you remember anything you told me before you died? I thought that your name was Catherine because when you died the first time, you had Catherine's ID in your wallet. Last time we met, you told me that Catherine was your sister, and your name was Alice Shaw. You were the one who died the first time, not Catherine, even though you had her ID. You don't remember all that?"
Alice grimaced. "No." When had she told him Catherine was her sister? Why? She reserved that lie for people who were too close to the truth, and for her own private moments of fantasy. What did he know? Frustrated, she shoved her wet hair out of her face. Why couldn't she remember? How much time had she spent with this man? All she recalled were the flashes of passion, of intense desire, of a connection so strong that it terrified her.
"What do you know about him?" Ian didn't move, but he was watching her with raw intensity.
Alice squeezed the water out of the ends of her hair, the strong wind chilly. "Why? Why do you care about him?" Anything having to do with Warwick was dangerous. Was the wizard why Ian had been hunting her? She felt like her world was spiraling out of control, and she was fighting desperately for balance. And the pearl, God, the pearl. Did the Mageaan have it?
"Because he cursed my family," Ian said. "It's time for the curse to end. I need to find him to make it happen."
Alice sensed the urgency in his voice, the desperation in his eyes. For a split second, her shields fell, and his emotions came tumbling over her. Grief, despair, guilt, and intense determination. Recognition pulsed through her, and she touched his arm briefly. It was exactly how she felt, every minute of every day. "I need to find him to save my sister." Again the lie about Catherine's true identity. If she'd chosen to lie to him the first time, she must have had a reason. "Cardiff has her."
Anticipation gleamed in his eyes. "Any leads?"
"Some." Alice instinctively glanced over her shoulder where her pearl had disappeared. "Warwick's lands are on an island in the ocean. It's protected by magic, and it's impossible to find, unless you know where it is."
Ian's eyes narrowed as he looked out across the waters. "A hidden island," he murmured thoughtfully. "That explains why I was never able to find it." He glanced at her, his gaze so sharp she could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. "You've found it?"
She shook her head. "No, not quite. Have you heard of the Mageaan?"
Ian shook his head. "No. Who are they?"
"Fallen angels sentenced to an eternity of suffering in the oceans. Over time, they lose their humanity, both their souls and their physical bodies, until they are mere ghosts, bound to the ocean."
He raised his brows. "Weird that I've never heard of them."
"Angels like to keep secrets," she said. "The Mageaan own the oceans, and they know everything that goes on. But they are vile and hateful and will help no one unless it's to their benefit." She hesitated, and then decided not to tell him about the pearl. No one could know about it. "I had something they might be willing to trade for, but I lost it."
"The pearl."
She felt the blood drain from her face. "What pearl?" she hedged.
Ian laughed softly. "Sweetheart, you have to start keeping track of what you tell me during moments of stress. You were shouting about it when I kept you from plummeting to your death about two minutes ago." He raised his brows. "I'm one of those guys who actually listens when his woman talks. I'm a rare breed. Dangerous, apparently, since you aren't expecting me to hear you."
She would have laughed at his humor, which she had to admit was sort of appealing, except she was entirely too strung-out to find amusement in the situation. He might know she'd lost a pearl, but he had no way of knowing it was the pearl of Lycanth. "Okay, yes, it's a pearl. An old one that was reportedly stolen from their treasures a thousand years ago. It has no value, except to them." A partial truth, enough to be able to look him in the eye while saying it, but obscure enough to hide the secrets he couldn't know. "But I dropped it in the water. That was my last chance."