Page 30 of Tangled Sails

The knot of nerves in my stomach liked that pronouncement very much.

Chapter nine

TAVRIC

“I need to get out of here again,” I said without preamble, walking into the dining hall.

Lyri was having lunch and I was interrupting. She took a cautious sip of her tea and then looked at me. “What happened?”

“My father was unable to hold court this morning, so I did so in his absence.” I dug my short fingernails into my palms, trying to focus on that so I could ignore the rolling discomfort in the rest of my body.

Her face was immediately draped in concern. “Is your father all right?”

“Just feeling a little unwell,” I lied. “But I don’t have much practice with such things, and it was nearly five straight hours of a loud, crowded room, and everyone wanted me to solve all their problems. I just…want quiet; I need quiet.”

“I thought you usually went to your library for quiet.”

“They’ll find me there.”

She looked up at me with a mix of concern and anticipation. “Where did you have in mind?”

I looked at her plate, which was nearly empty. “Have you had enough?”

She sat back and rested her hands on her stomach in a way that no noblewoman ever would. It was a sharp reminder that she wasn’t royalty, and that I shouldn’t be seeking her out. Yet, she was the one person who felt safe at the moment. “Likely too much,” she admitted. “There are always so many wonderful things to choose from. I can tell my maid is not lacing my dresses as tightly as when I first came, and it’s been barely more than a week.”

“Good. You deserve to be well fed.” I held a hand out to her. “Please, can we go before the council decides they need my attention too?”

She stood, slipping her hand into mine, and something in my chest loosened.

Instead of taking the winding footpath down to my boat, I had a horse saddled with the padded pillion seat for Lyri and pulled her up behind me. The feeling of her arms banded tightly around my chest calmed me perhaps better than anything else I had tried. I placed my palm over her hands where they rested just below my sternum, hoping she would keep them there. I was rewarded by the feeling of her arms tightening further, and more of my tension melted away.

We rode through the village and down to the part of the shoreline that stretched out with sandy beaches until they ran into the black cliffs on the south tip of the island. There were tide pools here, but my aim was the caves tucked away under the cliffs.

I tied my horse in a copse of trees lining the shore and ran after Lyri when she headed toward the water, sand kicking up behind her, shoes tossed casually in the sand. She stopped well before she reached the water and then just stood, letting the wind pull on her skirts and knot the loose tendrils of her hair, her eyes closed and her face tipped to the sky.

Escaping the palace had been for my own benefit, but seeing the way Lyri soaked in all the freedom and adventure that I was able to give her was a different kind of pleasure. I wanted to ask her to dance with me again—to see her smile, yes, but mostly as an excuse to touch her. I was so used to the comfort of being by myself that it was a strange thing to crave her proximity.

I walked slowly to where she stood but resisted the urge to rest a hand on her lower back. “Have I converted you to my love of the ocean?”

She laughed. “No, I’m fairly certain the ocean managed that without your princely help.”

I grinned, loving that she wasn’t intimidated by my princely ways. “Wait until you see the caves.”

She looked off toward the craggy cliffs. “Are they there?”

“Yes.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” she asked, taking off at a run again. I loved watching the joy she found in movement and I tried imagining what it had been like with all that hair. It would have ruled her life. I was certain that the reason she ran and spun and dashed here and there was because that simple freedom was new to her.

Naturally, I chased after her like a lovesick fool, trying to tell myself it was only an innocent attraction.

I was a liar.

I’d nearly caught up with her when she came to an abrupt stop, turning around to look at something on the ground that she’d passed. I came to an ungraceful halt and joined her as she stooped to pick up a sanderling and cradle it in her palms.

She ran her fingers over its wings. “Hey, little one, what’s wrong?”

“What have you got there?” I asked as she held it gently to her chest and stroked its back.