Cold wet ocean swallowed her, and she dunked under. Sputtering, she clawed up to the surface. It was far colder than the other day, biting cold. Caz was shrieking from the shore, and Larran was shouting her name, about to dive in after her—
And she saw Sian chasing the bobbing tomatoes in the waves.
Kiela began to laugh.
“She, um, my fault,” she gasped out.
Larran knelt on the rocks and held out his hand. She took it and clambered out. Immediately, she began to shiver as her wet clothes clung to her.Gah, he wasn’t joking about the temperature—why is it so freezing?She wrapped her arms around her chest. It hadn’t been anywhere near this cold the other day.
“I don’t know what got into—” Larran began.
“My fault,” Kiela repeated. “I knew she liked—”
“That’s no excuse for her—”
“She must have smelled them,” Kiela said. “I should have left the basket on the shore.”
“She’s been trained,” Larran said, “by me. This is my fault more than yours—”
No, it was her carelessness and clumsiness that was at fault. He couldn’t have predicted she’d bring Sian’s favorite treat within smelling distance. “I don’t think you can really blame yourself for—”
“Of course I’m to blame. She’s my—”
Caz bounded along the jetty, his tendrils waving in the air. “Kiela, Kiela, I thought it had eaten you! Are you okay? Are you in one piece? Count your legs. Do you have two legs? Fingers? Did you lose a finger? Are you losing blood? Oh seeds, she’s going to faint from blood loss, hit her head, and drown in the sea all because of shelving!”
“Deep breath, Caz. I’m fine.” She held up her hands and waved her fingers. “All ten.”
“You look bluer than usual,” he said. “Are you cold? Do you have hypothermia?”
She laughed. “I swear I’m fine.” But she was shivering, and her toes and fingers were so cold that she felt like she’d been burned.Maybe I’m not so fine.
Larran laid his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s get you inside and warm. You need to get out of those wet clothes.” She shivered beneath his touch, and he released her.
She’d been immersed in the water when they’d rode the merhorses and hadn’t felt anywhere near this chilled. Granted, it was cooler today, and there was more wind, but that didn’t explain why the sea was quite so frigid. Its temperature must have plummeted dozens of degrees. Her teeth were chattering hard, and she couldn’t seem to stop them. “Dry clothes would be nice. I didn’t bring any with me, though. Just tomatoes.”
All three of them glanced at the water, where Sian was merrily bobbing through the waves, polishing off the last of the dozen tomatoes.
“You can borrow some of mine,” Larran said.
He held out his hand to help her along the stone pier, but she didn’t take it. She didn’t want to let go of hugging her arms. The wind was slicing through her. Caz hopped along next to her, and she could feel the worry radiating off his leaves. “Really, I’m fine,” she told him through chattering teeth.
“You screamed,” he said.
“I was startled, due to falling into the water unexpectedly.” They didn’t have to make such a fuss about it. Now that the moment was over, she was more than a little embarrassed. It would be nice if they could move on and forget that it had happened, but maybe after she got a little warmer . . . Eesh, why had it been so icy?
Larran led her inside his house. “One minute,” he said, ducking into the back room.
While Caz swung himself up onto a chair, Kiela, despite her shivering, looked around with interest. It was all warm honey-colored wood: the floor, the high ceiling, the walls, the table. In one corner was a wood-burning stove on a hearth made of white quartz. On every surface, he’d placed a seashell. A clamshell by the sink. A conch on the table. A spiral-shaped one that she couldn’t name was on the mantel. She could tell each had been chosen with care.
Larran emerged with a stack of clothes, as well as a towel. “You can change in there, if you like.” He blushed as he gestured toward his bedroom.
Gratefully, she took the clothes and towel and scurried into his room, shutting the door behind her. His bedroom had a four-poster bed in the same honey-colored wood. It was piled with quilts, slightly mussed, as if he’d straightened them quickly when he realized she might see them disheveled. Another shell sat on his nightstand, this one with a candle in it. Except for the rumpled, very-inviting-looking quilts on the bed, everything else was as neat as the library. His boots were tucked side by side next to the closet, and there wasn’t a hint of dust anywhere.
Peeling off her wet clothes, Kiela listened to Larran and Caz through the door.
“That was terrifying,” Caz said. “I nearly lost my root ball, I was so upset.”
“She’ll be fine once she’s warmed up,” Larran said soothingly. “It wasn’t a bad fall. She didn’t hit any of the rocks, and she wasn’t under for more than a second.”
