“How are the kids, Emil?” Audrey asked. Ah, she knew him. I slowly became less tense.
He lifted a massive shoulder as he eyeballed both our grants and returned them to us. His blond hair was cropped short, and as he scratched his neck in response, I noticed a flash of pink.
Three pink lines flexed with his words as he told Audrey about school and extracurriculars his children were involved in, much like any human parent would. But I couldn’t focus on anything coming out of his mouth, because this man literally had gills on his neck.
“Finished,” the second man who boarded the boat called, exiting immediately.
Before he did, though, he gave me a harsh glare with his gold eyes.
I didn’t notice any gills, though.
Audrey waved goodbye to the gatekeeper as he stood and exited the boat, allowing us passage through the gates.
As soon as Liam pulled the boat away from the dock and toward the two pillars, a shimmer started to dance over the waves.
Keeping my eyes locked on the water, I asked Audrey, “Do you and Liam have gills, too?”
“Nope.” Audrey lifted a shoulder, not bothered at all by my questions. “Nereids have gills, fae do not.”
“Nereids are mermaids?” I asked. Audrey snorted and tipped her head side to side.
“Not exactly—but, again, whatever helps you understand them better,” Audrey replied.
“Do sirens have gills?” I asked, picturing an evil-looking mermaid. Even though the men who attacked me didn’t look mermaid-ish at all.
“If their shapeshifting is powerful enough to produce gills, then sure,” Audrey replied. I rubbed my eyes but could see the shimmer on the water get thicker and thicker. As we traveled through the pillars, the land around us was blurry. Changing. Like a vintage TV screen changing channels, but instead of the grey static of a transitioning image, more shimmering sparkles coated everything around us. I lifted my hand, shocked to see my fingers creating small waves throughout the sparkling, shimmering air.
“It’s magic, in its most visible form,” Audrey murmured. I assumed as much at this point, but I nodded anyway to let her know I heard her just fine. The scenery finished transitioning, and I was shocked to recognize the ocean around me, with our tiny beach town far in the distance. When I sat up and looked behind us, a large island I had only ever admired from the comfort of my docks was directly behind us.
The unpopulated side of Catalina Island, that is.
It was as if we emerged from the large earthy edge, even though that was impossible. But a few random shimmers fading into the light of day let me know that we did, in fact, just casually emerge out of the flat edge of the earth.
As Liam steered the boat around the curve of the island for a few silent minutes, the popular tourist stop of Avalon came into view.
“Oh my god,” I breathed.
Audrey giggled as she said, “Welcome home, Van.”
I shared a shocked laugh with her as we sailed away from Catalina and toward Marina Vista, our home. One thing I immediately noticed as we made it through the Mellhawn Gates was something that I didn’t think would bother me so much.
The subtle, melodical tune that seemed to travel in the air of Hyvenmere was suddenly gone. I tried my best to recall the details of it; how soothing it was to me. But I couldn’t. I rubbed my chest as a weird sense of longing for the melody filled it. I immediately pushed the feeling away, focusing on the utter relief of going home soon. Liam’s fancy castle bed was great and all, but it wasn’tmine.
The first thing I was going to do when we got back to our condo was take a long, overdue nap. Then, if I had time, perhaps try to recall the melody I heard in Hyvenmere. If I could recreate that peaceful sound on my own, surely, I wouldn’t feel any longing nonsense for the magical realm again.
Chapter 6
If anyone were to ask me how you’re supposed to go on with life after discovering magical people exist, as well as entire realms, I’m not sure I’d have an answer for them. Every day after that adventure with Audrey and Liam felt weird. Every time I walked to work, or went grocery shopping, or ran errands, I felt like I was in a simulation. I would find myself staring at everyone walking by. People were casually going about their day, most likely completely unaware of people like Liam and Audrey. Of the magical realm.
Just like I used to be.
It was unsettling to exist in this world now.
I was constantly glancing over my shoulder while desperately trying to cling to any sense of normalcy I had. Having the unstable childhood I did, I didn’t like a lot of sudden changes. It triggered my fight or flight.
But I was coping. I found peace in getting back into my routines. Opening and closing the coffee house. Chatting with my employees. Cleaning the custom live-edge wood countertop I special-ordered from a carpenter I used to date. Watering the dozens of indoor plants that hung sporadically throughout the open concept space, soaking up all the natural light from thefront wall of windows. Ordering baked goods from the bakery a couple of blocks away.
Audrey was spending more time at the condo, and Liam would only show up half the time. I wanted to ask Audrey more about her uncomfortably platonic relationship with him, but I refrained because she was so touchy about it. I did, however, ask him yesterday if he had a job, when he showed up unannounced, and he just rolled his eyes and raided our pantry.
