Page 70 of Sworn to My Heart
“Better now?” I ask, and he releases the breath he had been holding, astonished by what’s happening.
“I can’t believe it, I can talk underwater!” he looks around. “I feel like a complete rookie for the first time in years,” he smiles at me, amazed. He’s currently in my world, a place where he is utterly vulnerable, yet he chose to trust me. I love this exposed side of Luca. I glance back at him, and he now examines my body in the water.
“No matter where we are, sea or land, you shine in every environment you’re in,” he comments, swimming closer to me.
I look at my body, following his gaze, and realize we’re deep enough now for my scales to start glowing. This glow intensifies the deeper I swim, making it easier to navigate in dark places at the bottom. Even with my strong underwater vision, I need the glow to help me navigate better.
I excitedly grab his hand, now he gets to see all the beauty that lies beneath the surface. We swim forward, going deeper as we pass fish, colorful and glowing, entire schools swimming naturally between us. Luca’s eyes are captivated by everything happening around us, he is speechless, following everything with his eyes. The coral reefs around us are full of life and color, and suddenly, a familiar sound reaches my ears—dolphins.
I smile at him excitedly, “Now I get to show you my favorite thing in the sea,” I announce and quickly pull him along by his arm. His body struggles to keep up with my fast swimming, but I spot the dolphins within a few moments and stop.
“I can’t swim as fast as you, slow down,” his voice sounds behind me, and I turn to him with an apologetic look. In my excitement, I completely forgot he can’t swim like me. I swim toward the dolphins pod more slowly now, holding onto Luca, matching his pace. We move among the dolphins, and I let go of Luca’s arm as he starts to swim on his own, stroking themplayfully.
“They’re just like little puppies, you can play with them,” I tell him with a smile, bringing him closer and showing him how to approach them. He follows my lead. He’s in my world now. I keep reminding myself, as if I am dreaming.
Maybe one day, my parents will accept him too. The dream pops into my head, and I realize it’s a distant wish I’m not ready to deal with the consequences of just yet.
I look back at Luca, who now looks like a little boy with a radiant smile as he pets the dolphins, and I see his air bubble starting to shrink. “It’s time to head back to the shore,” I inform him, and he nods, reaching out his hand to me, already understanding that I’ll need to take him back with my fast pace.
I laugh at the thought that our roles are reversed now that we’re in my world. I’m the one who needs to look after him. His arm is wrapped around mine, and I swim quickly back to our little private beach.
I lift my head above water, ensuring Graham isn’t on the shore, and let the sea carry us back to the sand. Luca follows me out, helping to drag my body to a dry spot where I can transform my tail back into legs. Once I do, he runs to get my clothes. I put on my top bra and no longer feel the pain in my back; the water has healed my wounds, as expected.
I slip my white dress back on while he sits beside me, already dressed and buttoning his shirt.
“Wow,” his voice suddenly breaks the silence as he leans back, watching the waves crash onto the shore.
I chuckle, “Now you understand where I disappeared to for hours when you were looking for me?” He turns to look at me, the realization dawning on him, and he laughs.
“I can’t replace those experiences, but I plan to be a big part of it from now on,” he declares with his captivating smile meantjust for me.
“So, are we moving here?” I ask, glancing back at the villa, the open glass door reminding me that Graham is probably waiting for us in the car by now.
“I can’t move here right now; our place in Manhattan is tactical. I have to stay there. But we can come here whenever we want. This place is yours,” he says, picking up the key he gave me earlier, which I had left on my clothes. He places it back in my hand, and I plant a long kiss on his cheek, resting my head on his shoulder.
“Why age eight?” Luca suddenly asks. What is he talking about?
“What about age eight?” I ask, wrinkling my nose at the strange question.
“Why did your father come for you when you were eight?” he clarifies his question.
My heart beats faster as I realize Luca really listened to me that day when I told them everything. He truly followed everything I said. He didn’t respond or ask many questions that day; he probably just needed to digest all the information.
My smile widens, “I see you were actually listening to me back in the apartment that day, Mr. Spallo.”
“If you keep getting naked in front of my men, I will stop listening to you in favour of thinking of suitable punishments,” he looks at me slyly and smiles back, but I know he’s not joking about that. I immediately plant another kiss, this time on his lips.
“He claimed there was an insurgency. After it took my mother time to recover, my parents had to invest a lot of time quelling a long-lasting rebellion,” I answer his question as my lips part from his, and my gaze returns to the view of the crashing waves, memories of that day surfacing in my mind.
Luca nods and remains silent as if my answer was the missingpiece to the twisted puzzle he’s forming about my life in his head. But I’m glad he’s interested now.
“We need to get back; it’s almost 8 PM,” he suddenly says, bursting the small, intimate bubble we created here in this special place. I look at the sky, the darkness setting in, and nod.
“Just give me one moment,” I request excitedly, wanting to capture this special day.
I run quickly to the water, extending my hand forward and creating a small ball of water. Using my power, I shape it into a key and then solidify it. A little trick my mother taught me when I was a child on one of my father’s birthdays when I wanted to give him a special gift.
I hold the small key made from the sea water, smiling to myself. A small, transparent key that was once part of the beach where Luca and I shared my world for the first time.
