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

Seft, it turned out, was a musician and a healer; Peter lifted eyebrows in surprise, and she said, “They’re linked, aren’t they? The song, the vibrations, the tissues of the body…the shapes we take…I’m interested in yours.”


“She means the general,” Jeremiah said, appearing at his elbow. “Not the specific. We’re waiting on one more.”


“Oh, maybe the specific,” Seft mused, and winked at Peter. His cheeks burned.


The door opened. Everyone turned; Nerein, in his borrowed trousers and what looked like one of Peter’s knit jumpers, came in. The room, the fire, the bread and herring on the table, all became background.


Everything became background; Peter could only gaze at him.


Chapter 51