So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)(70)

A look of alarm crossed his face as he rose to his feet. “Then you know…?”

“You’re the lost prince.”

He stiffened, his hands clenching into fists.

She winced. From the look on his face and the tension radiating off his body, she could tell she’d given him an unwanted shock. “It will be all right, really. I would never tell anyone.”

He scoffed, then wandered into the water.

She watched with increasing alarm as he went deeper and deeper into the pool. “Rupert, what are you doing?”

He glanced back at her, a tortured look on his face. “Nineteen years. I kept my identity a secret for nineteen years. Only Stefan and Ansel knew.” With a grimace, he pounded a fist through the water. “Dammit to hell! You figured it out in five days!”

He’d gone from shock to anger. She didn’t know which was worse. “Well, I…” She attempted a placating smile. “I tried to warn you about my gift. I’m very good at finding lost things. Even lost princes.”

With a frustrated groan, he slapped the water again. A wind whistled through the grotto, churning up the water. “Dammit.” He closed his eyes, and his chest expanded as he took deep breaths.

He was truly her tall and handsome stranger, Brigitta thought. The moonlight shone down on him, illuminating the sharp lines of his jaw and the wide breadth of his shoulders. The golden strands in his light-brown hair gleamed with starlight. And all those muscles—he looked so incredibly strong, yet at the same time so alone and vulnerable. Her heart ached for him. If only he could accept her in spite of who she was.

His eyes opened and he regarded her sadly. “I don’t know what to do with you.”

Her heart squeezed and tears gathered once again. “That’s all right. I know what to do.” She stepped toward him, her bare toes reaching the edge of the water. “That’s why I came here tonight. I want to offer my services. I’ll go with you and help you set things straight.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “I’m not letting you endanger yourself.”

“I have to help you. It’s the only way I can atone for the crimes of my family. Please let me—” A tear rolled down her cheek, and she impatiently brushed it away. “It nearly kills me to think how much you’ve suffered because of my—”

“Stop,” he growled. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“But I have to do something! What my family did to you was unforgivable. I’ll help you with your revenge, and I’ll earn your trust. I swear it.” With trembling legs, she lowered herself onto one knee. “Your Majesty.”

His face went pale. “Shit.” He plunged into the water and swam toward the left side of the grotto.

That was not the reaction she’d hoped for. With a sigh, she plopped down onto the beach and watched him swim. He was doing laps back and forth from the left wall to the right one, where the rope ladder was hanging. Perhaps he just needed to think. Or work off some tension.

She still needed to persuade him to let her help, but she had a bad feeling that he would not be easily convinced. What she needed was a plan. As he swam, her mind raced with ideas of what she could do.

He finally stopped in front of the ladder, his hands gripping a rope rung while he leaned forward to catch his breath. She followed the sandy path around the pool till it ended with a flat rock that jutted out a few inches above the water.

She settled on the rock, not far from him. Then she lifted her skirt just enough to dangle her feet into the pool. “I can see why you like this place. The water is so nice and warm.”

He scowled without looking at her.

“Are you ready to talk now?” she asked. “I’ve been thinking, and I have a few ideas how—”

“I’ve been thinking, too. You’ll need to stay here on the island.”

“But I have a plan—”

“I will not let you risk yourself.” He turned to face her, the water up to his chest. “You don’t owe me anything. What happened was not your fault.”

“I was used to lure your family to their doom. So I will help you, whether you like it or not.”

“Dammit, Brigitta! Don’t make me force you to stay here!” Another breeze swept through the grotto.

“Then don’t!” She scooted forward till she was sitting on the edge of the rock with her lower legs immersed in water. “You said I had the right to decide my own destiny.”

With a wince, he turned to the ladder and muttered a curse.

“My decision has been made,” she continued. “I expect you to honor that.”

He dragged in a deep breath and turned toward her. “I cannot bear for you to be in danger. And I will not use you to further my cause. When you were a babe, I made a vow that I would protect you.”

Was he still trying to keep the betrothal vows after everything her father had done? Tears collected in her eyes once again. “I was too young then to return the vow, but I can make one now. I will help you regain the throne. And I will earn your trust.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “How could I ever betray you when I’m in love with you?”

His eyes widened with a stunned look.

She sat back, hastily wiping her cheeks. Good goddesses, that was more than she’d intended to confess. Mortified, she pulled her legs out of the water.