Page 57 of Unmoored

“We didn’t exchange words that night. She sat on the edge of that rock, her small palm resting in mine, and she cried out every tear left in her body while I quietly sang to her. When she was done, she left without a backwards glance, and from that moment on I was utterly enamoured.

“I went back night after night, and soon learned her patterns. Over time she became friendly with me, and we’d talk until the sky turned periwinkle and she’d hasten home before the sun rose over the horizon. Sometimes I’d coax her into the water with me, allowing her to float on my back or giving her air while I took her under the sea. She never knew about the Capital, or even that I was Talassi Royalty, and it kept our bond so precious and free.

“Our affair went on for years, and I cannot lie, I fell madly in love with her. Her husband grew more abusive as time went on, and she sought comfort in the ocean and me. I went back every night to be with her.”

“Why did she stay with him?” Hazel interrupted, her voice cracking halfway through. “Why didn’t you take her away?”

The Prince sighed, seeming to think over his words before speaking again.

“It’s quite complicated, but I’ll forever regret not whisking her away the moment I saw her. But I never wanted to push her, as so much of her life hadn’t been her choice. Their marriage had been arranged by their parents. It was a political move that allowed Lord Emerson to purchase an entire fleet of ships, and your mother was the bargaining token. He wasn’t horrible to her in the beginning. In fact, he was quite charming. But as time went on and he gained more power over the waters, he grew increasingly monstrous in nature.

“Margaret was aware of his rocky relationship with the Talassi, and although she never admitted it to me, I think she attempted to advocate for us on more than one occasion. I believe he became… violent with her when she revealed how much she knew.”

Hazel shuddered, and I tightened my grip around her waist. Her hands gripped my forearm, but she showed no signs of weakness, only curiosity and stoicism.

“I’m aware it was… uncouth of me to have relations with a married woman, but I couldn’t resist her call, couldn’t leave her alone in her misery. She deserved to know what it felt like to be loved properly. And not just physically, but emotionally as well. He manipulated her, told her things that were never true. There was a point when she thought she was barren, as they had tried to conceive for years to no avail. In hindsight, I should have halted our relations before we reached the point of a physical affair, but I couldn’t bear to leave her. She was all alone in the house of the devil, and I was her only solace.”

“I don’t blame you,” Hazel said. “I understand. But what happened? Clearly, something went wrong.”

Prince Inaki paused again, and I could only imagine how difficult this was for him, too. I had a feeling he was about to share how he was captured, and my heart ached at the thought of him reliving that experience.

“Your mother and I began to plan a… sabotage of sorts. Margaret hated the way he treated the Talassi, and she offered to help us by stealing some important information from your father regarding his fleet. Unfortunately, he learned of our plan before we could execute it, and instead laid a trap for me.

“I’ll spare you the details of the abuses he put me through, but as you may have guessed, it was agonizing. I never even had a chance to say goodbye. To Margaret, my mother, my home, toanyone. One night I was visiting my dear lover on her favorite beach, and the next I was shoved into painful oblivion.

“So, I’m sorry Hazel, first and foremost. I brought you into existence, and I haven’t been able to protect you. You thought you were Lord Emerson’s child up until now, and for that I am sorry as well. That man deserved no offspring, he didn’t even deserve a wife, and it will haunt me until my dying breath to know that you were both left defenseless in his house.”

Hazel was shaking with silent tears, and with Inaki’s last words, she turned and buried her head in my chest. I was so proud of her. She’d handled everything thrown at her over the last few weeks with such grace and resilience. This confession from Inaki was quite a lot for her to handle, and I feared she had reached her breaking point.

The Queen and her son turned to each other with a pained expression, clearly uncomfortable with how Hazelwas reacting. I understood their point of view, but I couldn’t help feeling irritated by it. They had put her through so much, it was no wonder she was emotional at the revelation of the truth.

I turned us away from them slightly, and leaned my head down to whisper in her ear. “I love you,” I whispered. “I love you more than anything else in the vast spread of the ocean, and I’m so proud of you. You’re the strongest Talassi I’ve ever met, even more so than me.”

She shook her head and gripped my waist even harder, and I stroked her soft hair as she tried to regain her composure.

“I… I just have no words,” she choked out. My heart was breaking for her, but I didn’t know what to do to ease the pain. Her anguish was written all over her face, but there was no solace for what she’d just learned.

“Hazel,” Prince Inaki called from his bed, and after a moment, we turned to face him again. “I know this is a lot to take in, and I’m not asking anything of you right now, but I felt you deserved to know the truth. Thank you for listening to me, and I’m sorry it all came out like this,” he said, sorrow lacing his words.

“I understand,” she replied, her voice steady once again. “I don’t hold animosity towards you. You, me, and my mother are victims of Lord Emerson and his bitter heart. It’s just… that doesn’t take the pain away.”

“Trust me,” Inaki said, holding out a hand. “I understand.”

Hazel placed her palm in his, closing her eyes. My heart felt like it was tearing into shreds, but I had to let her stand for herself in this moment.

“May we have a minute alone?” Hazel asked, and the Queen immediately nodded, allowing me to escort her out of the room.

40

HAZEL

Floating in that opulent underwater chamber, it felt as if my heart and soul had been ripped from my body, put through a cyclone, and then placed back inside my broken, unmoving corpse. I’d never felt sorrow in this way before, and I didn’t know what to do with it. Would this heavy weight upon my shoulders last forever?

Prince Inaki, my biological father, stared at me with eyes so eerily similar to mine, and I recognized the pain and suffering behind them. He’d been put through horrific tortures at the hands of Lord Emerson, much of which happened on Akala Island. In a way, our lives had been so similar, so tragic, and the thought alone threatened to break me.

“I’m so sorry, Hazel,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I…”

“No,” I said, shaking my head and moving closer, once again placing my palm in his hand. “You don’t owe me an apology. You were just as much a victim as I was, and so was my mother. My fath– Lord Emerson was anabomination to humanity, and he hurt far more people than us. In truth, I don’t know what to do next.”