Page 4 of Hymn of Breath and Bone

He nodded, lifting a hand to cup my cheek. “Are you alright, Marina? You’ve been…distracted today.”

Now. I should tell him now.

But my mouth was dry, and the idea made me feel queasy, so I lied, clutching the towels to my chest as if they would hide the truth. “Just anticipating certain promises being fulfilled,” I said sweetly, rising on my toes to kiss his cheek. “Later.”

“Later,” he agreed, his voice almost a growl. “We should…talk first.”

I nodded, my heart skipping as I realized that maybe he was feeling the same conflict as me. The same longing. The mating bond.

“I’ll go find us some dinner,” he said, taking a step away from me, leaving me cold. “Enjoy your shower.”

I tried very hard not to watch him walk away from me.

Chapter 2

Skies, I was afucking idiot.

The thought pounded through me as I flew from my rooms to the closed dining commons. The wind beneath my wings was usually enough to make any dark mood abate for a while, but this one lingered as I landed on one of the lower stone ledges, entering through a crevice disguised by a blanket of moss.

Ihadto tell her.

Ishouldhave told her the moment she woke up in my bed, but, idiot that I was, I thought I would have more time. Time to win her over, to train her, to show her our truths, and time to let her decide on her own whether to help us.

Whether to stay withme.

But the council was relentless.Shewas relentless. If I took her like she wanted—likeIwanted—the bond would lock into place, and she’d never be able to leave without both of us being permanently weakened. Marina had explained that selkie mates were chosen, the bond forged like the fae or the elves. But siren mates were more like the demons, the bond forged by the gods or destiny or whatever force governed our lives.

It wouldn’t kill me to have that bond stretched—siren couples could part for weeks at a time without too much ill-effect. But if Marina rejected the bond, rejected me…well, I might not die, but life certainly would not be worth living.

Not without Marina, and her fire and excitement over the most ordinary things. Like music! The fact that the selkies had banned music was a travesty, one I planned to rectify if we got our home back.

When, not if.

And the training! Why her father and betrothed thought it wise to keep her locked away rather than teach her to defend herself was beyond me. It had worked in my favor, of course, but I’d be damned if I let her go one more day without being able to fight off an assailant. She was too precious to risk it.

“Skies, Cas!” I nearly careened straight into Zephyr in my haze of self-doubt, and she caught me with a hand as if she weren’t a full two feet shorter than me. “What’s eating you?”

“Sorry,” I murmured, taking a step back from my petite first mate. “Thinking too hard.”

“That’s always a mistake,” chimed in Astraios as he rounded the corner with a dark-skinned, black-haired beauty I knew well and hadn’t seen for weeks.

“Hello, Ana,” I said, giving Zephyr’s mate a questioning smile. She and Astraios both carried bags of what smelled like food from the commons. “Long time no see.”

“Same to you, Sire,” Ana replied, her dark eyes flashing in amusement. She knew I hated it when she called me that.

“What, no greeting for me?” Astraios asked indignantly.

It took all of my willpower not to growl at him like I had in the training ring this morning.

“Maybe let him work off what’s chafing him first,” Zephyr cautioned, a hand on Astraios’ chest. “The mating bond, I presume?”

It certainly was a problem—the bond pushed me every second to claim my mate like some wild beast.

But Ana wasn’t supposed to know that.

“You told her?” I asked accusingly, looking at Ana. She winced apologetically, and Zephyr scowled at me.

“Of course I did. She’s my mate.”