can stop it, I’m going to. Whether she gets pissed at me or not.
Snatching her upper arm, I turn her around to face me. “You’re not allowed to leave upset, remember?”
Her green eyes burrow into my browns and remain there. “But I am upset. You just put us at more of a risk.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” I retort. “And I will be keeping my eyes on the Viking while I’m here too.”
“That’s under control.”
“How?”
“Seven sirens versus one Viking, who do you think is going to win?”
“But who is going to protect your heart, Princess?” She blinks, didn’t expect me to call out what I think is already happening, which she just confirmed. “Something happened, I know it did. I should’ve never left you.”
“You have to find Lorne.” Slowly, she pulls herself out of my grasp. “That’s important.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever find him,” I allude with a shake of my head. “He’s starting to fade from my memory. Every year that passes makes it more blurry. I think I should just let him go.”
Her brows furrow. “You can’t. He’s out there, I can feel it.”
“Can you?” I try to smile but fall short with a quirk of my lips. “I don’t know, Princess. He escapes me every time. Maybe he doesn’t want to be found.”
“Maybe he’s scared.”
I shrug. “Don’t know.”
“Tobias—” Her palm comes up to my chest. “Don’t lose hope.”
“It’s gone, slipping further away each day he still remains missing.” I place my hand over hers. “I’ll be okay.”
“So you’ve decided to pick up damsels in distress instead? You can’t give up on Lorne.”
“I already told you,” I seethe. “She was hurt.”
“Then take her to the next port.”
“I was already halfway here.”
“She needs to go.”
“Davina,” I warn. “I promise you that—”
“I don’t want your promises.” Her brows furrow in frustration. “I want you to keep this island safe. Now she’ll know about us and speak about how there are Sirens here that can walk and talk to her.”
“She won’t know you’re—”
“That’s if we can keep her locked up in a room.” She looks over to her left. “Which I should go do right now.”
“Davina, I’ll—”
“You have to choose,” she snaps. “Me or her.”
“What?”
“Me or her. She has to go.”
“So you don’t trust me anymore? What happened when I was gone?”
She pulls her hand from mine. “You have until tomorrow.” She begins to stomp away, but I grab her again.
“What’s wrong? Tell me. You used to tell me everything.”
“It’s best you don’t know a thing, Tobias. I’ve been trying to tell you that for years. The more you know, the more of a liability you’ll be. The more I can’t protect you. It’d kill me to see you die over something you shouldn’t know.”
“Your sisters should know me by now,” I defend. “You’ve always been someone I’d protect.”
“But you just betrayed it. You brought some pretty raven-haired woman here and—”
“Is that what this is about? Another woman?”
“No,” she retorts quickly. “It’s about protecting my family.”
I brush back a piece of her hair with my index finger. “You are my family. You’re everything to me.” I cup her cheek. “Everything.”
“I think you should leave,” she mutters, tucking her chin into her chest. “It’s not a safe time for you to be here.”
“Davina—” I tuck my hand under her jaw and lift it to meet my face. “—I’d never leave you when your world is crumbling.”
Quickly, she wraps her arms around my body in a hug, squeezing me for dear life, admitting my fears that there is so much more to the story than what she wants to tell me.
“You will fall victim to this if you don’t leave me,” she utters into my chest. “And the only way I can preserve you is if you never come back.”
My next intake of air seizes in my lungs.
Just the thought of never seeing Davina again stabs at my chest. It sends me into a state of anxiety and heartbreak because I’d die for this woman in a heartbeat with no questions asked.
“How can I leave you when I love you?” I assert in a low whisper. “It’s like taking my next breath and never giving it back.”
“It’s because I’ll watch you take that last breath and I’d die right along with you.” She peers up at me. “Please don’t put me through that.”
I lower my head. Shit, I’ve been doing it for years with coming here and the possibility of running into her father, who would smite me down as quickly as