Page 41 of Jewel of the Sea

“I understand.”

He looked down again. “I don’t know that you do…”

Aymee lowered her gaze. Perhaps she didn’t. She’d been the one pushing her affections onto Arkon during their few, too-brief meetings. What if he didn’t want her the way she wanted him? What if he couldn’t see past their differences like Jax had with Macy?

Clutching the fabric of her skirt in both hands, she climbed to her feet and collected her sandals from the nearby rocks.

“It’s all right. You don’t need to explain anything.” She closed her eyes and struggled to regain some semblance of calm. “We’ll meet again in two days for the exchange.”

“Aymee, I…” Arkon released an unsteady breath. His head and shoulders sagged, contrasting the tension in his balled fists. “Two days, then.”

She opened her mouth to say goodbye, but it felt too final. Instead, she slipped on her sandals and left without another word. Without looking back. The widening distance between them hurt more with each step.

She walked along the dirt footpath through the jungle, back to the main road, and returned to The Watch without allowing her emotions to get the better of her. It didn’t matter how much her eyes burned, or her heart stung.

“Early morning trip to the beach, Miss Rhodes?”

Aymee stopped and lifted her head, meeting Randall’s eyes. Leaning against a wall a few meters away, he wore his usual green-and-purple attire. The knives on his belt were accompanied by a holstered pistol today. Though his arms were folded across his chest, relatively far from the weapon, it added menace to his visage.

“I needed some fresh air,” she said, resuming her walk.

“A good hunter has an eye for patterns,” he said as she passed. “We have to learn the habits of the creatures we hunt to become more effective. People have habits, too. Routines they don’t often break.”

“Are you insinuating something?”

“Just observing. I couldn’t help but notice the change in your routine today, and I wanted to make sure everything was okay. There anything you want to talk to me about?”

“You’ve been here all of twelve days. What do you know of my habits?” She narrowed her eyes at him as he fell into step beside her. “I don’t find it very comforting to know you’re stalking me.”

He laughed and shook his head. “I’m not stalking you. Like I said, people just have their habits. Not hard to pick up on them, once you know what you’re looking for.”

His scrutiny was unnerving, and for once she was grateful that she’d have to wait until the next exchange. It gave her time to take precautions.

“I go to the beach when I want to think. It’s calming. Macy and I used to go when we were kids.”

“You have to walk through a stretch of jungle to get to that beach. Wouldn’t it be safer just to go to the one by the dock?”

“Like I said, we went there aschildren. And the beach by the docks is too distracting.”

He lifted his hands in surrender. “Fair enough. I’ve told you already, I’m not your enemy, Aymee. I just want everyone to be safe.”

Aymee closed her mouth. She didn’t want to get into the same argument with him, she didn’t want him to be her enemy, she didn’t want to deal with any ofthis— not now or ever. Under different circumstances, she and Randall might’ve been good friends.

But thewhat-ifsdidn’t change the current situation.

Randall stepped in front of her, palms displayed in a supplicating gesture. “Just stop and listen to me for one minute, please?”

Frowning, she halted. “Randall—”

“I’m not starting an argument, I promise. I just wanted to say again that I’m sorry for the other night. That was not how I intended for it to go, and it was my fault. I should’ve known better with them so deep into their cups. Cyrus is my father’s friend and… Look, it may not mean much to you, but I’m pretty sure my father sent him along to keep an eye on me. I would like nothing more than to leave this place without ever seeing a kraken.”

Aymee’s brows furrowed. She searched his eyes and saw no deceit in them. “Why?”

“Because I don’t know how that encounter would turn out, and I don’t want to cause you grief.”

Though he’d made no secret of his interest in her, Aymee hadn’t believed it strong enough for him to forgo what he viewed as his duty — unless it was all a ploy. “Why? I’m one person. Isn’t your responsibility to all the people of Halora?”

“I want to believe what you say about them. I want it to be enough for me, but it’s not. It can’t be. Because men like Cyrus and my father won’t accept it.”

---