heels. “You are gone.”
She was. Sitting in her isolation booth trapped in her mind. Again.
“Do you want me to leave you?”
Aw. She wanted to ache for him—for being so nice, for understanding her—but she felt nothing inside but deadness.
“Talk to me,” her distant self ordered.
Hey, that was actually what she wanted.
He crossed his legs. “What do you wish to know?”
It was really good not to be alone.
The night passed, and his voice—his presence—kept her company. Pulling an all-nighter was pretty normal for her, and she was too rested from all the hours her body had shut her down during this voyage.
But every time she allowed herself to think about going with him, the film tightened and she lost herself again.
It wasn’t just the prospect of kissing this warrior. An almost uncontrollable urge deep inside told her this was it. This would save her. Not just right now, but for the rest of her life.
What would it mean to descend beneath the water and open herself up to an entirely new world? An entirely new ecosystem, environment, allergens and risks, and things that she didn’t know how to navigate? When she’d booked this boat at the last minute, she’d still calculated exactly what she’d need. Things had gone wrong, but her calculations had been right. If she left the boat now and entered the water, everything would change. She had no backups. She might be committing suicide.
And her allergies were unresponsive to Sea Opal elixir. Yes, she didn’t need to breathe. But what would happen underwater instead?
The worry sharpened his features. The night must be lightening. The dawn had come.
She didn’t want to spend another night on this broken-down ship.
A squiggle of nerves zipped through her empty stomach.
She was hungry again.
“You are coming back to me.” Gailen’s voice was rough from talking. He had so much endurance.
He handed her a large Sea Opal. His fingertips brushed her hand. He closed her cold fingers around its smooth shape. “This is yours.”
His gemstone.
The large, heavy pearl filled her palm like one of those relaxation eggs. Holding it soothed her deeply. It was slightly iridescent, with a warmth and fire deep within.
Each Sea Opal was worth so much money because it could be transformed into so many healing drugs and things. And it was beautiful as a gem. They now knew it was the resin of Life Trees and not a naturally forming rock.
“It’s beautiful,” she said distantly.
He tilted his head. “But it does not increase your soul’s resonance. Or, perhaps it does, but the barrier remains strong. Let me in, Starr.”
She wanted to.
Her chest remained tight.
His kind eyes looked sad.
He was so gorgeous that a question in her mind demanded why her? Was this a joke? She knew what she was like. She didn’t go outside, she didn’t exercise, and the only reason she wasn’t a fat slob was that any comfort food she wanted to enjoy would only kill her. She was doomy, she was gloomy, she was a submarine of her own sea.
But he was a merman. He swam in the sea.
He would find her in any sea.
And she was not alone there anymore. While her mind and her heart fought about everything else, they agreed on that one thing.
“It feels like you're trying to reach out, but an algae coats you and you cannot escape it.” He lifted his hand to her cheek and stopped a millimeter away, so close that she could feel the heat of his skin. “Can I touch you?”
Oh. Yes.
She tightened her grip around the Sea Opal, trying to focus on its shape and not on what he was about to do.
She nodded.
He touched her cheek.
She flinched.
He stopped.
She took a deep breath in through her mouth and released it shakily.
His fingertips touched her cheek and brushed back to her hairline until his palm cupped her jaw. His thumb jutted out, unable to touch her. And that was okay. Part of her was unable to ever touch him.
The iridescent threads in his eyes glimmered. Warmth, strength, steadiness transmitted to her.
Everything would be okay.
She leaned into his warmth.
He eased closer, ever so slowly, and curled his arm around her back. His thigh brushed hers and his gaze dropped to her lips. This was every heart-aching fantasy she’d ever had of an anime hero and heroine finally together. Her lips tingled.
The heat of him burned through her protective clothing. Her senses went crazy. She tensed. But it was too late now. She’d already used her last EpiPen.
But the tingling