Chapter 16
ARIEL
I held the stranger’s gaze as my hand slowly reached for my staff resting against the wall.
His eyes snapped toward the movement, and his hand clasped it before mine could. With an elegant sweep of his arm, he presented it to me. “Do you require this?” he asked, a hint of mocking in his tone—or possibly playfulness. I couldn’t be sure, but cornered like a wounded animal, my mind assumed the former.
I carefully weighed my next move.
“My wing is broken,” I said, overplaying my injury to make him think me weak. “I need it to support me against the winds.”
“Perhaps I should just carry you back to my castle, then?”
I took my staff from him and slowly leaned my weight against it. “This isn’t your home?”
“This?” he asked, disbelief in his tone. “Of course not.”
“Then I’ll just wait out the storm here and be on my way.”
“ Leave ?” he asked with curiosity. “But you only just arrived. And as you said, your wing is broken. If you cannot fly, how will you travel?”
“I didn’t mean leave the island—just this shack.”
He looked around, taking stock of the ramshackle building. “It isn’t very inviting, is it? Perhaps I should remedy that. It hardly seems a fitting way to welcome newcomers.”
“It served its purpose,” I said, attempting to sidestep the pale stranger, “but maybe I should move on. The storm sounds like it’s settling down.”
“Where will you go?” he asked, sliding into my path.
“I’ll figure something out.”
His full lips turned down. “I wouldn’t be much of a host if I allowed that—especially not for a beautiful creature such as yourself.”
“ Host ?” I asked, wishing Shayfer was with me to help navigate this conversation. Whoever this being was, he reeked of high-born status and wealth, like the fae lords I’d encountered during my time in the Midlands. Shayfer’s exact cup of tea; he could read them like a book and anticipate their every move. That was why Kaplyn depended on him so much.
“Yes,” he said, his smile returning. “This is my island, after all.”
My island…
A new strategy quickly began to form in my mind.
“Then you must forgive my intrusion,” I said with a hesitant bow. I winced at the bottom of it and twitched my injured wing for show.
He hooked a gentle finger under my chin to guide me upright. “Apologies must wait until we do something about this wing.” His hand drifted from my chin as he stepped closer to reach around to my back. His fingertips grazed the skin along the base of my wing, and I stifled the shiver that ran up my spine.
“Where does it hurt?” he whispered in my ear. “ Here …?” A tingling sensation warmed through my injured wing, taking the pain away, and I stretched it wide to find it fully functional once again. With wide eyes, I looked up at the stranger, whose face was dangerously close to mine. “No need to thank me,” he said with an amused smile, “but if you’re not more careful from here on out, you might find yourself indebted to me.” His hand trailed along my side before dropping away. “Perhaps that’s exactly where I want you, though. There, and other places…”
I looked away, feigning embarrassment. “I truly am sorry for the intrusion,” I said again, “and grateful for your healing.”
“You can show your appreciation by accompanying me home.”
Worry sparked in my gut. “I would very much enjoy that, my lord, but I’m afraid I must do something first.” I looked up at him through my lashes, and his brow furrowed.
“What could that possibly be?”
I took a breath and prayed that the card I was about to play was the right one. “I was not alone on my journey, and I was separated from my companions in the storm. I must find them.”
Distrust flashed in his eyes. “ Others ?”
“Yes.”
“Family? Friends?”
“Guardians…protectors.”
“And why would you need protecting?” he asked, bending down to level those sea-blue eyes with mine.
My mind raced uncontrollably, and I hoped he couldn’t see its calculations playing out in my expression. “Because females are seen by many as prey.”
His expression lightened immediately. “Then you should be relieved that I do not share that view.”
“I am. Very . But I still need to find them.”
“But you are no longer in danger.” The way he looked at me as he spoke those words left me less than certain of their truth. “There is nothing for you to fear on this island. You are under my protection now. And my word is law here.”
“That’s comforting,” I replied, thinking it was anything but.
“Then it’s settled. You will return with me to my humble abode as my honored guest.”
“How generous of you, Lord…?”
“Vesstan.” He looked at me expectantly, awaiting my reply.
“Ariel,” I said with a small bow of my head.
“Shall we, then, Ariel?” He gestured toward the door and the storm still raging outside. My hesitation did not go unnoticed. “Is something wrong?”
“I don’t mean to press the issue, Lord Vesstan, but I am concerned for my companions. The circumstances of our separation were rather dire, and I fear they might be hurt, as I was. Given that they worked tirelessly to ensure my safety, I feel obligated to help them.”
“Your sentiments, though adorably honorable, are unwarranted,” he said as his hand fell upon the small of my back. He guided me through the open doorway and out into the rain, but the second we set foot outside, the storm ceased. “You see, Ariel, when I say this is my island, I mean that in the most literal sense. It is mine. I rule it entirely—and everything concerning it.” Everything about his tone and demeanor set me on edge, and my hand gripped my staff tighter. “The storm you encountered when your vessel breached the border of my magic —the creature you undoubtedly fought beyond that point—those are all creations of my design. Controlled by me and me alone to weed out intruders and guide any survivors to the very spot on which you now stand.” Ice spread up my spine from where his palm touched my skin. “So you see, Ariel, it’s rather simple, really. If your companions are not here , then they are not at all.”
He let his words trail off for a moment as the most terrifying conclusion settled upon my mind—one I could not believe to be true. My breaths came quick and shallow as my ability to mask the fear slowly consuming me eroded.
“If it would help appease your guilt, I can send my tracker to comb the shoreline for their bodies. Allow you to surrender any doubts or lingering hopes you have.”
Tears stung the backs of my eyes, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from wailing a mournful cry.
It couldn’t be true. They couldn’t be dead. Shayfer would have surely gotten them to safety somewhere…
As I stood there, shock and racing possibilities rendering me mute, Vesstan pulled his hand away from my back, and something sharp bit into the soft flesh of my neck.“I cannot wait any longer to return home,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m sure you understand.”
Before his words could fully jostle my stunned mind, I felt him scoop me up into his arms. One moment I was staring out at the sea that might have stolen my new ally, my mischievous friend, and the man I loved more than life itself; the next, shadows swallowed me down into a dark abyss, just as the ocean and its twisted creature had taken Eldrien, Shayfer, and Hemming.