Page 40 of Hooked

He studied me for a moment, but instead of responding, he tipped his head back, fixing his gaze on the sky above. A moment later, he leaned all the way back. “Look at those stars.” He spread his arms wide, floating there.

I just looked at him for a moment, admiring his strength and conviction, but mostly his gentleness. He’d used persuasion and logic to convince me to stay. No threats or manipulation. I dipped my head below the water, trying to wash my head of thoughts of admiration. If only the stream could rinse my mind of such things.

After coming up, I lay back and gazed up at the stars visible through the canopy of leaves, eventually closing my eyes and relaxing completely into the water and the darkness.

Floating there for a few minutes, everything was peaceful. There was nothing to frighten me or make me run. I could forget about the father who had abandoned me, the uncle who had sold me, the mother who didn’t fight for me, and the man who wanted to claim me as his.

An arm wrapped around my waist and I pulled myself up, surprised by the touch. I latched on to Falstone’s shoulders and looked at him with a question.

He swallowed, then nodded behind me. “If you drift too much farther that way, the current will carry you away.”

I stretched down with my toes, trying to touch the bottom, but it was too deep. I could have pushed away, and probably should have, but his arm around me was…not quite comfortable, but…exciting? New?

I had to say something to break the tension. “Perhaps that was my master plan. Float away on the stream and end up in another kingdom all together.”

“What kingdom is that?” he asked as his eyes dove into mine.

“The Never Kingdom. Where I’ll never be found.” I did push away then and he let me go. Once I was several arm’s lengths away, I asked, “Have you ever been there?”

A corner of his mouth curled and some of the seriousness left his eyes. “To the imaginary Kingdom of Never? No.” He used a few fingers to flick water at me. “Have you?”

I nodded. “Tethurn was Never. Then Bridgefield was. Then Dalthia. And until a few days ago—here.” I could see that he didn’t quite understand, but he was trying to. “Anywhere I feel safe is my Never Kingdom.” It must have been this swimming hole, so close to Marilee’s fairy realm that conjured such fanciful ideas.

“What about your home? With your father and mother?”

A sharp pain cut into my heart. “It should have been. And for my very youngest years, it was. But that was an illusion, one shattered by my father’s betrayal and abandonment. The place I was happiest, the place I felt loved the most was shattered by what he did, and what came after.”

“Your father…what did he do?”

My stomach pinched. I hated this subject probably more than any other. “He was part of a—“ I chewed my lip for a moment. “An uprising. Or, at least, a planned uprising.” My brow furrowed. I knew so little about what he’d been accused of. I didn’t understand it.

“Uprising?” Falstone prompted.

“There was a group. Merchants from the village. Townspeople. Even some of his tenants. They believed he’d be a better ruler than the duke.”

“Your father planned to wrest power from the duke?”

I shrugged. I should have just said yes, but there was still a little girl inside me determined to defend her papa. “So they say.”

Falstone’s gaze stayed fixed on me, his eyes soft with compassion.

I looked away, forcing my dark thoughts aside and coming back to the topic at hand. I wondered where Falstone’s Never was. “What about you?” I tilted my head, thinking. “Where is your safety? Is it a shadow wrapped around you, or do you carry it with you along with your sword?”

He smiled, full and amused.

“What?” I asked.

“You look like one of the mermaids from your stories.”

I splashed him. “You’ve spent too much time around Marilee.”

“Says the woman who’s been philosophizing about the Kingdom of Never,” he said, swimming closer to me.

“I’m not a mermaid,” I protested as my heart jumped at his nearness.

“You object to being compared to a beautiful sea creature?”

I shook my head in exasperation. “You know, in most stories, mermaids are more akin to sirens, using their song to lure men to their deaths.” I narrowed my eyes at him.