Sound of Sirens

Chapter 4

It's Royce.

What the heck is he doing here? I blink up at him in confusion. Am I in his way? Has he mistaken me for someone else?

"Hi," he says, his deep voice melodic like his music.

Why is he talking to me?

"Hello," I reply stiffly. "Ehm... can I help you with something?"

"Actually, yes." He smiles, and I hate myself for staring at him. He's gorgeous, in an old, Frisian-god-kind-of-way. "I always come here to pick up the latest music from the mainland, and I think one of the LPs I've been waiting for has accidentally ended up with that sailor's record haul."

I follow his gaze when he stares pointedly at my hand still clutching the useless LP.

"You – but this is mine," I say. "Sytse got it for me. As a special gift."

"Ah." The worried frown I spotted before creases his forehead again. "Well – okay. That's unfortunate."

"What's so unfortunate about getting a present?" I snip.

Royce stares at me for a second and then laughs, his eyes lighting up. "Nothing. I'm happy your boyfriend is bringing you gifts, of course."

"My brother," I mumble, blushing when I realize I feel the need to point that out, somehow.

"Fine. Your brother. I mean it's unfortunate for me. Since that is the only copy the ships seem to have brought in."

Royce looks at me expectantly, as though I should fall down to my knees and prostate while offering him the much-coveted LP. I narrow my eyes at him and stubbornly cross my arms.

"So..." he continues when I don't say anything back. "How much do you want for it?" His hand drifts down to his back pocket, probably to whip out his fat, loaded wallet.

I gasp. The arrogance – the sheer impudence of presuming everything is for sale, even gifts meant for others. I take a step back and glare at him. "I don't want anything for it. I intend to keep it myself."

I know it's ridiculous, and I know he knows that. I will never listen to this LP in my lifetime. The best thing to do is to make him pay through the nose for it and do something awesome with all his cash. But I don't feel like being reasonable. I want him to feel like me for once. Like a have-not.

Royce blinks in surprise. "Why?"

"Because Sytse picked it out for me especially," I say. "He said it was the most beautiful music he'd ever heard and I would love it too. He knows my taste in music. Besides, why would I sell a gift? That's really ungrateful."

The dark-haired Current boy bites his lip, seemingly to stop himself from smiling. "Well, you have a point there," he admits. "But you can't listen to it. Unless you have a secret LP player stashed away somewhere." His eyes bore into mine as though he's expecting me to actually confess to something like that.

"I don't." I roll my eyes. "And if I did I wouldn't tell you."

Royce chuckles. "Well. This looks like a stalemate to me. I want to listen to the LP, but I can't because you have it. You want to listen to the record, but you can't because you have no equipment. That's pretty messed up. Now nobody gets to enjoy it."

"I'm not selling it," I repeat, staring him down with as much courage as I can muster. I don't know what he'll do. Maybe he will call his lackeys to have me mugged on my way home. Maybe he'll do it himself, even. He looks really strong. I never really noticed how muscular he actually is.

Royce doesn't look away. He seems to be contemplating something. When he finally speaks, he says something I don't understand at all.

"You know the abandoned village of Stortum?"

Everyone does. It's a settlement north-west of Kinnum, destroyed by a storm surge in the time of my grandparents. It was never built back up again.

I nod. "I do. Why?"

"Because my grandparents used to own a cottage there. On the High Land."

"And?"

"And now it's mine. I repaired it and use it as a sort of retreat. There's an electric piano there so I can practice without being disturbed by people. I – need to clear my head sometimes, and Brandaris is just too crowded for that."

"Sounds great," I say a bit sullenly, but my words are sincere. Royce sounds like he doesn't enjoy the Current lifestyle all that much. I understand why he would want to seek solitude.

"Meet me there," he continues, lowering his voice. "But don't let anybody see you."

"Uhm – why?" I ask, sarcasm lacing my voice. "Why would I want to sneak away to your little love nest slash music studio?"

"Sshh," Royce urges me, looking around him furtively. Then, he shoots me an incredulous look. "You got the wrong idea. Trust me, my intentions are honorable." An amused glint in his eyes makes me blush again. Of course his intentions are honorable. No Current would touch a Skylger girl like me with a ten-foot pole. I don't even know why that comment about his 'love nest' slipped out. Somehow, his musical retreat center morphed into something quite different in my perverted mind. Maybe because of the way he asked me to meet him there. I could kick myself.

"So what are your intentions?"

He inches closer and whispers: "I have an electronic turntable there. So we can both listen to the LP. We'll share it. Okay?"

I blink up at him owlishly. I hate to admit it, but that's actually a pretty brilliant idea. And very considerate of him – I bet he could force me to give up Sytse's gift if he really wanted to.

"Uhm, okay," I stammer. "When?"

"Tonight. Six?"

"No." I shake my head. "I'll be having dinner with my dad and brother. Eight o'clock."

He nods. "Eight it is. I'll leave the light on outside so you can find me."

"Good." I take a step back and bite my lip. "See you."

"Soon," Royce says, smiling faintly.

I turn around and dash off into the crowd, trying to catch up with Dani and Sytse. I find that the Jyoti LP fits perfectly in my backpack.