“No, you’re not.”
“I think it’s because of you,” Sawyer said. “Because of our bond. Like something inside me already knew I was meant for you. I wanted to stay underwater forever just to be with you. But you know... the whole lung thing is an issue.”
Ciaran chuckled. “Yes. The human form has many flaws.”
Sawyer chuckled, then got up and went to his bag. “Let me find some shorts. I should probably invest in a wetsuit. That way I won’t freeze to death.”
Ciaran made an unhappy humming noise. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t go in,” he said. His face twisted in anguish. “It’s... it’s not safe.”
“Not safe?”
“Cold,” he amended. “Too cold for humans.”
Sawyer pulled on some shorts anyway. “I’ll just take a dip for invigoration purposes. Like they do in the cold countries.”
Ciaran sighed. “You sound like Fray.”
Sawyer smiled at that. “And you’ll be with me. Nothing can happen to me if you’re with me, right?”
Ciaran looked torn, and Sawyer had to wonder if Ciaran could say no to him now that they were bonded. “You want to say no, don’t you?”
“So bad.”
Sawyer laughed and picked up his towel on his way over to Ciaran. Grinning, he booped him on the tip of his nose. “You’re so fucking cute. Let’s go get you wet.”
Ciaran scrunched up his nose. “Okay, so I draw the line at you saying it like that.”
Sawyer laughed as he went outside. The air was brisk, but there was no wind, and the sun was doing its very best to break through the clouds.
The forest around them was misty and silent, the water still. It might have been eerie if Sawyer didn’t find it so peaceful.
He walked down to the end of the jetty and looked into the water. It didn’t seem so mysterious here. It wasn’t a swirling galaxy, that was for sure. The water was dark, though—too dark to be considered normal. He turned around to ask Ciaran howdeep it was, but all he found was a crumpled pile of empty clothes on the jetty.
What the hell?
Then he felt a wet tap-tap-tap on his foot, and he spun around to find a long red tentacle beckoning him into the water.
Sawyer couldn’t help but laugh. He dumped his towel with the clothes and jumped in.
It was cold—breathtakingly so. The immediate shock to his entire body made his heart rate explode, but long red tendrils wrapped around him, and when the bubbles cleared, Ciaran’s freeform face was there, watching, blinking.
Smiling?
It made Sawyer laugh, which of course wasn’t something a human could do underwater very well. He pushed up to the surface for air, and a moment later, Ciaran’s very human face appeared in front of him.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you laugh.”
Sawyer was grinning, treading water. But it was colder than he could stand for long—he really needed a wetsuit—and he wanted Ciaran to be able to enjoy his time in the water without worrying Sawyer getting hypothermia. The sun was cloud free, so he took hold of Ciaran’s face and kissed him. “I’m gonna soak up those rays of sunshine,” he said. “Don’t go too far.”
Ciaran’s eyes flashed with... gratitude? And then he was gone.
Sawyer climbed up onto the pier and lay on his back. The sun was warm. Probably not warm enough, but man, it felt so good on his cold skin. He closed his eyes, smiling up at the sky, unable to recall a time in his life when he’d been this happy.
This peaceful.
He might have dozed off. He wasn’t entirely sure. Time did feel different here in Tenebrae Cove. Perhaps it was simply his lack of a watch or clock. There was no set time for anything.No nine-to-fives, no shift work, no stores that were open at specific times, no schedules, no timetables. It was like being on permanent vacation.
Meeting his soulmate aside, he really did love this place.
