AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why did you come back?” I asked.
He kept combing my hair, his eyes following his own hand. “I wanted to know that you were cared for, little dove. In our lives as sirens, in our lives as humans…I guess I just got used to being responsible for you.”
“Oh, Luc.” I laughed. “You were never that responsible.”
He burst into laughter, his smile making my heart flutter. When his laughter subsided, he took my hands in his, seeming to hesitate before he looked down at them.
“Your fingers are bare,” he finally said. “Are you still engaged to that man?”
The twinge of annoyance in his voice was something I hadn’t heard before. I was tempted to tell the truth, but even more tempted to find the cause behind his sudden sharp tone.
“I haven’t been wed yet,” I replied. “How do you think the king would feel if I decided to wed instead of to return?”
Luc’s tongue ran across his lips before he looked up to meet my eyes. There was a darkness in them now, even though I could tell he was trying to hide it.
“He…he would allow you to make your own choices, I suppose,” Luc replied.
There was even more bitterness to his voice now. It made my heart pound, encouraging me to risk a dangerous question.
“Would you come to my wedding?” I asked.
He searched my eyes for a long moment, the air seeming to thicken as he swallowed. He gave a bitter smile, shaking his head.
“I’d ruin it,” he said.
“Ruin?”
He pulled me in close, holding my hand to his chest. He leaned forward, his breath softly hitting my ear.
“Haven’t you heard?” he asked. “I steal other men’s wives.”
His wings surrounded us, blocking out the entire world. The dark feathers brushed against my skin, sending chills up my neck. He brought me in for a second embrace, this one more intimate than the first.
“Luc—” I managed to say.
“I’ll wait for you to come back to us,” he said, cutting me off. “But you need to know, it kills me to wait like this.”
He pulled back, touching his thumb to my lips. I stood still, his touch warm and comforting. He swallowed again before speaking.
“It’s ironic, really,” he said, stroking my face. “Working with you side by side on that ship, I started to fall for you, not remembering that I had already loved you as a siren.”
My mouth went dry, heart pounding in my ears. “What?”
I heard, but I needed to hear it again.
He gave a small smile. “I always had different feelings toward you. But sirens always expected to live with their feelings second. I suppose that’s what I envied most about the humans. That’s why I left the den so many times: to live as they did.
“When you came aboard that ship,” he continued, “there were pieces of you that made me feel at home. And now that I’ve found my true home, it still doesn’t feel right without you.”
I put my hand on his. The air seemed still for a moment as we locked eyes, the swirls of blue and green in his usually black irises stealing my breath away.
“Is my confession too much, little dove?” he asked.
I held my hand out toward him, palm up.
“Check for yourself,” I said.
He looked down at my wrist for a moment then smiled, bringing his fingers to it. He then smiled wider.
