Starving for Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

seemed a little unsettled, his smile less than convincing. "I've been meaning to tell you I wasn't the happiest with your sisters either. I didn't know what they wanted and—"
    "It wasn't your fault, I know. I don't blame you." She knew it was rude to cut him off, but she didn't have time for his apology right now. "But I really have to get going. Can't you just tell them you didn't see me? Please?"
    "I can't. You know your father. If he found out, he would strip me of my title, and I would lose everything. He is a very powerful man."
    Sirena hung her head. Asking this was too much for anyone who wasn't in her bloodline. Her father was a triton, a descendant of Poseidon, and as such, had magical powers that rivaled those of any sea witch. Only the males in the line claimed such powers.
    "I understand," Sirena murmured as she dutifully swam beside him toward the throne room. Perhaps her father wouldn't have much to say, and she could hurry up and be on her way to Kristian. Her promise rang in her ears, and she couldn't wait to see him again.
    In her excitement, she zoomed forward and rushed to the throne, hoping her father would smile at her obedience. Instead, his eyes were a stormy black, and he clasped his trident beside him, the golden pointed ends glittering.
    Sirena gulped and glanced behind her at Bastin, whose head was down, in deference to the ruler of the sea.
    "Leave," her father commanded.
    Sirena wished she could follow Bastin as he departed. "Daddy?"
    "Don't 'Daddy' me, Sirena." He glowered at her, a vein on his neck bulging. "You know the rules, Sirena. How could you break them?"
    Sirena thought frantically. Which of her father's many rules had she broken this time?
    "You're only sixteen! You never should have been up to the surface yet, let alone countless times!" Her father swung the trident around, the weapon glowing even more than before. He circled her, almost vigorous enough to create a current of his own within the water.
    Forced to twirl around to face him, she gulped again. Oh, that rule. "Father, I can explain—"
    "No, Sirena, you will not speak! You've defied me. You've made a mockery of my rules, and I will not tolerate that."
    "I only wanted—"
    "You are a child. What you want doesn't matter. You will obey my rules, and you will do as I say. Your sisters listen to me. So should you."
    "It's a stupid rule," she blurted. "What harm can come from going to the surface?"
    "How dare you!" The trident shimmered until Sirena had to close her eyes against the brilliant light. When she risked peeking, her father now sat on his throne, his head down.
    "Father?" she ventured, going up to him. He didn't respond, so she touched his fin as she had when she was only a little mermaid. "Maybe if you told me why we shouldn't go to the surface, then I would understand."
    Hunched over, he raised his head but not his shoulders, his eyes now a calm soft blue that reminded her of the sky on a cloudless day, but there was a pain there that made her own chest ache.
    "What is it?" she whispered.
    "My … my sister. When she was a little mermaid, she swam up to the surface. I went with her most times, and we would play with the humans. As our parents asked, we made sure to keep our identities a secret. One time, I didn't want to go, so Kai went by herself. An hour passed, so I went to find her. She was on a rock about fifty yards beneath the surface, a spear through her."
    "I'm so sorry, so so sorry."
    "I can't even remember why I didn't want to go with her in the first place. Maybe if I had been there…" He shook his head.
    "Father, you can't blame yourself."
    Her father stared at her and sat up straighter. "I hated the humans, wanted nothing better than to forget them entirely, but my parents did not want that. They forced me to go with them back to the surface. My mother said it's important to know about the humans, that ignoring part of the world would be foolish. I agree, which is why I allow you girls