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My heart thundered against my ribcage.
‘I’ve been reading.’
Frano frowned. He appeared to have aged since we’d wedded. The deep furrows in his forehead added at least five years and it had only been a matter of weeks.
‘But I searched the library twice and you weren’t there.’
I shrugged, trying to think up another excuse and wondering if I should just tell him the truth... about everything.
‘You wanted me out of the way. You said not to disturb you and that is exactly what I did.’
‘I don’t need this extra stress, Nada. I’d rather you stayed in your room for the time being, so that I know where you are at all times.’
I stood there, staring at my husband, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.
‘I know why you offered me my freedom to leave Marin and return to my mainland home after six weeks.’
Frano stiffened and said nothing.
‘Because by six weeks you knew the compulsion would take hold of me and that I would never wish to leave even if I wanted to. You knew I’d be trapped here forever.’
Frano seized me by the shoulders and pressed me against the cool, stone wall behind me.
‘How do you know this? Did you sneak into my office? Read my papers?’ His blue eyes bulged wide.
I shook my head, shocked at Frano’s madman-like behaviour.
‘Then how did you know?’
I wrestled out of his hold and took a step back, my heart hammering against my chest.
‘It doesn’t matter how I found out. I read something in the library that made me work it out for myself. And it’s true, because I don’t wish to leave now.’
Frano’s expression softened and he hung his head.
‘I’m sorry, Nada. I’m so sorry.’
I sighed and reached for his hand, hoping this was the moment he’d tell me about the golden shell and the message inside of it.
I stared at his face and saw the dark shadows beneath his eyes and the haunted look deep inside and wished that he would tell me about the shell and share his burdens.
‘Please tell me what’s bothering you, Frano, you returned from Island 27 an absolute wreck. A problem shared is a problem spared – one of the maids told me that the other day.’
The tension melted from Frano’s face and he released a heavy sigh.
‘Unfortunately, this problem gets worse if shared. I’m dealing with something dangerous, something I’ve gotten myself into.’ He half smiled; it was a sad smile. ‘But only I can get myself out of this mess. I need to do this alone.’
‘But a marriage is about sharing everything, Frano. I don’t want you to lie to me anymore. About anything. And I don’t want to have to keep lying to you, either.’
He withdrew his hand.
‘I said I need to do this alone. End of story,’ he growled, storming off down the corridor.
Before I had the chance to utter a reply, he spun around.
‘Oh, I’ve arranged for the rest of your week to be filled. Tomorrow you’ll be having tea with some of the city’s most respected ladies and their daughters. I’ll see to it that the maids leave you some dresses to choose from. That should keep you occupied while I sort my business out.’
I stood there, my mouth hanging open while I watched him leave. But once he was out of sight, I stormed back to my room, took my afternoon tea, alone, at the dining table. Then, after waiting for the maid to take my tray away, I moved to the far wall and placed my palms against it until it heated beneath my fingers and shot up into the ceiling.
I slipped inside the corridor and took a moment to breathe in the dimly lit space that had become my secret temple. The only place I felt free.
I quickly opened Kraja’s room and sighed even more deeply as I stepped inside.
A deep sense of relief washed over me. In this glittering room, with the sketches of the ancients on the wall, I could relax and know that nobody would barge in on me.
Lukas was probably already on his way to island 27, so I knew that I had this place to myself.
‘Keep him safe,’ I whispered to Kraja, my eyes on the beautiful woman in the sketch. ‘Please keep Lukas safe.’
As I ran my fingers over the etchings, I wondered if Kraja had done them herself. They were directly above the single bed, the bed with the green light crystals embedded in the mattress. It must have been where she slept, guarding the control panel each night.
I traced the green light crystals with my fingers and yawned.
Last night it had taken me forever to fall asleep, and even then, it hadn’t been a deep sleep. I hadn’t slept properly in weeks.
I lay down and rested my head against the pillow to study the sketches some more. Kraja seemed to be gazing into the eyes of a blond man. But the more you studied her, the more it seemed as though her eyes were seeing past him and into the arena tank, where the merfolk swam.
Kraja’s expression was one of sadness, as was the blond man’s.
If only she’d kept a personal diary, I thought, my lids fluttering closed.
When I woke, my stomach groaned with hunger and I realised that it was very late.
But I had no way of knowing if Frano was back in the room or not.
I quickly left Kraja’s room and paced the corridor for a long time, trying to decide what to do.
But there was no other way out of here but through the secret wall. If Lukas was here we could use his key at the other end of the corridor. But I was alone.
In the end, I decided to take the risk and placed my hands on the wall and watched it disappear into the ceiling.
I stepped out, warily, my pulse whooshing in my ears. There was a plate of food covered, and another empty dish with a few scraps left on it. Did this mean that Frano was somewhere in room?
I quickly closed the secret door and sighed with relief once the wall was sealed.
I padded across the floor, my feet light and quick, over to the table where silver platters of fish and rice awaited.
‘Nada!’
I jumped, dropping a piece of fish onto the table, and turned around.
‘Where have you been?’ Frano stared around the room, his eyes wide. ‘It’s as though you materialised out of thin air.’
‘I fell asleep,’ I said.
Frano came closer.
‘I checked the library. It was empty.’
I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, amazed at how relaxed I felt despite the obvious tension in the room. The sleep had done a wonder of good.
‘Oh, I wasn’t in the library. I went exploring through the castle and came across another room. I fell asleep looking through boxes.’
Frano raised a brow but said nothing more about where I’d been.
‘Have something to eat. You must be starving. It’s nearly nine o’clock. I had to send the nurse away. She’s left fresh bandages and ordered me to change them.’
I nodded.
‘I’ll eat first, then change them.’
He left the room and went outside to speak to the guards while I ate my food, ravenous despite Frano’s cold behaviour. I wondered how Lukas was doing, if he was having any luck, and prayed again that he was safe.
After I finished eating, Frano returned to change my bandages, despite my protests of wanting to do it myself. So, I sat on the bed, feeling like a stranger to him now.
Frano had recently bathed, and as he leaned over me, his piney scent washed over me.
‘How has your leg been feeling?’ he asked, while he unwound my bandages with care. My skin tingled where he touched my foot and my knee, which he held in place.
‘It hasn’t been bothering me like it normally does,’ I said, wondering when it had started feeling so good.
In fact, it hadn’t throbbed with pain even as I’d leaped off Kraja’s bed after I’d woken up. It hadn’t pained me at all.
But of course. The green light crystals. Lukas had told me they had healing powers.
Frano swore beneath his breath and ran his fingers over the wound. Or where the wound used to be.
‘It’s completely healed,’ he said, with a shake of his head. ‘But the nurse changed the bandages last night and the wound was still there. I saw it with my own eyes. It had scabbed over but it was still there.’
Frano continued to rub my wound, or where the wound had once been, and felt around for the other side of my calf, where the bone had protruded through.
‘You’ve more than healed. It’s as though the injury never happened. I’ll have to tell the nurse in the morning. It’s unprecedented.’ He met my gaze. ‘Where have you been the past 24 hours?’
This was my moment to tell Frano everything. It was the moment we could save our marriage by working together. No more lies. No more secrets.
‘I’ll tell you if you tell me what happened the last time you visited Island 27.’
Frano half smiled, shook his head, then turned and walked out of the bedroom, leaving me alone on the bed with my secrets.