Page 74 of Echoes of the Tide

Prowling over to her, he forced her back down onto her back. With his forearms on either side of her, he caged her in with his body. There was nothing she could do now. She couldn’t look away from him, nor could she hide from the difficult feelings.

“I like you,” he said. Perhaps she needed him to be more direct. “I have seen much of who you really are. I have seen you in the face of bravery and fear. Every ounce of who you are only made me like you more, kefi. You have no need to fear that I will ever see something about you that I do not like, because even if I dislike it, it will only make me adore you more. Your flaws are just as beautiful as your perfections.”

Her eyes had rounded, widening with every single word. “Why would you say that?”

“Because I cannot imagine a life without an adventure by your side. The thought of you disliking anything about yourself makes me want to fight those thoughts. But I cannot fight you.” He leaned down and bumped her nose with his. “You are a beautiful creature, inside and out. You should hold no guilt for being who you really are, Ace. None in the slightest.”

She took a deep, shuddering breath. He could see the turmoil inside of her. Felt the way her body tensed as though the words she was going to say next were so difficult. They wound up stuck inside of her rather than releasing the way they needed to.

“I...” She swallowed. “I have spent a lot of my life pushing people away. Men, especially. When I was young, I didn’t like the way they teased me and made me feel lesser because I wasn’t as pretty as they wanted me to be. And then, as I got older, I was angry that they didn’t think I could do the same things they could do. I have spent my entire life trying to prove myself worthy to those who didn’t deserve it. And you are the first person I’ve found that it really matters what you think of me.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but she pressed those tiny fingers to his lips. He held his tongue as she continued.

“I am so honored that you have given me time to become braver. You have shown me what it is to not fear what someone will think of me, but just to trust that you believe in me and that you have my best interest at heart. I cannot tell you how healing it has been to be in your presence and to know that you’re going to stay. Even if I make a mistake.”

His hearts warmed in his chest. He wanted her to feel like that. He wanted her to know that he would see her mistakes, and he would swim through them with her.

Her hand curled around the back of his neck, drawing him ever closer. “But when are you going to tell me what kefi means?”

Rolling them so she could at least feel the sun on her back while they were here, he ran his hands up her thighs and relented. Perhaps she would think him too forward once he told her what it meant. Maybe she would think that he was too much for having called her this for such a long time, even before he had known she would stay.

“Kefi is a spirit of joy,” he murmured. “It is the feeling in your chest when you experience a passion for life and new things. The sensation of excitement, but even more than that. It is the true joy of adventure.”

He watched her eyes grow wider and grew ever more uncomfortable with her silence. He’d expected many reactions, but he hadn’t anticipated her remaining quiet. Anything would be better than this. Any word, any reaction, any look.

But then she blew out a long sigh and all the tension that had been riding her shoulders finally eased. “That suggests you see a lot when you look at me.”

He reached up and tucked a strand of her short hair behind her ear. “I see joy, Ace. That’s all I see when I look at you.”

She swallowed and then grinned down at him. The happiness in that smile was almost blinding.

“Oh, Maketes. I don’t know how I could ever live without you now. You wondrous, terrifying beast of a murderous creature. You have turned my world upside down.”

And then she leaned down to kiss him, lingering long and quiet as they sought peace in each other’s lips. He’d never been happier.

Because he was finding that he was right. She was his joy.

CHAPTER 30

She asked Maketes to leave her in the sun on her own for a while. He’d made sure she ate, and besides, after the evening they’d spent counting stars, she needed a moment.

He thought she was his joy. No one had ever looked at her and seen anything but a strange girl who tried a little too hard to push people away. And now, she had this creature who had come out of the depths of the sea who looked at her like she’d hung the very moon itself. The same moon he had brought her to see, when likely no other human alive had the opportunity to do so.

They’d woken to the rumble of thunder in the distance. She forgot how quick he was to wake, and how ready he was to protect her. He’d immediately snarled, his voice waking her more than the thunder did as he curved his body over hers. Ready to take whatever hit might be coming for either of them.

As for Ace, she’d just stared up at the wall of golden muscle that protected her. How the hollows between his pectorals cast shadows over his entire body. The multiple wounds closed after the sea had dried them, scabs forming as they dried on the dock. Fangs descended from his mouth, but those sharp teeth were never rough with her. He’d kissed her and never broken skin. Not once.

But she’d also seen him rip out a man’s throat with just his teeth. What a strange combination that was. To know he was capable of such violence and yet to also be confident that he would never harm her. No matter what befell either of them.

When he’d been certain the threat was just a storm in the distance, he’d slipped into the water to find her something to eat. Apparently, he wanted to make sure she was somewhere safe and with a full belly before he would take her anywhere else.

Now that left her alone.

Ace sat on the dock, dry and warm enough for now. But already there was an icy chill in the air as the storm barreled toward her. Soon enough, she knew that would be a problem.

The world above was so beautiful until it wasn’t. Until she was forcibly reminded of how terrible it was to be in this place while knowing that at any moment, a storm will blow her back into the sea. She hugged her legs a little tighter, making herself small on the float in the middle of the ocean.

Worse, she knew there was a city behind her. She could almost feel the lives of those who had once walked through there. They must have been desperate. The last of their kind, if Maketes was right.

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