It was still dark when we emerged from the cave of visions, though dawn’s first glow tinged the horizon. We’d been in that cave the whole night, yet it had only felt like a few hours.
We swam silently toward the passage leading back to Finn’s villa, the chest floating between us. Its emptiness weighed on my mind like a stone.
The darkness the visions had evoked remained with Finn. His brows were drawn, and his jaw was tight, muscles standing out as his tail beat against the water.
I observed him from my peripheral vision, everything I’d learned in that cave burning in my chest.
As the whitewashed villas of Santorini rose from the towering rock face above us, Finn ran his hands over the stone, chanting under his breath in the ancient tongue of the sea. The Runes of the Ocean glowed, revealing the hidden doorway to the cave that led to the villa. He left it open so we could still see the sky and waters beyond, waiting for the moment I would change back.
Exhaling slowly, he swept his dark hair from his forehead as he pressed his back against the cave wall. His tail flicked beneath the surface, keeping him afloat. I leaned into the wall beside him, my webbed feet treading water beneath me.
“What are those veins on your wrist?” My chest constricted as I asked the question that had been plaguing me since the cave. I feared the worst, but I didn’t want to believe it.
Finn was silent for a moment before he blew out a shaky breath. “I think you already know.”
“The Shadow?”
He nodded.
Icy hands gripped my heart as the weight of the realization bent the world around me. “But the prophecy. If it’s in Poseidon’s Box, it can save you, and we only have one task left.”
“If the old man accepts the empty chest.”
“And if the prophecy—or some other cure—is not found... how long will you have?”
“Maybe a year. If I’m lucky, two.” He blew out another breath. “But as the disease progresses, I would need to stay in the Sanitatem just to remain alive, and frankly, I’d rather take my own life.”
Biting the inside of my cheek, trying to stifle the lump in my throat, I glanced sideways at Finn, his dark, soaked hair slicked back and the tattoos across his chest stark against his skin. An unexpected ache bloomed in my chest, but I quickly shoved it down. This man was my sworn enemy.
Through the cave entrance, I could see the milky glow of dawn spreading across the horizon, and the magic of my transition susurrated across my body.
The moment my human form returned, I spun to face Finn. “Don’t worry, we will find the prophecy.” I rested my hand on his inked forearm,my gaze tracking the pale scars beneath the designs. The wounds his father left him for being a boy with a heart who cared about animals.
“Yes.” He put his hand on mine and gripped it, but his eyes were filled with sadness.
I quickly pulled back, lowering my gaze from his. It found his sculpted chest, and I noticed the heart tattoo that he’d gotten just after I’d fled the Neptunus castle.
“What’s that tattoo about anyway?”
“My true love for you?” He deflected with a sarcastic eye roll.
I gave him a playful shove, grateful for the chance to lighten the mood, which had grown so heavy. But not before I caught it—a flicker of something darker crossing his face, the same shadow I’d seen when my eyes landed on his scars. It made me wonder if the new tattoo had something to do with his father.
My damp coat hung heavy as I climbed out of the water and turned away, allowing Finn to transform and slip into the clothes he’d left at the water’s edge.
The sky was blushed with the deep purples of early morning as we hauled the empty chest up the winding stone steps to the villa.
“Let’s get a few hours’ sleep, then take it to the old man,” Finn said as we entered.
We set the empty chest on the floor and stood silently for a moment, watching as water pooled around it. Both of us were lost in dark contemplation. Finally, Finn sighed and strode down the hallway to his room. He paused at the door. “Good night, shifter,” he murmured.
“Good night,” I said, offering a small smile. For reasons I was too tired to try to understand, I didn’t mind him calling me that anymore.
Exhaustion settled deep in my bones, and my eyes were heavy as Itossed my damp coat onto the bedroom floor. The moment my body hit the soft bed, I was asleep.
A muffled cry echoed through the villa, and I sat bolt upright in bed. This time, I knew I’d heard something.
Finn.
