Page 16 of Jewel of the Sea

Dropping her arm, Aymee regarded him with a smile. His eyes were wide, irises nearly consumed by his dilated pupils, which weren’t quite round. His tentacles writhed in the sand, and his hands were at his sides, fingers tightly curled. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.

There was a hint of uncertainty in his heated gaze; he looked as though he held onto control by a thread and might break at any moment.

A rush of satisfaction coursed through Aymee; she’d done this, she’d instilled this want in Arkon. He was just as affected by her as she was by him.

Her smile didn’t falter as she turned away and walked between the stacks of stones. The wind flowed through her hair, cooler now with night’s approach, and the sound of the waves licking the shore enveloped her like a siren’s song.

“This is beautiful.” She gestured to his work with a sweeping wave of her arm. “I hate that it will be gone come morning.”

“The person it was meant for has found joy in it. There’s nothing lost, as long as you hold onto that emotion.”

“Like a painting. A moment captured forever.” She looked at him over her shoulder. “I’ve kept every rock you’ve gifted me. I wish I could keep this too.”

He moved closer but didn’t pass between the stones. “Keep this moment.”

“I will.”

She inhaled the briny air. The tide was rising as the day waned, and the light had taken on a magical quality that existed only during sunrise and sunset, when everything, for a short while, seemed new and incredible. It made Arkon’s stone towers ethereal — they were a fleeting glimpse into another world, stolen while the foggy veil was drawn back for an instant.

This place hadn’t felt like that to Aymee since she was a child, when she and Macy would splash colors on the rocks. Theirpaintingswould last only until the next storm, and that had made them more precious.

Just like this.

She wanted to hold onto this feeling for as long as she could.

“Thank you, Arkon.”

He dipped his head in a shallow bow. “It was my pleasure.”

Aymee’s eyes fell on the canister she’d dropped; it stood at an angle behind him, near the outer edge of the stones. Her joy faded. She weaved through the stacks, stopped before the container, and picked it up after a brief hesitation.

“I need to get back before it’s dark,” she said, walking to Arkon and holding the canister out. “Don’t want to raise anyone’s suspicions.”

I don’t want to go. Not now that you are here.

Arkon placed his hands on the container, and they held it between them, staring into each other’s eyes. “When can we meet again?”

Her grip tightened. “We can’t. It’s too dangerous for you to come back.”

“So we will be cautious, and meet on a more sheltered part of the beach. One that isn’t well visible from farther inland.”

She meant to shake her head, to tell himno, but instead said, “There’s a spot toward the other end of the beach where the cliff overhangs the sand. No one can see underneath unless they’re standing on the beach nearby.” She gestured toward it, though the place was difficult to make out from this angle.

“And…I will see you there tomorrow?” Arkon asked.

Aymee’s eyes widened, and her mouth hung open. She hadn’t planned to meet again at all, much less so soon, and her heart leapt at the prospect. “Tomorrow?”

After another moment, resolve strengthened his features. “Yes. Tomorrow. I will allow you to choose the time, as I’ve chosen the day.”

“Will we need to exchange these again?” she asked, nodding toward the canister.

He glanced down and smiled. “No. Tomorrow will be just for us.”

Her gaze fell on his mouth; his parted lips revealed his pointed teeth. Strangely, they didn’t unnerve her. Arkon’s smile took on a rakish tilt.

Something stirred in her again, a tingling heat at her core; familiar but unidentifiable.

“Tomorrow then. Same time as always,” she said.

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