“You’re enjoying this far too much.”
I pursed my lips and watched as the albatross stepped forward. His beak was hard and cold against my lips. When he stepped back, I stood up and turned to discreetly wipe my mouth.
Raya petted her bird like it was a kitten. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” She nudged its head with hers. It made the strangest noise in the back of its throat, almost like it was purring.
“Listen, I’m sorry about last night,” I started. “I shouldn’t have said those things.”
“I shouldn’t have, either. Let’s put it behind us, shall we?” she suggested with a smile.
“That would be great.”
She moved to the bowl and picked out an orange. When she passed by, Tross snapped at her hand. “Go get your own breakfast, lazy bones. You don’t even like fruit.” Miffed, Tross walked to the window, flew onto the ledge without knocking his wings, and soared out the window.
“He’ll be back soon. The storm’s getting worse.”
“Storm?”
“Yep. This one’s going to be terrible. I can feel it.”
“Worse than the one that sank my ship?”
“Way worse.”
That didn’t make me feel good. We were in the middle of the sea. If something happened to this tower...
Raya must have thought the same thing a thousand times over the past ten years. She was twelve when she was brought here. She must have been terrified when no one came back. “Your first winter here must have been scary,” I added softly.
“It was, but the witch’s enchantments made it easier. I would have died if she hadn’t thought to spell everything before she left.”
“How did you manage to keep your wits about you? I’ve only been here one full day and I already feel like I’m going mad. It’s pathetic, I know, but—”
“No, it isn’t. This place is a sanctuary, but it’s also a prison, Trevor. I understand the desperate need for freedom better than anyone else.”
She threw the orange’s peel out the window and separated the fruit, and I watched as she ate. Her long, damp hair was braided tightly down her back. I wondered why she didn’t cut it, but didn’t want to hurt her feelings by mentioning it.
I grabbed an orange and sat at the small table. The room wasn’t much, but it was hers. There was a small bed, a tiny desk with a stool beneath it, the hearth, kitchen area, and table. In the center of the room was a worn, multi-colored rug. There was nothing on the walls except for a few iron sconces and hooks. She hadn’t made it her home, even after all these years.
I cleared my throat. “So, what do you do to pass the time?”
She smiled and I couldn’t help but admire her for a moment, simply because she still could. I wasn’t sure I could muster a grin if I’d spent the past ten years here alone.
“Winter is the worst,” she contended ruefully. “The other seasons are easier because at least you can go outside. The winter storms tend to roll in one after another, but I do have a deck of cards and a few books to keep myself occupied. I’ve read them a thousand times, but they’re still an escape, of sorts. I also clean and sing—even though I can’t sing very well—and I draw and write. I run up and down the stairs if I get bored. I also re-arrange the furniture pretty often.”
“Because there’s so much?” I laughed.
“Exactly,” she snickered. “I do whatever I can to keep busy.”
Her eyes swept over the ocean outside and then she waved me over. “Come here!”
I jogged over to where she stood by the window. She pointed at the water below, where the albatross was diving into the waves. He came up with a large fish. “He is a good hunter,” I admitted.
“I know,” she shrugged. “I just thought you might want to see him in action.”
The wind roared around the tower. “How is it so warm in here?”
“Enchanted firewood, I guess. It never gets so cold I can’t bear to be by the window, which is a blessing. If I couldn’t look out at the water, I’d go crazy.”
“The waves are calming, at least.” Standing this close to her, she smelled like oranges and something delicate and feminine. She caught me looking at her.
“Why did you leave Galder?” she asked shrewdly.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I was looking for something I didn’t even want.”
“That’s cryptic,” she muttered.
“Since we’re stuck here and we’re going to have to be friends, why don’t we make a pact?” I suggested.
“What sort of pact?” Her interest piqued, she stood up straighter.
“Let’s be brutally and completely honest with one another. I won’t lie to you, and I won’t hold back. You agree to do the same.”
