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“You’re quite sensitive,” he said with a chuckle. “Are you…untouched?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know how that’s any of your business.”
“I assumed with your powers, you’d have a collection of men at your disposal,” he said. “I’m intrigued why a female siren in need of financial stability wouldn’t seduce any rich man she came across.”
“Just because I have some sort of charm does not make me any less of a dignified lady, sir.”
He laughed even harder. “A dignified lady? Why is that so important?”
I swallowed, trying to collect my thoughts. His fingers lingered near my feet but didn’t touch me, and I felt my thoughts clear as I spoke.
“Because when I act respectable,” I said, “it gives honor to my father.”
He rolled his eyes. “And why are you so obsessed with honoring your mortal father? Does it have benefits?”
I paused, catching a trace of bitterness in his eyes. Yes, Jacques was a bastard, whose parentage had caused him more grief than reward. He wouldn’t understand. So I chose my words carefully.
“Because if I honor my father, then others will too,” I said. “And should my father be seen as an honorable man, perhaps it will eventually produce more good men just like him.”
He met my eyes for a moment. With a bitter scoff, he stepped back, pushing his hair back with his wet fingers.
“You’re frustrating, you know that?” Jacques asked. “All the power in the world and you choose to help a human for no reason.”
“He gave everything for me,” I replied. “It seems fair that I give what I have for him.”
A thought then struck me, suddenly making me ill.
“But, what if…”
“What if what?”
I met Jacques’s eyes.
“What if my father was charmed? If my powers affect humans, then maybe…maybe he never truly loved me.”
Jacques was silent for a moment. I broke away from his stare as my eyes teared. I waited for him to tell me that I was a crybaby and that it was just the way things were. I don’t know why I had said anything aloud in the first place. It wouldn’t mean anything to him anyway.
“I can tell when the humans are enchanted by you,” Jacques finally said. “I can see auras that come off their bodies, much like the way steam comes off the water in these springs. Those under your enchantment have a certain aura. The stronger your charm, the stronger the aura. The crew on the pirate ship? Completely entranced and charmed with you. The captain and his first mate, especially. Your father, however…”
He stopped, wetting his hair with his fingers again.
“My father?” I asked, wiping away a threatening tear.
“His aura is changed, slightly, but it’s not as strong as the others.”
I sniffled. “What does that mean?”
Jacques held my gaze. “It means that he’s barely enchanted by you at all. Not as a siren, anyway. From what I’ve seen and heard of your father, I believe that he’s simply enamored with his daughter for the fact that she’s his daughter.”
A new set of tears filled my eyes, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Thank you, Jacques,” I said.
He curled his lip. “I wasn’t attempting to console you. I am, however, bound to the truth regardless of the circumstances.”
He pressed his lips together and looked away.
“You should go to bed,” he said. “You have an important day tomorrow.”
