“What about?”
Her lips press thin before she blurts it out.
“The mates. You. Lady Jules. The truth is, all the Lords need a zareth—a matebond—to gain the boon of power that will let them defeat the SoulTakers. They chose Earth to find soft women to trick into forging these bonds!”
I blink.
“What? Wait, first, who are they? The SoulTakers?”
Her hands twist in her apron, knuckles white.
“Terrible creatures who want more than they deserve. They devour, they corrupt, they take what is not theirs. I only tell you this so you can guard your heart, Lady Phoebe. Lord Kael is a good Lord—he cares deeply for the Tidal Lands and all who dwell here. But you are softhearted. And once?—”
She pauses and swallows hard.
I take her hand and squeeze it, even though everything inside of me is screaming to stop this—to run away before she says something I can’t un-hear.
“Once, when the Lord was very young, he broke the heart of a woman who loved him. She could not bear his careless ways, and she—” Amber hesitates, voice cracking. “She drowned herself.”
The cold in my stomach spreads, battling with the warmth Kael always stirs in me.
Amber grips my hands, eyes desperate.
“I only say this to keep you from being harmed. Lords are not governed by the same morals that guide the rest of us because their duties are far greater. Just—be careful with your heart, milady. That is all I beg of you.”
Not for the first time since Kael claimed me as his, I wonder if my heart is already too far gone to protect.
It’s too late, Phoebe. You already love him.
I’m falling. I’ve already fallen.
The tide of it pulls at me every time he smiles, every time I catch the soft rumble of his laugh.
I tell myself to guard my heart, but the wonder of Nightfall makes that feel impossible.
How can I resist loving the man who rules over a kingdom where stars glow like living jewels and sea creatures leap in sync with festival songs?
I shake my head, frowning. “You make it sound like they’re using us. Kael—he’s not like that. He’s been nothing but?—”
“Kind?” Amber cuts in, eyes darting. “Good, yes. But even good men can break hearts. I beg you, milady, be careful with your soft heart.”
Her words echo, sharp and cruel, lodging like splinters under my ribs. But I push back, clinging to what I’ve seen, what I’ve felt.
Kael holding me when I was too tired to keep my eyes open.
Kael explaining patiently, always answering my questions.
Kael watching me like I’m more wonder than even this magical place.
No. That is real. It has to be.
I thank Amber stiffly, but my thoughts churn like stormwater.
And her warning lingers long after she slips away, weaving into the sound of the waves and the laughter from the festival.
By the time I find Kael again, he’s standing near the outer ring of fires, his trident at his side, his broad shoulders haloed by the glow.
“Kael,” I say, breathless, tugging at his arm. “We need to talk.”
