The Sea Siren

Chapter Fifty-Six

Vivian

"Antony..."

He turns, his eyes wide. "My god."

It all makes sense. Everything falling into place.

All the questions I had, the doubts... the suspicion I could be so wrong.

All of that is answered the moment we insert another party between us.

A deceit with unending consequences.

The waves batter our ankles but neither of us seem able to move. Hanging between us is the heartache I've been tirelessly running from, what he has so relentlessly pursued. His eyes, so like the ocean I love, are endless, the questions and realizations inside them vast. I'm tied to this spot, ordered by a magnetic force beyond what's known.

Many times before this man have I felt the world shift off-axis.

Each instance—earth shattering. Life-changing.

As if we were predestined to arrive at this, and every moment, we've shared together.

My chest is tight, recalling my traumas, trying to find bits of Antony in the midst of Michel's words... his brother's words. Because that's all they were. My heart shattered due to words spoken in the air, words that never even exited his own lips.

In the moment it mattered, I failed to believe in him.

The realities he showed me turned to ash within the walls of the palace.

I don't trust. I don't believe in the good of men... in love.

But standing here... frozen on this beach as the aftermath of war hangs in the air, there are no words to speak that could explain what I feel. A swarm of emotions, a wide range, steal my voice. My hands shake at my sides as he continues to stare.

At first, his stare feels beyond me... as if he's lost in my gaze, trying to understand.

I can tell when that changes—when his eyes lock onto mine, the incessant storm within them finally clearing. When he charged at me in that forest, they were haunted by rage. On the ship, filled with desperation. And now—a sad kind of relief.

He steps closer. His fingers hesitate before they graze my cheek, drifting down under my chin. When I dreamed, I imagined the warmth of his skin. It radiates from him like a fiery sun. I shift closer, closing my eyes when his hand spreads behind my neck, guiding me to him.

I exhale against his chest, listening to his raging heartbeat.

"You never wanted to fight... did you," he whispers, as a statement more than anything.

I shake my head, remembering how I promised I couldn't trust him... and how badly I ached to do just that when I was in chains. Trust he would come for me. Trust I could rely on someone. My hands land shakily between us, against his torn clothing. "You... would have come for me... wouldn't you?"

"I did." He draws me closer. "As soon as I heard."

My throat tightens, realizing what I've done... what I've taken from him. I see a flash of the king's eyes, as the light from my blade shown in them before lodging into his chest. It was an act of rage and sorrow combined. Now, despite the past, it feels like a mistake that cannot ever be undone.

A sever between us that cannot be threaded back together.

How do I explain?

Would he even want to hear it?

"I'm sorr—"

He cuts me off, his words sharp as a knife. "Don't. I cannot hear it."

I feel fear build. "Antony, please. Let me explain—"