Starving for Love Read Online Free PDF

to go up when you're old enough. But you have to be smart about it, fast enough to outswim a spear, to stay safe. Please do not go back to the surface until I allow it."
    Sirena held her breath.
    Her father did not look up. His eyes were closed, his lips still moving although she could not hear his words. She had a feeling he wasn't talking to her. He seemed to be lost in his memories. Or his grief. Or guilt.
    After a few minutes, Sirena left the throne room and then the castle. She flipped and danced her way through the water, tearing through it as she made her way to the surface. As much as she loved her father and now understood why he was so strict, she couldn't not go to Kristian.
    When her head broke the surface of the water, the moon shone down on her. She brushed back her damp hair. Kristian was nowhere in sight.
    Had he given up on her? Thought she would break her promise? She could hardly blame him — she had never been this late before.
    Movement on the beach caught her eye, and she hurried toward the shore, her heart beating at a frantic pace. She opened her mouth to call out to him only to realize the form on the beach was an unfamiliar one.
    The person hunched over and dropped several items onto the sand. Then he straightened. "Sirena?" a male voice called.
    She held onto a large rock. "Yes?" she said, cautious. Although the moon was shining, she couldn't see much more than shadows.
    "Is Kristian out there with you?"
    Sirena blinked back tears as she recognized fear in the man's voice. She released the rock and wrung her hands as she said, "No."
    The man appeared to be struggling with something. "He went out earlier to see you and hasn't come back yet."
    "Where is he?" No head bopped in the soft waves.
    "Father Dominick told me he saw Kristian go to the shed earlier. It's where we keep our diving gear."
    The term was familiar. Kristian had explained it to her before. Her heart had raced at the idea of Kristian being miles beneath the surface with her as they explored the underwater world together, not that she had never seriously considered doing that. If any of the mermen had seen him, they would have captured him, brought him to her father…
    She had asked him countless questions about diving, and once she realized divers did not have the capability to reach their underwater city, she had breathed easier.
    "I'm Blaise, by the way." He stepped forward, wearing a strange contraption on his back.
    "He went deep into the water," she supposed slowly. She didn't know what to feel — worried that Kristian might see something he shouldn't or excited at the idea of sharing new sights with him. But for the most part, anxiety squeezed her heart until she thought it would tear in half. What if something happened? It had taken Kristian a long time to convince his parents to allow him to dive, because it was so dangerous.
    "Yes, that's what diving is."
    "You're planning on diving to find him?" she asked.
    "Yes."
    Not a smart idea. "Don't. Stay here. I'll find him."
    "Sirena, he could be anywhere. You need help." His head snapped up, and she could see the star's light shining in his eyes. "How would you be able to find him without gear?" He didn't have a suspicious tone — it was more questioning, as if he was curious but not surprised.
    "Please…" She had forgotten his name already.
    "Blaise."
    "Please, Blaise, don't ask questions. We don't have time to waste. Just give me ten minutes. I promise I'll find him."
    He rummaged through the pile of stuff. "Almost ready," he muttered. Then he stood, shaking his head. "My weight belt's gone. I can't dive without it. He won't have enough air to last long, let alone ten minutes."
    Sirena nodded, relieved he hadn't pressed the issue, and dove beneath the water. After two long tail-lengths, she realized Blaise may have seen her tail. Too late now, not that she cared. She had far more important things to worry about.

Chapter Six
    Panic was beginning to set in