my hopes.
“The effects can last for a few minutes or a few days,” I said.
“But it’s been weeks, months, in fact,” he replied. “And I missed you every moment.”
He came in closer, putting both of his warm hands on my elbows and drawing me close. He smelled of cinnamon and the sea, hints of leather and citrus. It was a smell that took me back to his ship, where I slept every night in the same room as him.
“Y-you know that I can manipulate you,” I said. “I just have to change my voice and you will do—”
