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

His pearl, in his hand, glowed. A moon, a drop of luminosity, a handheld guide of foxfire. It let him see each step.


He thought of a phrase, a face. Someone who’d said something, once. To Cade himself: I thought maybe out of everyone you would’ve also seen—


Seen magic, he thought. Because magic was real. This was real.


He was aware that he should remember that someone’s face. He tried, but it seemed unimportant. Some tiny piece of his brain shouted that this might be a problem. He ignored this in favor of discovery. He did not have to care. He did not need to think of the land, not now.


A strange hollow pain flickered under his breastbone, in his chest, but he did not focus on it, so it went away, or he thought it did.


Chapter 14