Page 49 of Sea's Secret

“Don’t worry about me,” I said, still rocking her ever so slightly. Her hair smelled of salt and sand and a sea breeze, and I was taken back to the sea.

It only took a few minutes before her breaths were even, and she was asleep. I stopped rocking her, but moved closer so my chest was pressed against her back again, hoping that the slight movement of my chest as I breathed would be comforting to her.

When I woke up to the sun shining into the cave, it was the first time I could remember sleeping through the night and not waking up with residual pain from some dream. There was something heavy on my chest, and as I opened my eyes, I realized I was laying on my back–and Meria’s head was there on top of me. Her hand was clasped in mine, and for a moment, I thought about how comforting it was, and then I froze. My hand was touching her skin. I jumped back, waking her.

“What is the matter?” she said, looking at me as I hunched in the corner of the cave with my hands spread wide.

“Are you alright? Are you hurting?”

“Yes, I am alright. I slept really well last night. But–”

“What is it, Dominick?”

I looked at my hands, then at her.

Was I just holding her hand? Really? Maybe I was too tired and wanted to hold her that night, so I only dreamed I was holding her hand. Deep down, I knew that it was true. Still, there was no need to tell her; she was fine, but why? How? No one had ever been fine after touching me before.

“Sorry, I just–”

“You didn’t wake up last night as you usually do,” she said.

“No, I did not.”

She smiled and stood up, straightening my shirt, which she still wore belted around her waist. I felt different, and as she walked from the cave to get a drink of water, I leaned against the cave wall, just staring at my hands until she ran back into the cave.

“Dominick! The ship is here!”

I needed to get it together. I could no longer be the Dominick she knew. I had to be a pirate. And why did I feel no pain? I needed to feel pain—know that I had not given my pain to Meria. But she was fine. Meria was fine.

I had a plan. We had a plan, and soon, we would be on a ship, and I would be one step closer to finding my sister and getting my revenge and then living my own life, being the pirate I was, no matter what Meria thought about me because of it.

Chapter Nineteen

Meria

So many things seemed to be happening all at once. One moment, I was on the beach, waving at the ship in the distance, calling for Dominick to come over; then, there was a small boat coming at me from the ship.

“They are coming. Are you ready with our story?” Dominick asked.

I turned to him, his hair blowing in the sea breeze, covering one eye. “Um, what do you mean?” I asked.

He turned toward me, away from the small boat. “You are my maiden. I need to make sure they know that, so no harm comes to you.”

“Alright, like we are betrothed?”

Dominick choked.

“Not necessarily.” He squeezed and unsqueezed his fists. I looked at the black veins there. Although I wondered about his curse, and how it worked, those veins added something to him that I liked. Maybe that was strange, but they fit him. Even though they were probably the painful result of his curse.

“I need to get gloves as soon as possible,” he whispered, not to me, but into the wind. The small boat rocked over a larger wave, and in only a few moments, we would be able to see their faces.

“Do not forget what I told you. I am a pirate. I may do things that startle you, but they are for our own good.”

I looked at him, his once kind expression, although hard at times, was gone–and a smirking, pained one was left in its place.

“I am not afraid of you, Dominick.”

“I am afraid that you will be.”

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