***
They’ve moved Avery to the infirmary, but they won’t let me in. I’ve sat outside the door, on the floor, all night. No one will tell me anything.
Adeline’s been by several times. She brings me blankets and soup I don’t eat. Most of the time she sits next to me and holds me like I would hold Kirsten if her world had just shattered.
The sun comes up, and the rays shine through the morning. A new day. I’m staring outside, wondering how the world has moved on, when Gregory steps out the door.
I don’t lunge at him or act like the crazy thing I was last night. I simply sit. And wait. And pray.
Without a word, Gregory sits in the hall, directly in front of me, crossing his legs. There are dark circles under his eyes from a night with no sleep. Avery is his captain, his friend. This has been no easier on him.
“He’s alive.”
And that’s all it takes to break my wall of composure. I fall against the mage, crying in the most disgusting manner.
“Thank you,” I breathe repeatedly.
“It’s bad, Lucia,” Gregory says when I gain control of myself. “And it’s going to take a long time to heal.”
I nod, taking in his every word. “But he will live?”
Gregory wets his lips. “I believe so.”
“Can I see him?”
He shakes his head. “Not this morning. Let him rest.”
I stand abruptly, thank him one more time, and start down the hall.
“Where are you going?”
“I have a few things to take care of.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The Question
I find Sebastian as soon as I turn the corner. He’s waiting on a bench, head resting against the wall. He looks like he’s been there all night.
“What are you doing here?”
He stands when he sees me. “I came to sit with you, but I wasn’t sure…”
We need to talk.
“Come on.” I lead him into a garden in the back. It’s winter now and cold. It snowed last night, and a thin layer coats the ground and trees, crunching under our feet as we walk. Neither of us bothered to bring a cloak or jacket.
“Sebastian…” I start, unsure where to begin.
“You didn’t give me any time to process it, Lucia,” Sebastian says as he stares at a bird hopping on a branch that’s heavy with leftover winter berries. “You told me, and then you left.”
“You knew,” I whisper.
He turns to meet me. His face is so familiar—everything about him is familiar. We have history and memories.
“You said you’d always choose me,” he says. It’s a statement more than an accusation.
I step toward him. “I did choose you, Sebastian. And you told me it wasn’t an option. What do you expect me to do? Bide my time until your grandfather passes of old age and you decide it’s all right to be with me? Watch you eventually get married and have a family? Pine over you for the rest of my life?”
“I don’t want you with him.”
“Don’t you see? Even now you don’t tell me you love me—you tell me you don’t want me with him. I’m not a toy that you happened to claim first, Sebastian. You don’t want to play anymore, but you refuse to share. We can’t keep going on this way.”
“But I love you. I do.” He brushes my cheek, and I lean into his touch.
“And I love you, but maybe we’re not meant to be together.” I step back and whisper, “It shouldn’t be this hard.”
“I’m going to tell grandfather that he can keep the title, keep the land, keep the money. I choose you. Let some other cousin have it all. I don’t want it if it means I lose you.”
My heart breaks, both for him and me. “You can’t do that.”
Sebastian steps forward, challenging me. “Why not?”
“Because that cousin is Avery. He’s your great aunt’s grandson, and it would all go to him.”
He stands there, stunned, and then he shakes his head. “That’s absurd. I don’t know what he told—”
“It’s true.” I step back, pinning him with my eyes. “Now tell me, are you willing to hand over your father’s rightful title to Avery so we can be together? Because I don’t think you are.”
He’s silent for too long.
“It’s all right, Sebastian. It is.” I stand on my toes and kiss his cheek. “You are still my closest friend and my trusted business partner. Nothing—nothing—is going to change that.”
I leave him standing in the garden, half expecting him to call me back.
But he doesn’t.
***
The chapel is small and old, but obviously well-loved. The just-polished pews shine, and it smells like exotic lemons. I breathe the scent in, letting it remind me of the island.
A man looks up from a little table at the side corner, and he smiles when he sees Adeline and me. “Good afternoon, girls.”
Adeline gives the man a curtsy and hands him a basket. “From Mother.”
“It’s good to have you home, Addy.” He raises an eyebrow at the cakes. “I trust these aren’t laced with anything, are they, dear?”
Adeline blushes dark red, but she tries to hide it with a laugh. “Not this time.”
“Well, then. Thank you very much.” He sets the basket aside. “What can I do for you?”
Adeline assumed I came seeking comfort. She squeezes my arm, encouraging me to speak to the man.
“I have a question,” I begin. “One only you can answer.”
“All right.” He motions for me to sit next to Adeline in the pew, and he takes the one in front of us, turning back so he can look at me while I speak.
My hands begin to shake, but I tell him the story. Adeline’s jaw falls, and by the time I’m finished, her eyes are as round as saucers.
“There were no witnesses?”
“None except the native people of the island.”
He frowns. “And you have no idea what the vows were?”
“No.”
“And, forgive me, but I assume the marriage was not…consummated?”
Adeline squeaks, and my cheeks go as hot as hers were a moment ago.
“No.”
