6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

T he walk back to Maura's quarters was quiet. Maura seemed lost in her thoughts, and Anatolius wondered what about the short meeting with his fathers had her so pensive. When they had turned to go, he had slid his hand off her waist, and now the small distance separating them felt wrong.

"I owe you an apology," Anatolius said as they arrived at her door. "I should have asked privately if I had permission to touch you like that. I'm sorry."

Maura turned to look at him with her brows furrowed slightly. "Yes, you should have. But I suppose we can discuss our boundaries now?" She gestured toward her door and turned to go in, expecting him to follow. She was right in a way deeper than she knew—Anatolius would follow her anywhere.

Once inside, the door slid shut, and Maura turned to face him. She sighed deeply and pressed the heels of her hands to her forehead. Anatolius wished he could take away all her stress and exhaustion. He intended to, as soon as it was safe to do so. He would return her home as she wished and not burden her with the knowledge of what she truly was to him–no matter how much pain it caused him.

"I take it sirens are rather…open with their romantic relationships?" Maura asked, lowering her hands from her face.

"You are right. We are not shy in showing physical attention to our partners in public. We don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with, but this ruse will be more believable if we have some physical contact."

"Very well. You have my permission to put your hand on my waist as you did today. Is holding hands something you all do?" Anatolius nodded in response to her question. "Then that's acceptable, too. I'd prefer to avoid kissing, if at all possible, but I suppose if we're really in a bind…" Her eyes flashed up to meet his, and he didn't miss the flush of her cheeks.

"Of course, only as a last resort." Anatolius fought to keep the mirth from his voice. The fact that he was standing here negotiating the terms of his false engagement to his actual Chosen was…just the sort of thing that would happen to him, actually. His older sister had always been the model child, while he struggled at every turn to fit into the roles expected of him. While other princes would have been eager to learn the politics of the siren court, he found he would rather spend his days patrolling the deserted, lonely waters of the borders. Perhaps he knew, deep down, where he needed to be to find her.

"Very well," Maura said, plopping down onto her nest of pillows. "Anything else we should discuss?"

"Ah, there is one other…custom we should account for." Anxiety tingled at the pit of his stomach at what he was about to tell her. "I will say first that we do not need to do this if you aren't comfortable with it."

Maura looked at him incredulously for a long moment before nodding.

"A Chosen couple typically shares a bedroom for the duration of the rites." There. He said it. He braced himself for the sting of rejection. If a hand around her waist offended her human sense of modesty, then surely this ask would be out of the question.

Maura's eyes went wider than he'd yet seen them, but she didn't say anything. He wished he could still read her thoughts. Then, she blinked, closed her eyes as if gathering her fortitude, and said, "Alright."

"Alright?"

"That's what I said. But we aren't actually sleeping together."

"Obviously," Anatolius said, nodding.

"Obviously," Maura said, as if she was trying to convince herself.

Anatolius' thoughts quickly pivoted away from anticipating rejection to the reality that he would be here in this room with her, alone. All night. Gods what had he gotten himself into. Here he was, his very soul calling out to her, longing to know her, to hold her, and she wouldn't have the slightest idea. But nothing came before her comfort and safety; he had to focus on that.

"Do you need anything to be comfortable here? Galana will be by shortly with some food, but other than that, what can I do to make you feel at home?"

"Feel at home?" Maura chuckled. "I'm at the bottom of the sea. But I don't need anything, thank you for asking."

"Very well. I will return later. Thank you for helping me to keep you safe, Maura. I am…truly sorry we are in this situation." Anatolius turned to go, his mind a tumult of worry. He prayed to the old gods that he was strong and clever enough to get them both out of this unscathed.