Hook's Pan (Kingdom, #5)

“He was hurt, he loved her dearly. Talia had a way of bringing out the best in those around her, which was why she was so well loved and regarded. Very likely why Hook fell for her as well. But time heals, and Sircco is a good man, he would never have been happy marrying her knowing how unhappy she’d be. There is a great deal of her in you, you know.”


“Yeah,” she sighed, “so everyone keeps telling me. But can’t you understand how hard all this is for me to believe? I mean I see you,” she gestured up and down, “but my brain is having a hell of a time accepting this reality. Whales with buckteeth, fish that look like flies and frogs, and beautiful people with tails. This isn’t reality in my world. You’re all myth and legends and I don’t think I could ever stay here. I feel like Dorothy in Oz, a complete fish out of water. No pun intended.” She smiled to soften the blow.

A golden seahorse swam from Sirenade’s crown toward Trisha. It was so cute, neighing and squealing as it settled on her finger. Its long pink tongue licked the tip of her pinky, its fan-like pectoral fin fluttered like a little wing.

“He likes you. It’s a great honor for a seahorse to greet you. You see, lovely mortal—”

“My name is Trisha. Trisha Page.”

Sirenade beamed. “Trisha then, whether you accept it as fact or not, your soul belongs here. It’s attuned to this world, these people, even him.” She stared directly at Hook.

“What the hell,” Trisha glowered, “do I have a freakin’ A stamped on my forehead? It is not. I barely know him.”

The mermaid just shook her head. “In my world we have a saying ‘The eyes are the windows to the soul’…”

“We have that saying too.”

“Then you know what I say to be true. Whether you are aware of it or not, yours glow whenever you look at him. It is difficult when the soul already accepts what the heart has not. Sircco is a good man, but he was never the one for you.”

This was a nightmare. What did Trisha have to do to convince these people she didn’t give a damn about Captain James Hook? Kick him in the balls? She didn’t believe in destiny or soul mates or whatever the hell else.

What they saw was lust, plain and simple. That she could admit to. The man was unbelievably hot, but that was all it was. In three days she would leave. Period. Staying away from her life for three months was almost unbearable, if she’d had more family to worry about her it may have even been downright criminal, but all she did have were parents who rarely spoke to her, except maybe on birthdays and Christmas. After her sister’s death the family had fractured. In a lot of ways she was alone, but that didn’t mean she wanted to stay either.

So she just shook her head, but clamped her lips shut, better to keep her thoughts to herself, at this point no one believed her anyway. Except maybe Hook himself who seemed less inclined to begin a torrid love affair than even she did.

“I need to walk, do you have any gardens? The food isn’t sitting right,” Trisha said, giving a weak smile.

“The Kelp gardens,” Sirenade nodded, “but before you go, I want to give you this.” She touched the tip of her black claw to the little seahorse still settled on Trisha’s pinky finger.

The moment she touched it, it wasn’t just a gold colored seahorse, it literally turned to gold. Its eyes were closed, a serene smile painted across its little horsey face.

Gasping, Trisha held it up and tapped its head. “Did you kill it?”

“No,” there was laughter in Sirenade’s voice, “I’ve spelled him. Powerful magic now rests in his body.”

“What can he do?” Trisha looked up, ensnared by the rollicking waves trapped within amber eyes.

“He is now your lifetime companion. I’ve placed him in gold so that when he travels on land he shall not die, anytime you take him into water he will return to what he once was and should you ever need me, he will know how to find me. He will remain faithful to you always and I hope that you will treasure him as I have all these years. Now, a friend will show you to the Gardens, it was good to meet you, Trisha Page.”

She smiled and curled her fingers around the beautiful little horse. Touched by Sirenade’s kindness. “Thank you, Sirenade. This means a lot to me.”

Pushing away from the table, Sirenade and Sircco rose simultaneously. A serene smile graced Sirenade’s lips. “I hope to see you again,” she said, and then swam off without looking back.

Sircco stayed where he was for a while longer, just gazing at her and she knew she’d been right earlier, there’d been longing in his eyes, as there was now. Then raising his hand one final time, he turned and followed his sister from the hall. Not wanting to lose her treasure, she tucked it into a little pocket stitched into the side of the dress by her hip.

Hook cleared his throat. “You’ve bewitched them both, little bird.” His words made her heart swell.