Page 28 of Tide of Waves and Secrets

“It seems I’ve heard of this tavern once before,” I said as a woman made her way toward our table.

“Since that first day, Marek and I have made The Moonlit Current a regular haunt. As you can see, it is a popular spot for men, and women, of his ilk.”

“Of his ilk?”

Our server’s brown hair was darker than many in Thalassaria, but her piercing green eyes marked her very much as one of them. She was older, perhaps halfway to thaloran.

“You can only be talking of Marek.”

“Indeed,” Nerys said. “Nerithia, this is Rowan. Rowan, meet the innkeeper, or tavern keeper, if you will.”

“Nerithia. I am certain we have not met before, but there is something familiar about you.”

Nerithia locked eyes with me and did not look away, as if searching for something.

“The winds remember the first crossing, and the stone keeps their weight.”

She was a Keeper.

“What did you say?” Nerys asked.

Thankfully, Nerys was focused on Nerithia and didn’t notice my surprise at the innkeeper’s words.

“A phrase,” she responded. “When you are told you look familiar. A way to say that we are all connected, and ’tis likely the reason.”

Aye, she was a Keeper for certain. All knew that phrase, to identify another Keeper they may not have met. But, just as importantly, they were prepared with an explanation on why they used it, avoiding suspicion.

“I’ve never heard that expression before.”

When Nerithia smiled, the corners of her eyes wrinkled, further revealing her age. A perhaps three-hundred-year-old Keeper, living in Thalassaria. If he knew of her, my grandfather would have told me of Nerithia before I left for this mission.

Grandfather. My god keep your soul.

It was difficult to comprehend I now lived in a world without him. He had tried to prepare me, but like most in my family, his lessons on becoming the next Keeper never fully penetrated. I never actually imagined it would be me. Our network had grown large, and there were many just as worthy.

“Rowan?”

Both women were looking at me.

“Seafood? Or land-based?” the innkeeper asked. “Human, and all.”

It was a clever way to hide her connection to us. “I will have the same as Nerys.”

“Fish stew and a Tidal Kiss?”

“Perfect,” I said as Nerithia walked away.

“What is a Tidal Kiss?” I asked.

“You’ve not had one before? It’s rum-based, with lavender and sea salt, always served in a shell-shaped glass.”

There was another type of kiss I could not help thinking of, since we were on the topic. I was best to avoid considering that too deeply.

As darkness began to fall, the reason for The Moonlit Current became apparent. With a wall of windows, many of which were open, the soft glow of a full moon bounced off the waves outside the inn, casting a silvery reflection across the floor.

“Spectacular,” I said, of both the moon’s reflection and my companion.

“I remember the first time I came here?—”

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