“The wind’s shifting,” he murmured near my ear. “Feel that?”
I did. A subtle but distinct change in pressure, the sails catching at a different angle. I nodded as his other hand came to rest at the small of my back.
“Steady,” he said, his voice a shade rougher now. “You’re compensating too much.”
I hadn’t realized I was. The ship’s movement was instinctive to him, but to me, it still felt like an untamed thing, responding too easily to my slightest shift.
He exhaled, a near-silent chuckle. “You’re fighting her.”
I tipped my chin up at him, half in challenge. “Then show me how not to.”
His fingers curled over mine on the wheel, adjusting my grip. The touch was jolting, but not in the least undesirable, despite the fact that this was Marek, a man I’d been cursing most days for years.
“Don’t force her, sereia. Let the ship tell you where she wants to go, then guide her there. Not too much, not too little. Just enough.”
His words were low, deliberate, sending a different kind of awareness curling through me.
I swallowed. “Like this?”
His chest brushed my back as we moved with the ship’s subtle sway. “Better. Now, what were we talking about before that strange turn of events? Ahh, yes. I remember now. Us.”
Us. Me being jealous of Cassandra. My tumultuous thoughts that ranged from anger to gratitude to bitterness to desire.
“I’d prefer to talk about something else.”
He waited until I locked eyes with him before responding. “I’d prefer not to talk at all.”
His meaning was clear. But instead of scolding him, as I should, my gaze fell to his lips, remembering. His lips parted, inviting.
Damn him to the Depths. After everything, I still wanted to kiss him.
17
MAREK
This was too deep, even for me.
The pressure crushed my chest, but that pink glow still beckoned. Swimming toward it, I finally saw her. My mother’s hair flowing behind her like seaweed. I couldn’t see her face but knew it was her. Bubbles floated upward from her mouth. She was alive! Just as I reached out to grab her, something pushed me down from above. I struggled to break free, but an unseen force dragged me deeper into the darkness.
The harder I fought, the deeper I sank. The water around me like tar. My vision blurred and lungs burned. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
“Marek.”
A soft voice. Hand on my arm.
“Wake up.”
I woke with a gasp. Sweating, I looked around, orienting myself. I was not in the ocean’s depths but slumbering against a coil of rope.
Issa squatted down beside me.
Sitting up, I looked around. It was still dark, not yet morning.
I saw Issa but couldn’t fully appreciate her features. I still saw my mother’s hair, floating behind her. Felt the pressure of diving so deep against my chest.
“A nightmare?” she asked, sitting beside me, her back against the rope.
Looking at her, the terror of knowing I couldn’t save my mother still fresh, I couldn’t yet speak.
