“I am so sorry about your father, about Lianna.” I meant it with every fiber of my being. I never wanted Lou to feel pain or loss. I wrapped my arms around her and pressed her into my torso. She vibrated against me, sobbing harder.

I stroked her back as I said, “I used my powers on you the day I boarded The Freedom. I held you with my eyes and created tension at your throat. It’s a scare tactic I’ve used since I was little. Not that it could ever kill you, but it does hold an opponent’s attention.”

Her forehead nodded at my breastbone. “I felt it. Like a vise grip around my windpipe. It worked. I was terrified.” She swallowed. “When else?”

“I unintentionally use it when I play music. I can’t help it. I don’t find that it scares most people, but it does entrance them. So, you and all the other patrons at the tavern fell under my spell when I played my father’s lyre. To some it feels like a dream, to others a nightmare, sometimes even a memory.”

“At first, it made me feel like I was drunk, and then, drowning.” She paused. “A moment from my childhood resurfaced, a nightmare of my father killing for the Siren Queen.”

“I’m sorry. That was not my intent,” I whispered. Wanting to make sure I told her everything, I added, “I also used it on you to end the fight outside of the tavern. I made you drop your weapon, although you fought my power better than most.”

She sighed. “I had a feeling.” She pulled away. Her amber eyes stared up at me, still full of tears. They no longer bore hatred toward me or what I had done. Instead, they shone with a curious understanding. “Did you use it to…” She swallowed hard. “…to kiss me?”

I recoiled an inch. “No. And I would never.”

Her lips quirked. “You can’t blame me for asking.”

My shoulders relaxed. I hadn’t even realized they’d tightened. “I guess not. But rest assured, any desire to kiss me is your own.”

She raised her hand, displaying its back to me. “And what about my wound from the fight? When did you heal that?”

I cupped her face in one hand. She didn’t pull away, so I continued to explore and threaded my fingers through her hair. I bent my head, ready to coax her lips to mine—desperate to taste her mouth again—when her question sank into my thoughts. Breaking the trance of her sultry eyes, I pulled back. “I didn’t mend your wound.”

Her face tilted, brow bunching. “But then how…” She looked down.