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I don’tthe selkie prince happy, she told me blandly I’m truly sorry if my choices have caused any stress between you

Yeah, and if I believed that … I didn’t need to see the sudden cagey look in her eye to know that she was playing me Of course, a lot of what she’d done lately see trouble between Kona andright into line with her schemes, was no one’s fault but Kona’s andall those crazy coet under Kona’s skin, but on direct order frohtforward approach wasn’t really Hailana’s style

Is that all you wanted? she asked To find out about Kona and Sabyn?

That was et up fro descended into the free-for-all our conferences so often becaet up and swim to the door, but in the end, I couldn’t do it There was another question burning inside of me, one that was so important I trembled with the need to have an answer

Te else?

What was my mother’s real job for you?

I’m sorry?

You say she was a priestess, say that she was your right hand You also tell me that you want me to follow in her wake, but you’ve never actually told me what she did for you

That’s easy Hailana’s eyes were frigid, ferocious, as they looked me over She did whatever I asked of her And she kept herit In ti

That was exactly what I was afraid of

Chapter 16

I was nureat that my mind just shut down I couldn’t help it, didn’t know if I even wanted to Anyand never, ever stop

I didn’t knohere to go, so I ended up wandering down the small, quaint streets at the back of the city They were lined with antique stores filled with goods froalleries with beautiful underwater sculptures and other waterproof art, even saltwater tea and taffy shops

I walked into ae and dulse iced tea As I waited for them to brew it, I walked over to the , looked out into the courtyard And saw Kona sitting there, nursing a Kouess I shouldn’t have been surprised to find him here--he was the one who first showed me this place, after all

The barista called ed to Hailana--her version of a salary for me--then rounded uplanced up when I slid into the seat next to hirin of his that had been ht it was a little ood, I told hiainst his bruised jaw

Yeah, well, you should see the other guy

I laughed, because I knew that hat he wanted I can i the ice against his face Neither of us said anything for a while, probably because we didn’t knohere to start Finally, figuring I ht as well jump in, I said, I was at--

He spoke at the exact same time I’m sorry

We both paused, s up froht could be so aard? Usually Kona just swooped me into his aruess this fight was too serious to just be swept away in the current …

I was a jerk I’m sorry, he told me I knew you were upset, but I was too furious to care It won’t happen again

I shouldn’t have gotten so angry, I answered I know Sabyn is a hot button for you, and if I’d just said eren’t together you would have calmed down and we could have talked