Page 31 of Tangled Sails

“Just a bird.”

“Is it injured?” I asked, not seeing anything obviously wrong with the sanderling.

“I’m hoping it’s only stunned.” She stroked its little head and back and made little clucking noises at it, then looked up at me with a grin. “He can come with us,” she declared, and then started heading toward the caves again, this time at a sedate walk.

I smiled to myself as I followed after her, catching up so I could lead her to the opening in the cliffs. Once we stepped through, there were only a few feet of dry sand inside the cave before the water was lapping at the little beach inside.

The cave was a deep crevice that ran from this side of the cliff all the way to the other side, where it opened out to the ocean. The waves rushed in from the far side and gently tumbled their way toward us, petering out not far from where we stood. Sunlight poured in from both sides, lighting the dim space enough that we could appreciate how wide the cave had become from the constant onslaught of waves beating away on its inner walls.

“This would be the perfect hideout for mermaids,” Lyri commented, one hand pressed to the rock wall at the entrance while the other still held the bird.

“Yes, it would.” I studied her bright eyes and the braided gold crown of hair ringing her head. “You know, my men believed you were a mermaid when we pulled you from the ocean.”

“I remember. I thought it was very strange. Mermaids are the stuff of legend, not reality.”

I blinked as I considered her words. It was just another example of how she’d come from somewhere completely foreign to me. “You don’t think mermaids are real?”

She froze and fixed me with a stare, then blinked and asked, “Are they?”

“Well, now I feel foolish admitting to my belief.”

She let out a laugh. “I’ve spent the past ten years isolated in a tower. Believe me, I don’t think I am an authority on anything happening in the world. If you say there are mermaids, then I believe you. It’s actually a relief to know that something so fantastical could exist in this world.” She looked down at the sanderling in her hands and stroked its head. “Have you ever seen one?”

I bit my lips together for a moment before deciding to confide in her. “Once. In fact, I think she saved my life.”

She looked up at me, her eyes wide with awe. “Truly?”

I nodded. “I was foolish and I should have drowned in that ocean, but she brought me to shore…and then she disappeared.”

“How extraordinary.” She looked off at the crashing waves and then turned back to me. “Shall we thank them?”

“What?” I asked with a chuckle, expecting to find that teasing spark in her eyes, but she looked sincere.

“They communicate through song, do they not? I think I read that in a book.” Then she turned to face the deeper recesses of the cave and sang out, “Thank you, mermaids, for saving the prince.”

I sucked a breath through my nose, completely captivated.

Spellbinding. That’s what her voice was. Beautiful, soothing, angelic, and devoid of pretense. She sang out with confidence and wild abandon, yet there wasn’t even a hint of pride in her voice or bearing.

When Melody had saved me, her song had been just as magical, but it had a haunting quality, and there had been a haughtiness to it, as if she knew all too well the effect her voice had on me.

Suddenly, the bird Lyri had been cradling stood up and fluttered its wings.

“Oh!” Lyri jumped in surprise and let out a delighted laugh. “Had enough rest, have you?” she asked the bird.

The sanderling hopped once, fluffed its wings again, and took flight, disappearing into the bright sunlight outside the cave.

Lyri’s face was shadowed by the dim cave interior, yet her smile was so bright, I had to wonder how someone who’d spent years as little better than a prisoner could have retained such effervescence and hope. I envied her ability to move about the world with such optimism.

So much of the time, I felt strangled by the world and the people in it. Maybe that was why I’d chased after Melody for so long. The idea of living in the quiet of the ocean was appealing. And yet, I’d thought of Melody less and less since I’d pulled Lyri from the same ocean. The dark allure and mystery of Melody couldn’t hold a candle to the bright openness and steady calm that Lyri brought with her.

She stepped a little closer to the water and reached up to wrap a hand around her necklace. She did that often. It was clear that she valued the necklace for its attachment to her mother and nothing else. I’d been around plenty of foreign royalty, often with them vying for my attention, and it had always made me uncomfortable. Perhaps that was why I’d pushed back so much when my mother had gotten excited at the prospect of her being royalty. I didn’t want to pursue and marry someone who made me feel uncomfortable.

But Lyri…

A larger wave rolled into the cave and rushed around our feet. I jumped forward to be sure she didn’t lose her balance, but she let out a startled yelp, followed by a delighted laugh as she clung to my arm to keep her balance. “Perhaps your mermaid friend is trying to get you back in the water,” she teased.

I just shook my head. “I’m happy where I am.”