Page 66 of Ballad of Sea and Sky

I waited for further explanation, but none was forthcoming as we approached the lake. It seemed to tap on my mind with oily tendrils, curious about my water magic and what it might mean.

Cautiously, I opened my senses.

Anger and fear overwhelmed me and took me to the ground as the spirit in the lake latched onto my water magic. It pulled, as if it would drag my soul out to join it in its murky depths, and I screamed in silent agony and terror as I tried to beat it back.

There was nothing but darkness and rage. It wanted souls and pain and vengeance. It wanted to grow and devour beyond its watery confines and engulf the world in its anger.

And then, in the back of my mind, the sea rose, strong and steady with its own quiet rage. It formed a wall around the part of my mind that was Marina and the part that was Morar, and with a yank, I was free.

“Skies above,” Caspian croaked, his hand cupping my face and his whole body trembling as he held me. “What in the bleeding skies wasthat?”

That was Morar, Ran replied, clearly uncaring that Caspian couldn’t hear him.Are you well, Little Goddess?

“I’m fine,” I said, rising shakily with Caspian’s assistance. “Ran says it was Morar.”

“There is no way you are tackling this thing alone, Marina,” Caspian growled, glaring darkly at the kelpie, who surveyed me with mild interest. “Your eyes turned black and you screamed. What did it do to you?”

“I’m fine,” I insisted irritably, pushing out of his arms and struggling to my feet. “I just wasn’t prepared. The sea rescued me.”

“The sea,” Caspian repeated flatly as he stood. “This is dangerous magic, Marina. That thing is a poison. What if it poisons you? You can’t do this alone.”

I will teach her, Ran said, snorting irritably at Caspian’s fussing.

“And you don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do,” I snapped, poking Caspian in the chest and not bothering to translate. “All of my life, a different male has told me what to do and when to do it and what is expected of me. You willnotgive me orders now.”

“Urchin,” Caspian growled.

“No,” I hissed, cutting him off. “Ineedto help.“ I couldn’t explain it, but I felt like it was important that I help the kelpies. That maybe the seas had brought us here safely so that I could do this one task. “And you need to trust me.”

“I don’t trustit,“ Caspian hissed, pointing carelessly at the lake. He grabbed my shoulders and cupped my cheek, forcing me to meet his eyes. “What if it takes you from me, Marina?”

For a second, my anger waned in a flash of warmth and heat. I lifted my hands to cup his face.

“I know you are scared,” I started, trying to keep my tone even.

“Scared doesn’t begin to cover it, Marina,” Caspian said, his voice brittle. “I’m fucking terrified. I almost lost you twice already, and we haven’t even—”

He cut himself off, clenching his jaw tightly in frustration.

“We haven’t what?” I asked gently, bringing a thumb over his cheekbone. His eyes were a blazing gold as he pinned me with his gaze, and I could swear that I saw all of the unsaid things between us flash there as he tipped his forehead to meet mine.

“We haven’t even had a chance to see what this is,” he finished hoarsely. “To find out if it could be anything.”

“You know it can’t,” I whispered, feeling my heart crack a little. “What we did—”

“But what if itcouldbe?“ he interrupted, sounding a little desperate. “What ifthisis the way we end the war? By reuniting our peoples? By teaching them to respect each other by example.”

“So youdorespect me?“ I teased, my heart thundering with a combination of hope and despair. My people wouldn’t accept him, even if his would accept me, and I wasn’t willing to see him lose his wings or his life for me. And that’s what would happen, if I took him to my father and demanded peace based on something as frivolous as love.

“You are a remarkable person,” he replied, his voice low as if we were the only two people on the windy hillside. “Open and adventurous and caring and brave.”

“Not all of my people are like me, Cas,” I argued, thinking of Vitulus and my father and all of the selkies that weren’t open or adventurous. Perhaps I sold my people short, but I had seen the people in Nordhavn. We were still so far behind.

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” he murmured, one hand coming up to grip my neck as if he needed the support.

“The first time for what?” I whispered, wishing he would close the distance between us. “I thought the siren princess and the selkie prince were doomed, like the sea and the sky in your song?”

Caspian sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and then lifting his face to kiss my forehead in an annoyingly chaste gesture.