Page 20 of Stolen Magic of the Deep

I blink against the sting of saltwater, my vision slowly adjusting. My eyes stop burning, finally, and of course, the first thing I see are his glistening abs that look personally offended by the idea of body fat. I roll my eyes, mostly to cover the heat rising in my face.

My eyes move downward, and I scream. His legs are gone. Replaced by what resembles a massive, mythical serpent tail, covered in deep navy and black iridescent scales that shimmer with bioluminescent light. After a beat of silence, fear takes over. I turn away, swimming up towards the surface. Before I can even move a few feet, he is there, in front of me. His hands clasp around my upper arms, stopping me from going any further. “Sarah, I need you to listen to me.”

“Holy fucking shit,” I breathe, eyes bulging out of their sockets. “No—get the hell away from me.” He releases me, and I swim backwards, slow and shaky, trying to think. Always thinking. That’s all I’ve fucking done these past few days. From touching the rift, to Leo showing me that damn camera feed, to this asshole showing up uninvited to my penthouse . . . Then all this nonsense about magic—fucking magic. And now this.

He’s a monster.

“Enough!” The warning in his voice leaves no room argument, though his words barely register.

My vision tunnels. My chest tightens. I start to hyperventilate. I need to get away. I’m definitely dreaming. He has a fucking tail.

"Control yourself . . ."

He’s still talking, still trying to reason with me, but I can’t hear him over the screaming in my brain. My gaze is locked . . . no, glued to his lower half. It’s massive. Based on my marine experience, I’d say it’s at least twenty feet long. Maybe more. I can’t even fathom what it’s like hauling that thing around everywhere. Does it curl naturally behind him like that?

“How . . .” The words slip out before I can stop them. I don’t even know what the fuck I’m trying to ask. I just stare, mouth open, brain short-circuiting.

“That is none of your business. What is important is getting to my kingdom,” he declares.

I simply nod at him, not sure how else to respond, still too freaked out. He is speaking, but my mind is a tornado, swirling endlessly, destroying any cohesive thoughts.

He was telling the truth. This man, creature-thing enters my life, sounding completely ludicrous, and now it . . . Isn’t?

I want it to be. I should be moving. Trying to escape. That’s what any normal person would do, right? In any situation where a human feels threatened, we have a fight or flight mode, but I appear to be doing nothing . . . absolutely nothing. Frozen in place as the impossible swims in front of me.

His words cut through my spiraling, snapping me back to my present situation. “There is only one thing I want to explain at this moment because it involves me touching you,” he admits slowly, like he is also unsure of this next step. “Traveling to my kingdom at your speed could take us roughly two months. We do not have that kind of time. Learning to breathe underwater has put the ever-rising force of the magic within you to rest for now, but it could rise again as soon as another sea day. To prevent that, I need you to allow me to hold you in my arms, and I will swim us both there in no time. We could be there before the end of the sea day, allowing us both a chance to rest for the night. And I would appreciate being able to do all of this without a fight.”

As I continue to float in place, legs kicking just enough to stay up, my eyes glide to his face. Noticing my glance was still glued to his tail. “You just tried drowning me all of but two minutes ago and now you’re telling me you want to hold me in your arms?” I bark.

I can see it now, holding onto him tightly, my hands wrapped around his neck. My face nuzzled into his chest as he takes us to his kingdom.

Ugh, what is wrong with me?

“You mistake necessity for desire. Holding you is the last thing I wish to do.”

“Fine, but don’t expect me to like it.”

“Of course not.” He says flatly.. “One final thing, my tail grants me the ability to propel through the water gracefully at considerable speed. I have never attempted it while carrying another, so what you experience is of little concern to me. We will arrive regardless.”

He glides closer to me, placing his hands carefully behind my back and under my knees.

Get out while you can, Sarah . . . What are you doing?

“Understood. Let’s just get this over with.”

The water around us flows so naturally as we descend to the ocean floor, that I barely notice we’re moving. It would almost feel like a slow, ordinary swim—if not for the speed at which the plant life blurs past us, vanishing before I can even register what it was.

Instead, I focus on what I can see—him. His broad shoulders, his chiseled features, and the steady beat of his heart beneath his chest, which I lightly rest against. Faint, glowing runes trace down his left arm and curl across his chest where my cheek now lies, their lines delicate but pulsing with power.

And just as I imagined, once in his arms, I wrapped both hands around his neck, fingers interlocked for a stronger hold, realizing how close I truly was to him. Close enough to feel the pulse in rhythm with the pattern etched into his skin. Close enough that my heart starts racing. It hasn’t slowed since his fingers grazed the back of my knees. With my cheek near his smooth skin, I catch a scent that clings to him even here. It’s subtle, but it wraps around me—salt and driftwood—impossible to ignore. Unmistakably his, a scent that comes from the sea.

I’ve never smelled anything like it before. Wait—smell? I can smell underwater . . .

Time passes and we haven’t spoken a word to each other. The awkwardness becomes agglutinant, adhering to me like a residue you can’t scrape off your skin.

I break the silence first, deciding this is my chance to get some answers.

“How did you enter my home?” My voice is low, barely above a whisper, possibly too quiet with the roar of the ocean soaring past us.