“You have to put it on,” Kairos said.
Gods, Kairos.
I raised my hair off my neck, beaming at him. “Would you?”
He stepped closer. His hands came up, brushing my neck. The chain dragged over my skin. He snapped the necklace closed, his hands sliding to my shoulders.
The wind tugged at my braid, lifting the loose strands. Kairos caught one, brushing it down along the side of my throat before letting it fall. My heart hammered as I turned around and reached for Kairos’s necklace.
“Your turn.”
He stared at me, then handed it over.
“You’ll have to bend down.”
He lowered himself, bringing his face level with mine.
My fingers trembled as I reached up, looping the chain around his neck. The shells clinked together. His skin burned my knuckles. I studied the fullness of his mouth. Then the ink curling down his throat drew my gaze—black lines disappearing beneath his collar.
Focus.
I fumbled with the tiny mechanism. His pulse hammered against my wrist, matching the frantic rhythm in my own chest. My palms slicked with sweat.
“Almost,” I whispered.
The clasp slipped. I tried again, my fingertips grazing the nape of his neck. A muscle in his jaw ticked. His hands hung at his sides, rigid.
The chain slid through my fingers. I caught it, hooking the clasp one more time. Click.
His exhale hit my mouth.
I couldn't move. We were close enough to kiss. Close enough that I could see the way his gaze dropped to my lips before snapping back up.
I rose on my toes, fingers still tangled in the chain at his collar, and pressed my lips to his cheek. The scrape of his stubble sent heat blooming through me.
Kairos froze.
I pulled back, my face burning.
The fae motioned toward the sea. “The palace awaits. Stay close.”
The others fastened their necklaces. One by one, they jumped off. The ocean swallowed them whole. They plummeted down, their forms shrinking into the darkness.
My heart hammered.
The Thalir fae followed me with those unsettling eyes.
Kairos stepped beside me. “Your turn.”
So much water. The waves rolled and crashed, dark and endless. I’d never learned to swim.
“I…I’m a bad swimmer.”
“We’re not swimming.”
Helpful as always.
The Thalir fae was still watching. Might as well give him the show. I trailed my fingers up Kairos’s chest.
