terrace, Kyon takes me to a large outdoor enclosure. Three of the walls are weathered—made of wood with small cracks between the slats. The fourth wall is an enormous fireplace made from the smooth, gray breaker rocks that surround the shoreline. Without a roof, the glow of stars shines on us. I can make out the sea between the gaps in the wide-plank boards.
Kyon walks to a raised black control panel and passes his hand over the surface. It triggers the fireplace—flames leap to life in the hearth. At the same time, small white tapers ignite from low wicks around the enclosure. The soft light doesn’t diminish the shine of the stars and moons above us.
We move near the wooden slats of the wall that faces the sea. He makes a gesture with his arm reminiscent of a conductor signaling to his musicians to prepare to play. Five black orbs uncoil from the floor. Startled, I gasp as they spring up like snakes from a charmer’s basket, hissing and arching above our heads. Water pumps through long tail hoses attached to their diamond-shaped heads as they surround us.
Flinching away from the scalding heat, I wrap my arms around Kyon’s nape and turn my trembling lips against his neck trying to find shelter from the hot water. The inky, round circles that mark his throat stare back at me. Kyon holds me tighter, murmuring unintelligible words to me in a low voice. Steam rises around us, and for several moments, neither of us moves. The only sound from me is the chattering of my teeth.
Slowly, I warm and relax against Kyon. Water slithers over me in a pelting rhythm.
“Why did you come back?” Kyon asks. His lips are near mine. “When you sent yourself into the future, I waited, but then your heart stopped and I knew—you weren’t coming back. I tried to keep you alive anyway, but I didn’t really think you’d return.” His tone is thoughtful. “I know how stubborn you are.”
My eyes drift to his. He’s watching my mouth. The water tastes of a thousand tears on my lips when I speak. “The better question is: Why would you work so hard to bring me back? I’ll kill you before I let you control me. You should’ve just let me go.”
He laughs low. “You’ve already tried to kill me. It didn’t work.”
“So why bring me back?”
“I look at you and I see the loneliest girl in the world.”
My chin ticks up. “I have a stone heart, Kyon. Nothing touches it.” It’s a lie that I need to make true again.
He watches me for a moment. I somehow feel like he knows all there is to know about me. “Maybe it’s your tragic innocence that made me keep you alive. Maybe I want to see it die screaming my name.” He leans his lips closer to mine. My hand grasps his wet hair. I tug on it with enough pressure to get his attention. His eyes shift from my mouth to my eyes.
“You have to earn me.”
Water streams over the sharp angle of his cheek to drip from his chin onto me. His black tattoos rope around his corded muscles and run down his neck. The thick lines bunch, forming a coiling sidewinder at my words. He lets go of my legs, allowing me to slide over his tattoo where it winds down his abdomen until my toes touch the hard stone floor.
“I don’t have to earn you, Kricket. You’re already mine.” He waves his hand in a dismissive gesture. The hovering shower heads turn off and descend to resting positions on the ground. He leaves me where I am for a moment as he walks to a recessed alcove. Pulling a sheetlike towel from a pile of them, he strips off his wet clothes. I turn away, blushing. My fingertips grip the rough, wooden slat that separates me from the sea beyond. I peer through the gap. How do I escape from here?
Kyon moves behind me; he’s so quiet that I don’t know he’s there until I feel him grasp the edge of my sopping nightgown. I shy away from him, bumping into the splintered wood. “What are you doing?” I gasp.
He has a dry towel draped over his arm. The other towel is wrapped low on his hips. “I’m taking care of you,” he replies, holding fast to my hem.
I try to swat his hand from it. “I don’t need you to take care of me.”