“Sit, Warwick.” Faron patted the sand beside her, then began picking at the grains that immediately clung to the skin between her fingers. She’d forgotten how much sand loved to find the most inconvenient places on the human body to rest. “But if you’ve come to apologize, you can go and drown yourself instead.”
Reeve sat. His mouth was twisted into a half smile. “I shouldn’t have said those things.”
“You told your version of the truth. It’s all right.”
When he didn’t respond, she tried to watch him from her periphery. He wore a crumpled collared shirt and wilting suspenders, which were attached to khaki pants. Instead of walking shoes, he wore house slippers. His hair was a disaster. The shadows beneath his eyes were deep enough to have their own address. She’d never seen him so undone.
Her gaze snapped back to the ocean. “I liked that I could make you angry.”
Reeve made a confused sound.
“You’re always in control. And so smug about it. I wanted you to be angry. I wanted you to be honest, for once.”
“Youwanted honesty fromme? I’d say between the two of us, I’m the one who is usually honest.”
It’s different, Faron wanted to say, but she couldn’t even explain to herself why that was. And what did it matter if there was a wall between Reeve and other people? Between Reeve and herself?
“If you’re going to be irritating, you can go back inside,” she said instead. “I’m trying to enjoy the sunrise.”
Reeve drew up his legs to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, which made him look younger than usual. His chin pressed against his knees and his eyebrows furrowed as he watched the water lap at the shore. The silence was almost comfortable, if not for herawarenessof it, if not for the novelty of it, the two of them sitting in peaceful contemplation.
I summoned the Gray Saint, she wanted to say.It was easy. Too easy. He says his real name is Gael Soto. He says he can help us.She wanted to look into those pale-sky eyes and lift her chin and say,I’m doing something. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?
Reeve’s eyes slid shut. He turned his head toward her, pressing his cheek against his trousers with a soft, even breath. His skin was waxen in the dawning sunlight. His frenzied curls twisted in all directions. Small. He looked so small and young and tired. He was a year older than her, and yet he looked both immortal and infantile. He looked like a boy, and that made her feel like a girl, and theiralonenesswas suddenly impossible to ignore.
“Have you found anything new in your research?” Her voice seemed to ricochet across the empty vista. “Anything helpful?”
He cracked open an eye. “I’m trying to watch the sunrise.”
“I’ll drown you myself.”
Reeve laughed. It was slightly delirious and muffled by the fabric of his trousers, but it was still a laugh. Faron had never made him laugh like that before. She had no idea what this was. What to do next. She wanted him to leave. She wanted to make him laugh again. She rubbed her slick palms against her skirts, staring out at the vivid horizon. His laughter echoed in her bones.
By the time Reeve finally stood up, the sun was a blinding lemon yellow, curtained by clouds. Somewhere across the world, Elara was probably watching this same sky. Somewhere across the world, Elara was spending another day surrounded by enemies and monsters, unsure when she would be able to come home. Faron didn’t have to ask to know Reeve felt the clock ticking onward, amplifying the danger that Elara was in. She only hoped that she hadn’t made him feel guilty for something as small as watching a sunrise.
Not that she cared. But he was hardly of any use to Elara if he was ashamed and exhausted.
“Breakfast is probably ready,” Reeve said, stretching. “We should head back in.”
“I’ll be there soon. Tell them to leave mine on the table.”
She handed him the half-eaten bowl of guinep, discarded peels and seeds still damp with her spit. Reeve made a face, but he didn’t say anything. She watched him disappear up the stone steps carved into the cliffside, one suspender hanging off his shoulder and slapping against his thigh.
“Interesting,” said Gael Soto, appearing at the strandline like an apparition.
Faron swore.
“Sorry,” Gael continued with an amused smile. “Should I have started with hello?”
Faron climbed to her feet, dusting sand from the folds of her tiered day dress. She hadn’t summoned him, but she felt oddly comforted by his arrival. It drew a sharp line between whatever warmth she’d just felt and the rest of her day. It made her heart beat fast from shock rather than… anything else. “It’s fine. But if you’re calling Reeve interesting, I assure you he’s very boring.”
“You seemed interested.”
“I’m not.”
“Hmm.”
Faron glared at the gritty sand instead of at the god still strolling up the beach. “I didn’t summon you. Surely you aren’t just here to ask questions about my love life.”