“The truth can be harsh,” she whispered.
“I know, but there’s something freeing about giving your truth to someone else.”
The corner of her lips curled up. “Okay. I agree. So, what was it that you were looking for?”
“A wife.”
She took in a sharp breath. “Are there no women in Galder?”
“Yes,” I answered with a smile, “there are; but Father and I thought it would be best to arrange a marriage with a royal from another kingdom. I wasn’t able to secure one with Aelawyn, and Tierney and Galder are at odds, so I planned to look in the northern kingdoms of Roane and Halron.”
“Can’t marriages be arranged through correspondence? I mean, I believe that was what my father intended to do when I came of age.”
“They can be, but I wanted to break with tradition. I wanted to make sure the woman wanted to be mine before I wed her.”
“Why?” she asked. “It makes sense, but there’s a sadness in your voice.”
How did she know? I walked back to my seat and finished peeling my orange, popping a sliver into my mouth and chewing. “I was betrothed at a young age to a princess from Aelawyn. Before we were wed, Tierney attacked her kingdom and killed everyone in the castle except her. The King of Tierney hid her in their lands with a peasant family. After searching for years, my father and I finally found her there, and then we helped her take Aelawyn back from Tierney. Our army fought for her, with the intention of restoring her to the throne.”
“Why didn’t you marry her?”
“Because she didn’t want to marry me. She had fallen in love with the local blacksmith’s son and wanted him instead—more than the Aelawyn crown, and more than her own kingdom. It was an unusual situation, but she asked me to be the interim King until another could be chosen by the people. So, I did as she asked.”
“Because you loved her,” she supplied.
I chewed another slice. “Because I loved her.”
“You still love her,” she offered, looking out at the water.
“Unfortunately.”
Raya hugged herself, her fingers curling tightly around her arms. It had been ten years since anyone wrapped their arms around her. “Be thankful you’ve had someone to love, Trevor. Some don’t get the chance at all.”
She was right. But unrequited love cut like a double-edged sword; clean, but deep.
Chapter six
RAYA
Tross joined us after Trevor finished his orange, and sweetly waited to receive more kisses from both of us. His breath smelled like the fish he’d just chomped on, but he was such a good boy.
Trevor was nice enough to go along with Tross’s infatuation, letting the bird sneak in two kisses in rapid succession. I think Trevor thought it was a phase that would pass in time, but Tross wasn’t like that. He was loyal. He’d be kissing the Prince for a very long time... I didn’t tell him that, though. It was too funny to watch his nose scrunch up afterward and see the way he furtively wiped his mouth after each kiss.
I even managed not to laugh this time.
“So, I guess we’ll need to do things a little differently, now that there are two of us living here. For example, bathing,” he ventured, clearing his throat.
“We can either take turns, or choose different days. I can wait at the bottom of the tower while you bathe, and you can do the same for me. Like we do with the chamber pot.”
“Good,” he agreed, standing up straighter and rocking back on his heels. “Do you happen to have a razor or scissors?”
“I have scissors,” I answered, hopping up from my seat and rifling in the cabinet drawer. I held them out to him by the blade.
“Thank God,” he mumbled. “I need to get rid of this beard. It’s itchy.”
I grabbed a bowl and filled it with water from the basin next to the sink. “I can heat water for you,” I offered.
I showed him where everything was and how to use the hearth to boil or cook with. There were iron rods with hooks on the ends that held pots over the flame. Tossing a few extra logs into the fire, I turned to him. “I can help if you want. I don’t have a mirror.”
He pursed his lips together. “No one’s ever helped me before, but I’d appreciate it. I’d probably cut myself without being able to see what I’m doing.”
An uncomfortable silence fell between us as the water heated and began to bubble. I took the pot off the fire and poured some into a bowl. “There’s a towel over there on the counter if you want to keep the hair off your clothes,” I offered, nodding toward it. He grabbed it and settled in one of the kitchen chairs, tucking it around his neck.
