Page 36 of Tangled Sails

“It’s not up to me.”

“But you have an opinion?” I asked, suddenly impatient for him to just answer.

“Of course.”

“Which is?”

“Don’t go back,” he said, almost begged. His eyes were deep with worry and want as he said it, and I knew he meant it.

I drew in a tight breath. “Why?”

“That place wasn’t good for you.”

I wanted to ask if there was any other reason. Did he want me to stay for my own good, or for his? But I wasn’t that brave. Not yet. “How do you know that?”

He let out a gentle scoff. “You hadn’t touched land for ten years. You’d been turned into a slave. You were so miserable that you risked scaling the side of a castle turret to escape that life. You hadn’t interacted with anyone but your aunt for a decade.”

“I interacted with people.” I didn’t know why I was arguing with him. Perhaps I just wanted to believe that it hadn’t been that bad.

“Face to face?” he challenged.

“Well…I was up in the tower, and they were on the ground, but yes, I could see their faces. I could talk to them.”

“But did you have any friends?”

“One.”

“What was her name?”

“His name was Gregor.”

He paused as some sort of puzzled look crossed his face. “And he would visit you?”

I nodded, grateful for this one piece of brightness that was part of my story. “He would always speak to me when he came by, asking about my day. He was kind and funny and brought me books that we knew Aunt Ethel wouldn’t approve of.”

His smile was small but genuine, though there was a sadness behind it that pulled on the threads of sadness in my own heart. “I’m glad you had someone who cared for you.”

“Me too. He was always gentle when he used my hair.”

Tavric’s brow furrowed and his eyes took on that stormy quality. “Would he do that often?”

“Do what?”

“Use your hair?”

“Of course. That’s why he would come. That’s why everyone came.”

His jaw tensed and he looked away for several seconds. “That sounds lonely.”

I gave a small shrug. “It was less lonely when they came. At least the ones who spoke to me. And it was comforting to know that I was helping.”

His lips pressed together and his eyes narrowed, like something about my answer frustrated him. “But they were always there to use you. Did that not bother you?”

Yes, but… “They needed my help.”

“Did they?”

I huffed. He was always challenging my answers this way. This time I kept my mouth shut, certain he had something to say.