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

The Sea King said, face shifting between recognizably male, female, androgynous and in between, “He may leave—”


Jeremiah’s second “Thank you” of agreement landed without skipping a beat; Cade said, “What?”


They scowled at him: capricious and motherly and disapproving of an unruly child. “You heard us.”


“I’m taking your place,” Jeremiah explained. “Magic. Rules. Your bargain was for one person. Don’t argue.”


“It is, after all, a favor,” the Sea King observed, fingering a manuscript Cade had carried off from a captain’s log. “We are allowing you to choose. Even after you arrived withoutan invitation.”


“I had one,” Jeremiah said, “once.”


“Yes,” the Sea King said, “and we shall certainly inform our son that you’ve returned; he’ll be pleased.”


Cade, at this new information, stared at Jeremiah; the target of his silent shouting questions refused to look over, and said to the infinite eyes of the ocean, “So let Cade go.”


Chapter 18