“Perhaps.”
“Are you growing fond of me?”
She arched a brow. “Perhaps.”
I chuckled, the sound vibrating low in my chest. “Are you ready to pay up on our wager and tell me your secret?”
“Now?”
“No better time than the present.”
The wind shifted, carrying her scent—winter pines and cold steel with a rich spice I hadn’t yet named. Her gaze lingered on me for a heartbeat too long, and the tension between us thickened with everything we hadn’t said since I kissed her against the tree.
“I’ll consider it,” she murmured at last, turning back to the waves. “If you survive the mission.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed, shaking my head. “Always the optimist, I see. I’ll make sure to remember that.”
“Always the realist,” she corrected. A ghost of a smile graced the corner of her mouth before she melted back into the shadows as if she’d never been there. “Get some rest, shifter. I don’t want you falling behind tomorrow.”
Zola’s silhouette disappeared below deck, the echo of her words still hanging in the air. The wind howled softly in her absence, tugging at the ship’s sails and my thoughts.
And gods help me, I already missed her.
“She’s right, you know,” a familiar voice said behind me.
I turned, and there she was,Neera.
Her dark braid was damp with sea mist, cunning eyes, the unique green shade of the Cathal bloodline, honed solely on me. She leaned against the mast, arms crossed, watching me with that look that always managed to cut through my armor.
“I didn’t hear you come up,” I said. “Have you been here long?”
Her mouth quirked. “You were distracted. Happens when you’re staring after the High Fae spymaster like a lovesick cub.”
I snorted. “That obvious, huh?”
“Painfully.” She stepped closer, her boots thudding softly on the deck. “You’re different, Shaw. More… relaxed. More open when you’re with her.”
I raised a brow. “Open? That’s a first.”
She smiled, small but genuine. “Don’t get me wrong—you still keep things close to your chest. But something’s changed in you. The bond between you two? It’s real. I can see it. It just needs time.”
The truth hit harder than I expected. I turned back toward the sea, watching the faint shimmer of moonlight dance across the waves. “We didn’t ask for it.”
“No,” she said gently. “But maybe it doesn’t matter. I told you I was happy for you, remember?”
“I remember.” And I would be lying if I said I believed her fully.
“I didn’t know if I meant it then.”
I smiled to myself.I knew it.
Her voice softened, carrying a hint of a smile. “But after seeing you together these past weeks, how you were with her just now—it fits, Shaw. You both have secrets and a darkness that clouds your pasts, but once you decide to open up and truly trust each other…” She paused, searching my face. “You’ll be unstoppable together.”
The winds shifted, carrying Neera’s scent of wild earth and fresh ferns. The scent of a past that still lingered but no longer called me home.
Neera gave a faint nod toward the lower deck. “Rest. We land in the morning.”
Alone again, I leaned against the railing and stared into the dark waves. Lowering to the deck, I crossed my arms and allowed my head to fall against the hull of the ship, letting the waves and the stars above roll me into a gentle sleep.
