Page 18 of In Your Light

“Sure am,” he said, looking over the edge into the water. It was the darkest water Fyn had ever seen. “May I sit with you?”

“Of course,” he said, patting the jetty beside him.

Fyn sat and let his bare feet dangle over the edge, mirroring how Sawyer was sitting. “I was hoping to catch Aurin and Salem,” he explained.

Sawyer sighed and nodded to the water. “They’re all in there. Well, not all of them. Hudson’s up in his garden, I think.”

Fyn peered into the water. “You didn’t want to join them? Or is it a safety thing to have one of you remain on land?”

He snorted out a sarcastic sound. “I have human lungs. And a warm-blooded circulatory system.”

“Ah. Makes sense. I, too, have lungs and am warm-blooded.” He peered at the water. “Even if I could, I don’t know if I would. It’s very dark.”

“And cold,” Sawyer added. Then he held up his arm that had a hard sleeve under his coat. “Plus, I still have this. Can’t get it wet.”

Fyn studied it for a moment longer. “What is it?”

“A plaster cast. My arm was broken. And my hand.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t fun for me.”

Fyn winced. “Was that the sea monster’s doing?”

Sawyer glanced at him before smiling and giving a nod. “Yeah.”

“That’s what Cern called her,” Fyn explained.

“You came down with him to get Salem.”

“He was nearly dead.”

“Cern fixed him,” Sawyer said. “At least, that’s what Aurin told us.”

“He did. He has the magicks in him.”

“Magicks?”

“Yeah,” Fyn said with a shrug. “Old god stuff.”

“Ah, of course. Old god stuff.”

Then Fyn froze. “Oh blight. Did I talk out of turn? You knew that already, right?”

Sawyer laughed and clapped his hand on Fyn’s shoulder. “Relax. I knew already.”

Fyn sagged with relief. “Phew. Pax woulda killed me for sure, if Cern hadn’t already.”

“Believe me, I’ve been on Cern’s bad side once. It’s not recommended.”

Fyn snorted. “What did you do?”

“Disrespected him and called him out on his bullshit.” Sawyer shook his head. “Not my finest moment.”

Fyn laughed. “And he let you live?”

Sawyer chuckled too. “So far.” He watched the water again for a while. “Who’s Pax?”