“Marian, are you okay?” King Salazar’s brows scrunched together, the fear in his voice evident.
The light continued to pour into her mouth until it disappeared in a final flourish and she jerked. Everyone stood in silence, mouths agape, staring and waiting.
Finally, Marian let out a ragged breath. “I’m okay,” she said, voice raspy.
Her father’s shoulders slumped as he lurched forward and brought her into a tight hug. Tears pricked my eyes. Whatever the price, at least she’d gotten her voice back.
She pushed out of her father’s arms and looked at me. “I’m so sorry your father is dead.”
My heart clenched at the reminder. “Do you know why?”
She picked at a seashell that hung from her hair. “He was killed because of me.”
I stepped back. “What?”
The water bubbled underneath her like a fountain, misting my face.
“It’s time to tell the truth,” her father said, voice stern. “What did you do to the shadow court to make them take your voice? I know you were visiting the island, but I don’t know why.”
Leoni sucked in a sharp breath behind me.
I didn’t know Marian’s exact age, but she looked to be no older than twenty. So young for such a burden to be placed on her.
“I went to the shadow court to find your brother’s shadow,” she whispered.
“My brother?” My brows furrowed. “Lochlan?” I asked.
Blood and water, almost every maiden on the continent wanted to marry him, but word of the playboy prince had also reached the sea princess? His charms truly knew no bounds.
She shook her head. “Maledonan.”
I started at that. Mal. My youngest brother. Quiet, reserved, thoughtful Mal.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I just wanted to save him,” she said between sobs.
“You loved him.” I’d recognize the pain in her voice anywhere. I’d felt that same pain when Bastian had betrayed me. Blood and water, while I’d been having a secret affair with the pirate lord, my little brother had been having his own affair with the sea princess.
Relationships between elementals and seafolk weren’t forbidden, exactly, but more frowned upon. The seafolk could sprout legs and walk on land, but they weren’t like us. Their customs, their ways, were very different. Not to mention we hadno idea what kind of offspring could be produced between the two species.
King Salazar’s face turned a deep red. “The water prince?” he said. “You fell in love with an elemental?”
Marian crossed her arms over her coral top, defiance settling in the thin line of her lips. “I liked to watch him from afar. He was always going on adventures with you and Lochlan.”
King Salazar let out a growl of displeasure.
Marian raised her chin. “He was joyful and lived his life to the fullest with no regrets. One day, I was watching him do something foolish. A dumb stunt riding a wave, using his magic. But he must’ve depleted his powers faster than he realized. He fell into the sea and hit his head on a rock. I saved him from drowning and stayed with him until he awoke. I’d never met anyone so handsome, so generous, so loving.”
Bastian snorted, and I turned. He raised a brow while rubbing his jaw. “Reminds me of how we met.”
I swallowed at the wistfulness in his voice.
No one else had moved an inch, everyone as shocked as I was at hearing this.
Marian took a deep breath while her father’s frown deepened. “We were planning on announcing our relationship soon, telling our parents. And then he came.” She jabbed a finger at Bastian. “He came for the boys.”
My throat grew thick.
“Mal was with me that night,” Marion continued, “in a little cove where we often met. He saw what was happening from afar and said he needed to get Lochlan, that they’d stop this. But they weren’t fast enough. The ship left with the boys, and they had to use their water magic to catch up and sneak aboard.”
