Page 52 of Broken Hearted
My stomach flipped when she referred to me as his princess. Part of me felt like I needed to correct her, but I stayed silent for reasons that eluded me.
Kira glanced up at the sky and frowned. It was still daylight, but it appeared that night would fall shortly. I almost couldn’t believe that we’d spent most of the day in the waters, battling the sea and sirens, although the exhaustion pulling at my mind and body told me it was true. I suppose multiple near-death experiences distorted my sense of time.
“It’s not safe to approach the belly of the sea in the dead of night,” Kira went on, her gaze dropping back to Adrien and me. “The sirens have the advantage in the dark waters. Their ability to see with little to no light is better than ours, so we’ll have to wait until early morning when they no longer have the upper hand. We’ll leave right after sunrise.”
Twisting, she gestured toward a mermaid and merman behind her, who both came forward. I couldn’t see until they were closer that they carried items in their hands. Freshly caught fish on a bed of seaweed, a large glass jar of water, and something that looked like folded clothes.
“Here,” Kira said, and Adrien and I approached the water to gather their offerings. Adrien took the fish and water, and I accepted the folded clothes. Although the material was like nothing I’d ever seen before. It was stretchy and iridescent, like a fish scale, but soft to the touch.
“Food to regain your strength and clothes for the female,” Kira explained, and I gave her a quizzical look, but when I glanced down at myself I immediately knew what she meant.
After everything that had happened today, I’d completely forgotten I was still in my wet nightgown that was most definitely see-through. With a gasp, I brought the clothing up to cover my chest, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks.
I supposed modesty wasn’t the most important thing right now, but with my wet nightgown, I was practically naked.
“These clothes are special and will help you move more freely in the water tomorrow,” Kira explained.
“Thank you,” I said in a rush.
Kira and Adrien exchanged a couple more pleasantries and then decided on a time to leave the following day. It was agreed that we would sleep on the island tonight and then leave just before sunrise when the sirens were the most vulnerable.
Kira urged us to rest up and then she and the other merfolk disappeared into the sea.
The sun was beginning to set, and Adrien said that he and the men would create a makeshift camp for us for the night. I excused myself and walked a ways into the jungle, far enough that the men couldn’t see me, but not so far that if I shouted, they wouldn’t hear me.
I quickly shed my heavy, wet nightgown and pulled on the clothing the merfolk had given me. When I was dressed, I looked down at myself, not sure if I was more modestly dressed now or in the wet white nightgown.
The clothes they’d given me were a tight-fitted sleeveless top that swooped low in the front, and a pair of leggings that ended to my ankles. The parts of me that should have been covered were, but the material fit so snuggly to my body that every curve was exposed.
I looked at the nightgown I’d discarded on the ground by my feet and considered putting it on over the clothes, but I couldn’t make myself put the torn and sandy garment back on. Adrien and his men would just have to deal with what I was wearing.
When I emerged from the jungle, the sailors had pulled large palm leaves from the surrounding trees and were making pallets to sleep on. They’d also collected a pile of coconuts.
No one noticed me for a few moments as I approached. Mathis,the first one to see me, stopped with his hand outstretched as he was about to add another coconut to the stack. His face went slack, and he blinked at me without uttering a word, and I suddenly wished I’d forced myself to don the wet gown.
“Mathis,” I heard Adrien shout from somewhere in the jungle behind him. “What are you doing over there? The men could use your help pulling more palm leaves.”
I was about to turn and flee when Adrien appeared, having just walked out of the trees behind the young sailor. He followed Mathis’s gaze to me and then it looked like he caught his breath. His eyes flared as they ran over me, and I had the dueling urge to both cover myself and also turn so he could see even more.
Adrien began walking toward me slowly, and my throat went dry. “Go help the others,” he said, dismissing Mathis, who finally shook himself free of whatever trance he was in.
He rushed away with a mumbled, “Yes, Cap’n.”
Adrien kept walking until he was standing right in front of me. I licked my suddenly dry lips, and his gaze caught the motion as more heat infused his eyes.
I held my breath, at a loss for words, as Adrien continued to just stand there and stare at me.
I don’t think anyone has ever looked at me the way he was looking at me then. Like he wasn’t just seeing me, but that he was drinking me in.
“Umm. This is what the merfolk gave me. The nightgown was torn and dirty,” I said, feeling like I needed to explain.
“I think I owe Kira an even bigger debt than I did before,” he said, his meaning clear. He liked the outfit. And despite myselfand my refusal to consider Adrien as my mate, I couldn’t deny that I liked that he liked it.
“I’m sure it will be much better to swim in this,” I said.
“Mmm,” Adrien said and nodded, letting his gaze run down my front another time.
The look was so potent, it might as well have been a physical touch and heat rushed to my cheeks and elsewhere.
