Once upon a time, on a rocky island with enchantment under the ocean ... Cadence Bell left the windswept Northern Isles and his parents’ inn for the theaters and royal masques and glitter of Londre, swearing he’d make his fortune as a playwright and poet, trading fish stew and rain for fame and adoration and a place at the Queen’s Court. Now his parents are gone and Cade’s inheritance brings him back home, where he’d never wanted to return. But magic lurks beneath the waves, a stray pearl might be a key to another world, and even the quiet local schoolteacher has secrets of his own. Jeremiah Carver never meant to hide secrets. But he promised to tell no one about the other world he’s seen, and he keeps his word. Even if that means concealing magic from Cadence Bell. Which is difficult, since Cade’s not only a dazzling literary success, but also the person Jeremiah’s loved from afar since their years-ago childhood. And he’s afraid he’s falling for Cade all over again now. When Cadence falls under the siren spell of the ocean’s magic, Jeremiah has to make a choice and return to a world he’s left behind once before to rescue his heart from the sea.

Cadence and the Pearl

She had, of course, left him everything she’d loved.


He’d spent the last three months simply trying to stay afloat. The inn, the funerals, the strangeness of being home. The closed door to the innkeeper’s suite at the far end of the second floor.


He said to the silence of the night, “I should have come sooner.”


He hadn’t wanted to. He’d loved his life. His parents had known as much.


Jeremiah Carver had been helping them around the inn, fixing the stuck chimney, cleaning out the stables, for the last three years. Cade hadn’t known. Because he hadn’t been here.


“No,” he said. “That isn’t fair. They could’ve—I’d’ve come. If they’d written.” Of course, his pearl agreed voicelessly. Of course you would have. You’re a good person. You are.


Chapter 8