Siren - Hazel Grace Page 0,86

doing up?” I ask, shoving my hands into my pant’s pockets.

I’m in need of a drink, my ship, and the open fucking sea to erase Davina out of my mind, almost forgetting about the stowaway I saved that now I needed to rid myself of.

“Couldn’t sleep,” she whispers loudly as I continue toward her room. “I’m taking it that you couldn’t either?”

“Something like that.” I stop along the guard’s body and give him a curt nod. “I’ll take responsibility for the guest.”

“Her Majesties have stated I stay around her at all times,” he deadpans.

I shrug. “Then follow me down the hall to my room I guess.” Jerking my head for Vlatka to follow me, the padding of her feet rhythmically sound through the night air. The ocean’s breeze sifts through the stone pillars, the wide-open spaces giving a perfect view of the shoreline below.

When we get to my bedroom, the guard does what he stated he was going to do and plants himself outside of it. Thankfully, I’ve left enough brandy in my room for special occasions, and this would be one of those I-want-to-burn-every-memory-of-this-place-within-my-head kind of moments.

“Do you want anything to drink?” I ask, making my way to the small hutch.

“Sure,” she replies, stepping deeper into the room. It’s padded in a deep red, the only room in the house without blues and teals decorating the walls and furniture. Davina had this room done specifically for me. Pine bed frame and chairs with cushions of red velvet. Deep dressers to hold all my clothes and a hutch to store my belongings. A perfect view of the back garden that also allowed a nice breeze to waft through my room.

I need to get out of here.

“Do you often walk around at night?” Vlatka inquires behind me.

“No.”

“It must be your sea legs that make land uncomfortable,” she continues.

I pour a generous amount of brandy into my chalice. “Something like that.” Finishing off my glass and then hers, I offer the drink to her before downing mine in one gulp.

“Is something wrong?” she asks with perfectly shaped brows that descend in worry.

“Nothing’s wrong.” I smack my lips together, letting the bitter taste hit my tongue and sink into my empty gut. “We’ll be leaving here tomorrow.”

She takes a small sip of her liquor, which immediately makes her face twist from the pungency of it. “Okay,” she squeaks, then wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “I haven’t been feeling too well here. I think it’s the air.”

I snort. It’s more than that. It’s fucking magic that shouldn’t be here.

Pouring myself another glass, I turn around to see Vlatka give the drink another try, but she purses her lips again.

I reach for her glass and gently pry it from her fingers. “You don’t have to be polite. It’s not for everyone.”

“Thank you.” She starts fidgeting with her fingers as I rid myself of her beverage.

“Are you uncomfortable? Would you like me to walk you back to your room?”

She shakes her head and tucks a piece of her dark hair behind her ear. “No, not at all.”

“Then what is it?”

Her green eyes glance up at me from the floor, slamming into my chest because they are almost the exact shade of Davina’s.

“I’ve been having difficult thoughts.”

“Difficult thoughts?” I raise a brow, lifting my drink back up to my lips. “About what?”

“You.” She bites down on her lower lip, and it’s then that I notice how plush and pink they are. How her breast fit snugly in her mint green dress and the curves of her hips.

“Me?”

She nods. “I was wondering how it’d be if I—” She stops immediately, a faint blush creeping up her cheekbones.

I gesture with my brandy for her to continue. “Please, go on.”

Taking a timid step toward me, she hauls her eyes back to meet mine—innocent, shy, and completely human.

Maybe that was the problem all along.

Building myself into a fantasy when I knew that they didn’t exist in the real world. The island was my getaway to be free from the reality of not being able to find Lorne and how many times I’ve failed.

“I want you to kiss me,” she blurts through my thoughts. I begin to choke on my drink, pounding my fist into my chest to relieve the shock of her words.

She rushes to me, hitting my back softly with her palm like it’s going to do anything. My mind replays her declaration again in my head as I clear my throat, hastily downing the rest