He shakes his head. “Well then, the answer is simple.”
I wait, unable to breathe.
“You are not married.”
***
I find one of Avery’s crewmen outside the door of the infirmary, and I wonder if they’ve set up a guard rotation.
The man’s name is Tom. He’d sing and play his vielle in the evenings if the weather was nice, and we’d gather round the deck to listen to him. He doesn’t look like singing now.
“Gregory said you’d come,” he says when he sees me.
“How’s Avery?”
Tom shrugs. “He’s still kicking. That’s more than most men can say after getting stabbed in the gut.”
I shudder at the words. “Am I allowed to see him?”
“Gregory said it was all right as long as you keep the visit short and don’t say anything to upset him.”
I murmur my thanks and push through the door. The drapes are drawn, but there’s still enough evening light filtering in through the cracks in the fabric to see by. There are several beds here, all separated by long sheets. My anxiety grows with each one I pass. Finally, I find Avery. He’s in a bed at the end of the row, and he’s asleep.
Careful not to wake him up, I sit in the chair by his side. Occasionally, I watch his chest, just to make sure he’s breathing.
“Hello, Lucia,” Gregory quietly says a little later when he comes to check on Avery. He lights the lantern on the table next to the bed. “Have you spoken to him?”
“He’s been asleep the whole time I’ve been here.”
Gregory nods.
“I didn’t know you are a healer.”
“Healing and destruction,” he murmurs as he checks the bandages. “Those are my specialties.”
“Destruction isn’t allowed in Kal
ae,” I remind him.
He laughs under his breath. “It is when you’re related to the king.”
Our conversation is cut off when Avery stirs. I lean forward, desperate to talk to him, to hear him speak so I will know he’s truly alive.
“Lucia?” Avery asks. His voice is groggy and scratchy.
“She’s here.” Gregory steps out of the way and looks at me. “Don’t talk long. More than anything, he needs rest.”
Once Gregory’s gone, Avery tries to sit up.
“Stop,” I murmur. “You’re supposed to stay still.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to keep you company.”
“Why aren’t you with Sebastian?”
He’s on the brink of death, and he brings this up now? Something tells me this is the kind of conversation Gregory wants me to avoid.
“Because I’m with you.” Afraid I’m going to hurt him, I set my hand next to his, just so our skin is barely touching. “Now if you don’t go to sleep, Gregory’s going to kick me out, and I don’t want to leave.”
He turns his head so he’s looking right at me, and I know what he’s going to ask before he says it. Panic flits about in my stomach. I can’t tell him. Not now.
“Did you go to the church?”
“I did,” I whisper.
Avery gives me the best lopsided smile he’s capable of at the moment—it looks painful. “Tell me, Lucia. Are we married or not?”
I can fix it later—I can and I will. But now, though it goes against everything I stand for, I’m going to tell him what he wants to hear. What I secretly wanted the clergyman to tell me.
“Yes, Avery. We are.”
The peaceful look that passes over his face breaks my heart because I know I’m going to have to tell him the truth soon.
But not tonight. Tonight, I let him sleep.
Available Now
“Till death do us part” might come sooner than Lucia imagined.
After living her entire life on the outside looking in, Lucia has finally ventured into the world of Kalae’s nobility. Now infamous for slaying several sirens in their forbidden waters, she is the king’s new pet, the courtiers’ favorite conversation topic, and the queen’s least favorite former chicken maid.
As if navigating this new world were not enough, a shadow has fallen over Kalae’s most beautiful royal city. Crime runs rampant in Teirn, alchemy supply shoppes are pillaged in the dead of night, and rumors of illicit underground masquerades abound.
On top of all that, Lucia has her own problem in the form of the pirate who stole a piece of her heart. Still-healing Avery is not content with a sliver of Lucia’s affection, not after what transpired between them on the mystery-enshrouded whirlpool island. But with a dark man stalking the adventuress, and a simple job spiraling her and Sebastian into the depths of Kalae’s criminal underworld, Lucia's not sure if she'll live long enough to give the captain a real chance.
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About the Author
Shari L. Tapscott writes young adult fantasy and humorous contemporary fiction. When she's not writing or reading, she enjoys gardening, making soap, and pretending she can sing. She loves white chocolate mochas, furry animals, spending time with her family, and characters who refuse to behave.
Tapscott lives in western Colorado with her husband, son, daughter, and two very spoiled Saint Bernards.
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Books:
Silver & Orchids
Moss Forest Orchid
Greybrow Serpent
Wildwood Larkwing
Fire & Feathers: Novelette Prequel to Moss Forest Orchid
Eldentimber Series
Pippa of Lauramore
Anwen of Primewood
Seirsha of Errinton
Rosie of Triblue
Audette of Brookraven
Grace of Vernow: An Eldentimber Novelette
Fairy Tale Kingdoms
Puss without Boots: A Puss in Boots Retelling
Contemporary Fiction
Just the Essentials
Glitter and Sparkle
Shine and Shimmer
Greybrow Serpent (Silver and Orchids Book 2) Page 20