Page 248 of The Wishing Game

"You did? That's impressive."

"Of course." He nods. "The pearl is an exceedingly rare one. I acquired it from the nereid queen herself. There are only two in existence," he proclaims proudly.

"I don't know what to say," I mumble in awe, unable to take my eyes off the bracelet. "Who has the other pearl?"

Silence greets me at that question.

I slowly look up to find him staring at the ceiling, his cheeks flushed.

"I do," he admits awkwardly, pulling his sleeve up to reveal a similar bracelet with a white pearl.

"Oh, we match." I smile, placing my wrist against his. The two pearls emit a sharp gleam when they're placed side by side, indicating they're a pair. As I stare at the two of them together, the purple and white swirl together, almost as if the essences of the pearls are getting combined. Moving my hand away, I note that my pearl becomes a deep purple again, while Ze's returns to its white state. "But how did you convince her to give you both of them if they're so rare?"

"I did not need to convince her. The pearls are the solidified tears of a mermaid, and they become the property of whoever makes one cry. Mermaids almost never cry, which is why they are so rare."

I stare at him in shock.

"You made a mermaid cry to get the pearls?" I ask numbly. Speechless, I do not know whether to be incensed or touched—both emotions are at war inside of me. This is Ze we're talking about, though. Am I really that surprised he'd do this?

The answer is rather obvious...no.

"Not...directly," he answers sheepishly. "I merely relayed to her that her mate was dead." He shrugs. "But she only shed one tear, and I needed two so we could match, so I told herhowhe died." He nods to himself, no doubt proud of his strategy.

I shake my head at him.

"That's cruel, Ze," I lightly admonish him.

"It is not. It is just the way of our world. Nereids, too, know that death is everywhere. Not even a god is spared from the ravages of injury or disease. We may be immortal in a timeless sense, but we are not impervious. Save for the Primordials, no one is invincible."

"That doesn't make it better," I protest. Humans may be mortal, and death may be a part of daily life, but we spend our entire livesavoidingthe reality of death.

Ze shrugs again.

If it were any other person, I would have been more disturbed by this blasé display. But I've gotten used to him and his particular way of seeing the world—through a rather amoral lens. Does it make it better? No. But at least there's a logic to explain his actions—though I may not agree with them.

"I made the golden chain, though," he suddenly adds, his voice echoing with pride.

"Do I want to ask where you got the gold for it?" I raise a brow.

He swallows hard and panic flares in his eyes.

"I do not think you want to know."

"Good, let's leave it at that." I sigh, glancing once more at my bracelet. It's so pretty, though. I'll overlook its unusual provenance this time—and this time only.

I make to move, but he moves with me, blocking my way.

"Now let us talk about my boon," he says eagerly. He places his hands behind his back—his usual stance—as he glances down at me expectantly. He's almost like a kid waiting for his reward, though in this case Ze didn't do much for it since I got swindled out of ninety-one points for him merelynotharming other people.

I sigh as I shake my head.

"Fine. What do you want?"

I'm almost afraid to find out what he wants. Although I've gotten to know him better recently, there's still that part of him that's unreachable, thathumanpart that he's only discovering too. If he barely knows his wants and desires, then who am I to guess them? But that makes him unpredictable, too—dangerous even—because he could want the most outrageous thing.

I could refuse, of course. But I gave him my word, and that matters tome.

I'll just have to hold my fingers crossed that he won't come up with somethingtoooutlandish.

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