Page 91 of Ballad of Sea and Sky

“I am not,” I argued, smoothing the skirts of the gown and feeling a bit self-conscious. I was dressed in typical siren fashion, my loose flowing gown fastening behind the neck and dipping low in the back. The dress was lovely, one that Cas had commissioned in a rush for this specific announcement—the first time we would appear together as a betrothed couple.

A fake betrothed couple, I reminded myself, feeling my heart thumping wildly as his golden eyes met mine.

Seas below, if this male could see inside my head, he would be running for the proverbial hills. The idea of staying here for a month, of exploring and learning and pretending with him—it was almost too good to be true.

It would be, if not for the gnawing guilt I felt about my parents and the worry they would be feeling.

But they sent Vitulus to kill everyone on the Argo, I reminded myself. They wanted me to mate him, even though I didn’t love him. He would have taken me back against my will.

They were not blameless, and if Caspian and Marella and others were to be believed, neither were my people. I would not feel guilty for trying to find a way out of this war.

“You look beautiful, Urchin,” he said, taking my hand to stop me from toying with the skirts. “Stop fussing.”

My heart jolted at the contact, my cheeks flushing against my will. Despite my physical improvement, Caspian has been irritatingly gentle with me. All I really wanted as our eyes met, a faint smile curving his lips as he took me in, was for him to kiss me senseless against the stone wall and rip the damn gown right off.

“You’re staring,” Caspian teased, pulling gently on a strand of my hair before tucking it back in place.

“I’m playing a role, remember?” I teased, batting my eyelashes at him. “I’m supposed to like you.”

“Very convincing,” he agreed amicably. “Although I should warn you now that it’s customary for a royal betrothal to be sealed by a kiss before the court.”

“You could be making that up and I would have no idea if it was true,” I argued, scowling at him as he grinned at me.

He was dressed in more finery than I had seen on him before, the leather pauldrons replaced with some kind of feather wrap that draped around his neck and over his shoulder. He wore a shining silver sword, more ceremonial than the one he had carried aboard the Argo, and a slim band of silver atop his head. A crown, I realized.

“True,” he shrugged, taking my hand in his and pulling me a little closer. “But it would be wise to show a…unitedfront today. I don’t need anyone getting ideas.”

“That you might not like me?” I joked, faltering when he didn’t smile back.

“That they might attempt to hurt you,” he corrected, pulling my arm through his. “They need to know that you’re mine.”

It was the second time he had verbally claimed me, and a strange possessive thrill went through me.

I wanted to be his, I realized. Fake betrothal and guilt and duty and honor aside, I wantedhim.That first spark of desire, the flash of golden eyes that I hadn’t been able to shake, had not simmered and fizzled as a fire in rain, but had grown to a blaze that was at risk of engulfing me whole.

He gave me a slightly stunned look for a moment, before grinning wickedly down at me.

“Whatever you’re thinking, Princess,” he purred, as someone beyond the curtained door announced our arrival. “Please don’t stop.”

“You’re the one who made certain unfulfilled promises to me,” I said, blushing furiously.

“Promises I fully intend to keep,” he murmured, voice sultry and eyes sparkling, “when you are healed and deemed fit forvigorousexertion. I swear to you, Urchin, it will be worth the wait.”

“Incorrigible,” I murmured, feeling far more desire than I should be. Was I feelinghisdesire?

“Prickly,” he replied, guiding me through the doorway to meet his people. “The sea to my sky.”

My heart lurched a bit, the ballad and our doomed history coming back to me. I told myself that this wasn’t the same as we emerged before a crowd of sirens, the room full of feathery wings and apprehensive, curious faces.

There was a smattering of applause and a host of interested murmuring and hushing as Caspian strode to the edge of the dais, dragging me with him. He faced his people and announced clearly and proudly, “My people, allow me to introduce you to my mate.”

Mate.

The word clanged through me, and suddenly something slotted into place, hitting me with the force of a blow as a grain of absolute truth settled in my heart.

Ran had been correct.

Caspian was my mate. Not justpretendingto be my mate.

He was the sky to my sea. The other half of my soul. I’d been feeling his feelings and desires since the moment I awoke from the lake. And based on how he had looked and me and read my like a book, he had been feeling mine.

And, seas, Iwantedto be his. Wanted our fake betrothal to be real, and our mating to be real, and I had no idea if he already knew that I was in love with him.

Seas below, how was I going to tell him?