“How should I sit?”
“Can you lean back and tilt your head up? These scissors are sharp enough, I could probably shave you with them once I cut the scruff away.”
He nodded, but I saw the Adam’s apple bob in his throat as he swallowed. “Have you ever done this before?” he asked shakily.
“No, but I’ll be careful.”
He inhaled deeply as I brought the scissors near his skin. “Relax, Trevor. I won’t cut you.”
“Okay,” he breathed, quietly. His words were stiff, like he didn’t quite believe me, or maybe he heard the slight quiver in my voice when I tried to reassure him. It wasn’t from my lack of confidence, but from his close proximity. He made me nervous.
I snipped the first soft hairs off his jaw. “It would be horribly rude to cut the throat of your only friend.”
Tross snapped his beak loudly from across the room.
“Human friend,” I amended with a grin.
Trevor gradually relaxed and let me clip the hair away from his jaw. A short, patchy mess was all that remained. “I have some soap. Do you want to use it?”
“Some you made, or from another supply?”
“I found some bars in the lighthouse keeper’s trunks when I riffled through the blankets downstairs. He must have used them to keep things fresh. I have two left, but we can use one.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to use the last of your soap.”
I ignored him and walked to retrieve the small bar. It was our soap now, but he wouldn’t want to hear that. I dipped a towel in hot water and ran it down his neck. A quiet, deep rumble came from his chest. His eyes were closed, thankfully. I wiped him off and lathered the soap in my hands, spreading it onto his skin. “Ready?”
He let out a small moan. “Feels good.”
It was my turn to swallow. He was beautiful. His jaw was square and strong. His skin was tan, and his hair was golden, like a living testament that the winter season had no grasp on Galder. I raked the scissor’s sharp edge down his jaw, leaving the skin smooth and raking away the patchiness. When I’d gotten it as close as possible, I stepped back. “Looks good.”
His eyes slowly peeled open. “Feels amazing.” He ran his fingers over his skin. “Thank you.”
Tross was in front of him in an instant, begging for another kiss. I couldn’t help but laugh this time. “I think he approves,” Trevor chuckled, leaning down for the bird.
My stomach fluttered at the sight of him smiling at my albatross.
Which was silly. He’d already had a lifetime of more experiences than I had. He’d led a kingdom, seen the vastness of other lands, and had his heart trampled. He knew he wanted a bride from Roane, Halron, or Waverly. He certainly wouldn’t want to be trapped on an island with someone like me. I was too strange for him.
Being alone for so long did that to a person. But at least I was aware of it.
I cleaned the scissors and dumped the water outside the window. It froze before it hit the ground, the sound of shattering ice reaching my ears from below. When I turned back around, Trevor was petting Tross on the tummy like he was a puppy, and the spoiled bird was loving every second.
I was so glad Trevor was here. It was selfish and horrible of me to think it, but it was true. He made life easier. Better than it had been in so long.
“I’m going to climb the stairs for a bit.”
“Bored?” he asked.
I shrugged.
“Do you care if I wash up while you’re gone?” Trevor asked.
“Of course not. The wash tub is—”
“Under your cot. I’ve got it. I’ll knock when it’s safe again,” he teased.
As I stepped onto the stairs and lowered the hatch, a thousand thoughts assaulted me: his torso and the hard planes of him and how I wanted to study and sketch every line, the fact that he was real and here and thankfully didn’t die that night, and the fact that despite the fact it was a silly, girlish notion, I thought my heart would explode when he aimed his crooked smile in my direction. He could completely disarm me with that grin, and his gaze could destroy me altogether.
I was in big trouble. Because I knew that regardless of how I felt, someone else already owned his heart.
TREVOR
Once I was finished bathing, I knocked on the hatch and opened it, as promised, but Raya didn’t answer.
“Raya?”
