Page 24 of Tangled Sails

“Do you truly believe that?”

I blew out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know what to think. I don’t know where Lyri came from. She has no memory of being anywhere near the ocean before I pulled her from it, and I don’t recognize the name of her home.”

“What’s it called?”

“Branfrie. A village called Eldmere.”

Her lips pressed, clearly annoyed. “I’ve never heard of it.”

I resisted the urge to smile. She’d probably been hoping to one-up me. “Neither have I, and Lyri has said nothing to indicate that she is royalty. The way she speaks of her life…it’s hard to believe a princess would have lived the way she did.”

“Perhaps she’s a princess who doesn’t know she’s a princess?”

A chuckle escaped my nose. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

She tilted her head as she looked at me. “No, but I think you would.”

I chose not to acknowledge her comment. She didn’t know what she was talking about. Just because I’d befriended Lyri didn’t mean I was scheming to marry her. If anyone is scheming to marry me off, it's my brother, I thought bitterly.

Mama looked at the necklace again. “It looks like pure silver, Tavric. It must mean something.”

I shrugged, not knowing what she expected me to say. I’d been mulling over the mystery of Lyrielle’s origins for a week and had no answers.

“Perhaps you should make the time to get to know her.” She turned to look down at the same scene that had captured my attention as Lyri flitted about the garden.

I breathed a sigh of relief, confused by how grateful I felt to have that permission.

“Hopefully, she’s the answer to our little dilemma.”

My back tensed. This was the price I paid, I suppose. As much as I wanted a chance to get to know Lyri more, I did not appreciate my mother trying to foist her on me as a marriage prospect, especially when there were far more important matters pulling on my attention. “My lack of a wife is not a dilemma.”

“But it could be. I know Saria’s visit is not what you hoped for, but you must know that if you ascend to the throne, the entire council will be after you to produce a queen, and quickly.”

“Produce a queen?” I stepped away from the window, needing to separate Lyrielle from this conversation. “Do you know how maniacal that sounds? As if I could magic an entire person into existence.”

She followed me over to my desk and stood across from me. “It looks to me like you have two candidates right on your doorstep, and the council isn’t wrong. Your father is not doing well.”

“Papa will rally.”

“Will he?”

I clenched my jaw, hating the raw truth that shone from her red-rimmed eyes. She hadn’t been sleeping well, not for months, and my father’s health had been deteriorating too rapidly over the past two weeks.

“Caelmir has yet to return, and when he does, he might not have anything to show for his search.” She crossed her arms and looked away as she sniffed. Then she gave her head a stiff shake and looked back at me. “If you like this girl, then why not give her a chance? Stop running off and get to know her. If she truly is royalty—”

“Stop, Mama.” The idea of chasing after Lyri only because she could be royalty felt wrong.

She reached across the desk and put her hand over mine, her gaze filled with heavy grief. “I don’t know if your father is going to recover. And if he doesn’t, you will need to start considering who you might want for a wife.”

I looked away, my eyes burning. “Don’t say that.”

“Say what? That your father might not make it? What else should I say?” The warble in her voice tore at me.

“Caelmir will return.”

“We cannot place all of our hopes and expectations in your brother bringing back a cure. I refuse to ignore the reality that is knocking on our door.” Her lips trembled and her eyes were glassy. “Of course I hope for a miracle, but I have to be practical too, and I hate it. I hate that my position forces me to do anything other than hope, but it does.” She straightened, clearly agitated. “And if this girl is royalty, and if you care about her as much as you obviously do, then why should I not put some hope into that?”

“And if I fall in love with her and she isn’t royalty?”