Ashlyn hasn't spoken a word since the age of eight, and her heart's never felt more protected. But, when the confident and ever so charming Derek stumbles into her quiet little world, her emotions-and forbidden desires-have never been so loud.
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"Why don't you want him to save you? Don't you love him?" Sage looked down at her feet, her words coming out in a broken mumble. The sorrow and confusion that Sage spoke with was a spear to Ashlyn's heart. She didn't even know where to begin on trying to explain the complicated mess that was her feelings.
Ashlyn glanced towards Derek, her lower lip drawn between her teeth, as she gestured for him to help. Derek crouched beside Ashlyn and placed a finger under Sage's chin, drawing her face up to look at him.
"Sweetie, sometimes things aren't that easy. Sometimes the witch uses magic that the prince can't break. Sometimes a person needs to do it on their own, and that's okay too." He turned his head to smile at Ashlyn.
Ashlyn listened as Derek chose his words carefully, so as not to shatter all of the magic that they believed in.
The childlike innocence that Poppy and Sage believed in caused an aching in Ashlyn's chest. At that moment, she envied them for the simplicity which they saw things in. She didn't dare to answer, even when Derek glanced her way for assistance. She couldn't squash their hope, not when she wished they could have been right.
Was it so wrong that at that moment, Ashlyn wished the magic was real? That a simple kiss from this man could heal her wounds and wipe away the darkened blots of pain and fear that had been stamped across her heart?
"But you love her, and she loves you. Don't you?" Poppy whined, coming up to Derek's side as she looked at both he and Ashlyn on his other side. The glance that Ashlyn cast in Derek's direction did little to conceal the questions she'd meant to ask him earlier before they'd been interrupted. Had the twins so easily seen through the facts that she herself couldn't decipher?
Rose filled Derek's cheeks, his gaze wavering before he glanced back at Poppy, a twisted look possessing him. Fear, longing, and something less familiar went to war in his expression, filling his mouth and cheeks. He was a man at war with the thoughts that plagued within.
Ashlyn knew that she hadn't been wrong before when she'd challenged him on what it was that he really wanted to say. The way he was behaving at that moment was evidence of this. But who was she to challenge him when she harbored her own secrets that she'd dared not give voice to.
This time when Derek looked her way, Ashlyn returned the gesture, wondering how he was going to respond to Poppy's insinuation. Hope beat like a bongo drum in anticipation. The same blush he'd worn earlier when the sea had kissed their ankles returned, alluding to the things he'd meant to say.
Derek pulled Poppy close, while Sage shifted closer to hug Ashlyn's side.
"You've been watching The Little Mermaid again, haven't you?" Derek chuckled, chucking Poppy under the chin.
An expert diversion, Ashlyn thought as Poppy's smile returned. Ashlyn's smile was discreet as she rested her cheek atop Sage's head.
A classic tale, and one of Ashlyn's favorites from her childhood. She couldn't help drawing the parallels between hers and Ariel's lives. The silence that had defined them, betrayals of the heart, the craving for something more beyond the deep. At least Ariel had gone after what she'd wanted. She'd seized every opportunity and taken control of her own fate.
