Fae said, “Kessian, can I talk to Tal alone for a minute?”
Kessian nodded, but he paused to pat my arm and apologize once more before he left.
Neither Fae nor I spoke for an awkward length of time. The tension felt the same as it had standing over my grandfather’s grave, wondering what I could say, and there was so much, none of which would make the situation better.
Fae broke the silence. “Do you even want to come back?”
It wasn’t the question I expected. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Means what it says on the tin. Do you even miss us? Miss Shearwater?”
All my anger deflated. “Of course I do … I’m just used to it.”
There was a hard, flat lump on my ribs where a piece of debris in the strid had lodged when I’d fallen in. The magic of the water had healed the skin over it, and it caused me no pain, so it stayed there. Missing them was like that bit of shrapnel stuck between my ribs. It had been there so long, I forgot the pain of what it had been like when the wound was made.
Fae’s expression softened, tinged with sadness. “I don’t want you to get used to it. I want things to go back to the way they were.”
That was it. The thing I’d been grasping at while wondering why I’d really had a go at Fae. I wanted things to go back to normal, too, but they couldn’t, because Dad and Laurelie were gone.
But if there was a chance at something close, shouldn’t I take it? I hadn’t seen any sign of the wraith this morning. All my encounters had taken place at night. Maybe, if I timed my visits to Shearwater right, I could avoid any more.
“You really think Kessian’s magic will work?” I asked.
Fae’s posture finally relaxed. They said, “Why don’t you ask him?”
Chapter 6
Kessian insisted that he could guarantee nothing, that he understood my refusal completely, and that his methods were far from standard, but that he’d also had a great deal of success with other clients.
This reassured me far more than if he’d made grandiose claims about the spring’s preternatural abilities to fix me. I’d met many a dodgy salesman of essential oils and healing crystals on my travels, but Kessian was obnoxiously forthright.
Which was how I found myself standing on the bank of the spring, toes curled around the flagstone, every instinct within me rearing back from what I was about to do.
Kessian waited patiently and didn’t rush me. I still had my robe on and closed it tightly around me to combat the shivers. It was summer, but the sun had yet to burn the dewy night from the air, and I knew the water would be cold, though it wasn’t the cold I feared.
“Would it help if I stepped in with you?” Kessian asked.
“You’re fully dressed.”
“Are you trying to persuade me to get my kit off?”
“No! No, I wasn’t implying that.”
“Relax.” He was already kicking off his shoes and rolling up the legs of his trousers. “I’ll keep the rest on and change later.”
Technically, we weren’t supposed to go in with clothes on. I’d grown up here. I knew the rules. But I appreciated him breaking them for me,and equally appreciated the sly grin he flashed me when he said, “Though for the record, it wouldn’t take much persuasion from you. I do remember offering round two.”
I really, really could not entertain that thought. His flirting might put me more at ease, but I couldn’t afford to get close to anyone. Especially not in Shearwater.
Flagstones had been built into the banks to form a staircase. Kessian descended the first step, submerged to his ankles, and waited for me. The water glowed where it touched him, and I didn’t imagine it this time: the starry freckles on his cheeks glowed, too.
“I thought you were wearing makeup,” I said.
He glanced away. He didn’t strike me as the bashful type last night, but he looked it now. “They first appeared when the spring blessed me with these abilities.”
I wasn’t sure whether to feel safer or not, knowing the wild magic had shown him such favor, but I’d come this far.
With a deep breath, I took my first step into the water.
