Page 61 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

If this is the beginning of my undoing, then let it come. For I have never wanted anything the way I already want him.

My pulse thrums in my ears. I read the entry over and over again, certain I am misunderstanding the writer’s words.

The human prince visited the Fae. That is shocking, but not nearly as shocking as the feelings she described.

They are undeniably similar to how my power responds to Rian.

I dare a glance up and suck in a breath.

The Shadow Prince’s oars slice through the sea in smooth, even strokes. His torso leans forward then arches back gracefully, muscles rippling. He does it all while holding my stare.

My pulse continues to race, beating through my veins like a drum.

I should continue reading the diary to learn more—to see if the author puts a name to the unsettling emotions she described upon meeting the human prince.

To see if I can figure out why it feels next to impossible to look away from Rian’s silver-flecked stare.

But what if I don’t like what I find?

I bite my bottom lip.

Rian’s shadows have been lying dormant on his shoulders, draped over his back like a cape. Now they twitch.

Heat floods into my veins, flowing through my entire body.

Not even Lev—the boy I thought I loved for most of my life—ever stirred anything like this within me. This feels sharper. Hungrier. Like if I gave Rian the slightest opening, he wouldn’t simply take me apart—he would consume me.

My skin tightens, hypersensitive.

Rian’s eyes flare silver. The space between us feels fragile, stretched thin by restraint alone.

If Silas weren’t sleeping between us, I’m certain Rian would close the distance.

And Gods help me, I would let him.

Which is likely why there’s a barrier between us.

The Gods are watching.

They pull at unseen threads and play the world to their tune, orchestrating our lives with unknowable motivations for desired outcomes.

It’s the only explanation for what happens next.

The sea to our left erupts. A maelstrom tears through the water, seizing the boat and wrenching us violently off Rian’s course.

I’m thrown sideways, the bench slamming into my ribs and punching the air from my lungs.

Silas rolls with a sharp curse, his head cracking against the boat with a sickening thud.

He jerks upright, clutching the back of his skull. “What the fuck?”

“Virendrellians,” Rian hisses, pulling the oars back onto the boat and then throwing his arms out toward the swirling sea that’s dragging us in. “They’re attacking.”

I grip the edge of the boat and scan our surroundings. I don’t see anything.

Rian’s shadows soar from his hands and create an onyx wall between us and the water. The boat crashes into the structure, and I fall onto my ass.

Rian’s power bends, but it doesn’t break. The wall doesn’t stop the water from continuing to pull us, but it does prevent us from meeting the swirling danger on the other side. The prince throws more shadows into the structure.