I stared at our legs stretched out in front of us, side by side, trying to focus my thoughts on something other than throwing myself into his lap and kissing him until neither of us could breathe.
“So you can’t swim?”
“Nay, I can swim.” His voice sounded slightly higher than usual.
“Didn’t I see a path in the rock over there?” I pointed to our left to indicate the steep trail leading down and out of sight.
“When I say this is the northernmost border o’ Doon, I mean this cliff. We can see the ocean but never touch it. Except for the Centennial, o’ course. But during the last Centennial I hadna yet been born.”
“What would happen if you tried to go down to the beach?” Gray clouds were gathering, darkening the sky. The wind picked up, whipping the waves below us into a frenzy. Jamie’s hand stopped moving against my skin.
“’Tis complicated, but if I were able to cross the border, the kingdom and everyone in it would cease to exist. They would all vanish into the mist as if they never lived.” The timbre of his voice had turned low and anguished.
His words confirmed the legend, but there was something I didn’t quite understand. “What do you mean, ‘if you were able to cross the border’?”
“Why are ye asking me this?”
“I’m just trying to understand how it all works.” The intensity of his expression sent shivers of apprehension up my spine.
“Why—” He cut himself off, his body going still beside me as he whispered, “The price.”
“The price of what?” I searched his face, but he just stared at me, a furrow between his brows.
“My mother always said there was a price for everythin’.” He looked out at the water and said something under his breath that sounded like, “the price of true love.”
“What did you say?” I breathed, afraid to move or break the spell.
“I shouldna have brought you—” He stopped. With a blink of his eyes and a clench of his jaw, my Jamie was gone, and the heir to the throne was back. “We need to return.”
“But—” He was slipping away from me. I was watching it happen but didn’t know how to stop it.
Standing, he turned and helped me to my feet, promptly releasing my hand afterward. “Ye need not worry about it, Verranica. It is my responsibility alone to bear.” His reply was terse, almost accusing.
And in that instant, the fragile peace between us shattered. The reality of my situation—the choice I needed to make—crashed down around me.
As he turned to go through the rock passage, I clutched his bicep and dug my fingernails into the granite muscle, not willing to let him walk away from me. I needed answers. “Don’t you dare shut me out! What about the Calling?”
He turned, the strength of his gaze piercing my very soul. “What Calling?”
My heart plummeted to my feet and I removed my hand from his arm. When I spoke, it was a whisper. “Did you see me before I came here?” I held my breath for any sign of emotion but his eyes were hard as obsidian.
“Aye, I saw you in my dreams. But it doesna matter.”
“How can you say that?” I shook my head. “Isn’t the Calling sacred in Doon?”
His eyes locked on mine and something stirred there, something volatile that sent fear rushing though my body.
“Aye, but that’s not what we have.” His jaw clenched, his posture going rigid. “Not all dreams are sacred.”
Cold rushed down my spine, I swallowed hard. “What are you talking about? Jamie, you can trust me.”
He moved so fast, I was unprepared when he grabbed me. His strong fingers wrapped around my upper arms, and he pulled me onto my toes, bringing my face to within inches of his.