There was no sound from below, so I pulled on my boots and walked down the steps. She wasn’t at the bottom. Where the hell did she go?
I pulled the door open, the wind fighting to keep it closed. “Raya!”
Outside, the ground was completely white, snow falling thickly from the sky. I could only see a few feet in front of me. Tross flew down to meet me, flapping his wings and walking into the squall. “Raya!” Something was wrong. “Tross, stay close to me!”
I didn’t want to lose sight of him.
I found her standing knee-deep in the water, tugging on a rope. I ran to her, splashing into the frigid ocean. She startled, turning to look at me. “What are you doing out here?” she yelled over the wind.
“What am I doing out here? What are you doing here?”
She gave another tug and a metal cage emerged from the water. I helped her pull it to shore. “Dinner!” she shouted triumphantly, opening a small door on the trap to reveal a large crab and a small, silver fish. The fish was dead and the crab had eaten part of its head.
She grabbed both, shoved them against my chest, and then waded back in to set up the trap in the water. Once it sank into the deeper waves and she was satisfied that the rope had disappeared, she ran out of the surf and onto the sand, toward the lighthouse.
I held the door open for her, shivers wracking her body as she stepped inside. “Are you insane?”
“What?” she panted.
“You went into the ocean during the middle of an arctic storm. It’s a blizzard out there!”
“We needed meat,” she muttered nonchalantly, basically shrugging me off. “We have to eat more than just fruit and bread, Trevor.”
Tross met us upstairs. “Your feet are so cold, they’re red,” I argued.
“So are yours, I’m sure,” she shot back with a smile.
My boots were full of water. I tugged them off with a slurp before stepping into the room. “You could’ve been killed,” I added stubbornly.
She took the seafood to the counter and walloped the crab with a mallet. “Trevor, I’ve done this almost every day for the past ten years. Don’t tell me how to survive here. I’ve never been sick, and I’ve never had an accident. Nothing is goin
g to happen to me.”
“You don’t know that,” I shouted over her hammering. “You aren’t invincible. You’re human, just like I am. You can get sick and you can get dragged under the waves. I saw grown men who’ve been on the sea their whole lives sink beneath the surface and not come back up. And I’ve seen women who were never sick a day in their life, take ill and be gone in a fortnight.”
I raked my hands through my hair. She was infuriating. And she suddenly went as still as the crab and fish laying on the countertop.
She slowly turned to face me.
“What?” I asked exasperatedly.
“Who did you lose?”
“What?”
“Who died? Was it your mother?” she asked.
“Yes, my mother,” I admitted softly. “She caught a fever and had pain in her stomach, and was dead thirteen days later.”
“I’m so sorry, Trevor. But you should know that nothing is going to happen to me.”
“You can’t be certain of that. You can’t be certain of anything.”
She winced. “Actually, about this, I am certain. The witch enchanted me, too.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“If I get cut, it heals within seconds. My hair is long because if I cut it, it’ll be the same length tomorrow. When she brought me here, I’d been growing it out for the Ball that was to be held for my thirteenth birthday,” she added wistfully. “Long hair was an important sign of womanhood in Paruth. It showed maturity, and women wore long braids and intricate styles to flaunt it. In addition to the fruit, water, and wood, she also encanted a spell over me before she flew away.”
“How long will her magic last?”
“I’ve thought about this often over the years,” she answered pensively. “Maybe it’ll disappear when I die. Or if I get off this island, maybe it’ll end. I don’t know. But it’s not like I’ll ever get off this rock, so it doesn’t matter.”
I braced my hands on my hips, determined. “We’re getting off this island.”
She gave me a look that insinuated she didn’t believe me, and I shot one back that begged her to trust me.
She calmly dried her hands on a towel and waltzed to the other side of the counter, which wasn’t long at all, but somehow her arrogant sashay made it seem like it was across the island. Then she grabbed the scissors before walking to the window.
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