Page 17 of Pearls of Salt and Sacrifice

Yet the jewelry was truly gone. She’d not brought many possessions on this trip—quite unlike Cassandra, with her multiple sea chests of all sizes—and Reva was certain she had searched everywhere within the confines of her tent.

Tears burned behind her eyes. Last night’s attack, her lack of sleep, the emotion of losing such a prized possession…

She ran her hand beneath her nose and then wiped away her tears with trembling fingers. They were the only tears she had time for. She dried her face, squared her shoulders, and burst from the tent into the gray mist of early dawn. She lifted a calming hand to the watchman who sprang to his feet as she stalked past. He sank back on his heels beside the fire. She could almost feel his eyes following her as she strode toward the waves lapping against the sandy beach. At the edge of the water, she knelt, pulled Calix from her pocket despite his squeaks of protest, and prepared to slip the stowaway back into the sea.

“I’ll take him, please.”

Reva yelped and toppled onto her backside on the damp sand. Clinging to the kraken in one hand, she braced herself against the ground with the other, her fingers sinking into the sand.

Prince Jareth stared down at her, his dark hair dripping as if he’d just emerged from the sea. His tall body, clad in dark green and black armor, contrasted starkly with the white mist wafting from the ocean he called home.

Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. There was something so…ethereal about him. Something otherworldly. Mysterious. She couldn’t help but wonder what his underwater kingdom must be like.

The wonders it must hold.

Wonders human eyes had never seen.

A wayward thought skittered across her thoughts—what would her life be like if she married a prince of the sea? With Felix, she saw aloof indifference. Cold throne rooms and long meetings where she constantly had to fight for her right to her own kingdom.

But what if she were to accept Jareth’s offer? Could she even accept it? Where would they live? And how?

That path lay shrouded in shadows and mist. Unknown. Uncertain.

And yet…she could almost feel the roll of a deck beneath her feet, the sea wind in her hair, a sensation of freedom and belonging wrapping around her…

Jareth stretched a hand toward her and she hissed between her teeth and scuttled backward. He froze, sea-green eyes confused. “I’m sorry,” he said, brows pinching together above his nose. “I-I didn’t mean to startle you. I just—I was hoping I could have my kraken back. Please.”

“Oh.” She waved the hand holding the creature in question. “You mean this kraken? The one that snuck into my tent again and made himself at home on my pillow?”

The sea elf’s cheeks reddened like the skyline at sunset, and Reva found herself more convinced than ever that anyone who looked this adorable couldn’t possibly be the villain in her story.

“Yes,” he said as he cupped a hand over the back of his neck. “That kraken.”

She tensed her thighs and heaved herself into a crouched position so she could rise to her feet. The prince stepped forward as she offered her hand and quirked a smile, reaching for the squirming pink creature. Calix squeaked and clung more tightly to Reva’s fingers as Jareth tried to pry him free. His fingers brushed over hers as he fought to disentangle the stubborn blob. Calix’s suckers pulled and popped loose one by one.

The redness in Jareth’s cheeks only deepened.

“This one must give you a lot of trouble,” she said as Jareth finally slid the kraken’s last tentacle from Reva’s finger. A gentle popping noise announced when the last sucker released. She rubbed her hand, which tingled with a mild itchy sensation.

“You could say that.” Jareth’s fingers slid from hers, and a strange thrill passed through her core.

Her gaze flew up to Jareth’s. Had he felt it too?

He was staring at the kraken, not her. “Thank you,” he said as he gently tucked the kraken away into one of his vest pockets. “Sometimes they’re bound and determined to escape and go where they shouldn’t.”

“I see. Perhaps you should put buckles on your pockets.” Reva pointed toward the pocket where the miniature kraken had gone.

“But I wouldn’t want them to feel trapped,” Jareth said, his gaze falling to his boots, which he scuffed in the sand, as if embarrassed. Seaweed twined around his boots, reminding her that he was no ordinary human, but a creature of both land and sea.

“That’s noble of you.” The wind teased a strand of hair out of her braid and flung it against her mouth. Impatiently, Reva swept it behind her ear. “Did you discover anything in the cove last night?”

A wrinkle formed between the elf’s eyebrows. When he didn’t answer, Reva exhaled slowly to mask her frustration.

“Tell me everything you know,” she ordered.

“If I did that,” he said with a wry twist of the lips, “you’d never believe me.”

“I’ll do my best to keep an open mind.”

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