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“I want you to quiet your mind and feel inside yourself. Right here.” He tapped my chest, his fingers gentle and soft. “Do you see how it feels cold? Dark? That means your magic is running low, and therefore hunger is not far behind.”

I quieted my mind and reached inward. “I think…I can see it.” The hollow ache was there, but the warmth of a tiny ember of golden light flickered like a dying fire. Now that I’d seen it, I was shocked that I hadn’t before.

“That’s your heart’s warning signal,” Layne murmured. “When the golden fire inside you dims like that, you’re approaching the edge. You ignored that tonight…don’t do it again.”

I scrunched my face, but knew that he was right.

“Now, find that hollowness,” his voice brushed against my left ear now, and I felt his presence behind me. I focused on the barely visible embers of magic while trying to keep my face from flushing as his body pressed against me.

I reached inside myself until I could see the dimming flicker of magic, buried underneath my exhaustion.

“Now, focus on that ember. Stoke it. Breathe a little life back into it.”

I tried to envision the embers igniting, blowing on them like you would a fire. A smile formed as the ember pulsed brighter. The ache of hunger didn’t disappear, but it lessened. Manageable.

Layne’s voice ghosted in my ear. “There you are. See? You’re stronger than you think.”

My eyes snapped open, only to find him in front of me now, his golden eyes beaming back at me. Close enough that I could feel the simmering of heat radiating between us.

I didn’t lean back, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

He actually helped me, I thought, unsure of why I kept getting flushed.

Neither of us said anything. We just looked at each other, the current billowing our hair as it swept past. I found myself searching for the trick that was usually so easy to spot, or the mischievous glint in his eye, but found none.

As far as I could see, there were no games to be played or riddles to solve this time. Layne watched me with the same intensity as usual, but this time without the usual feeling of ownership behind it. In this moment, it didnt feel like I was his creation, or his little drowned one, and certainly not a goddamn princess.

He was looking at me like I was just...Evelyn.

My stomach flipped, and the scales along my arms bristled, my face flushing in response.

What the hell am I thinking?

Layne’s devious smile returned as he backed away. “Practice that,” he said, his sardonic tone returning. “Every hunt, learn where your edge is before you fall off it, please.”

“Uh…I…th-thanks. I–I have to go,” I stammered, suddenly desperate to put distance between us.

“Of course. You need to rest. Recover. But when hunger calls you again…” He paused, catching my wrist before I could swim away, his grip firm yet gentle. He looked deep into my eyes with something that looked like sincerity. “Remember what I said. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” His grip tightened, ever so slightly. “Not when we're so close.”

My brow furrowed. “Close to what?”

Layne's grin widened. “To getting you everything you've ever wanted, of course. Preston's rotten heart in your hands…justice for your father.” He leaned his head closer to me, golden eyes gleaming. “Isn't that what this is all about?”

It was. Of course it was.

Pulling my wrist free, I turned away and dove deeper into the depths. As the glow of Layne’s eyes faded behind, confusion and anger bloomed inside me.

Layne’s voice echoed through the waters, his parting words sarcastic but serious. “See you soon, my little drowned one. Try not to get yourself killed.” And then, he was gone. Back to whatever shadowy corner of the ocean he had crawled out of.

A school of salmon swam by as my mind churned at everything that had happened. I’d killed my only connection to Preston, severing any possible lead. As frustrating as he was, Layne had helped me learn more about my limitations, the curses' hold on me, and what not to do moving forward.

But I had also learned something else. Layne wasn't going to make anything easy for me, and not only that, but there was something deeper to him. Something I couldn't place just yet.

Worst of all, he was infuriating, cryptic, and downright impossible—and yet…part of me had been glad to see him again. Grateful that for a single moment, I didn't feel so alone.

I didn't want to feel that way. Didn't want to need him, even just to ease the loneliness. But in that brief moment, his hand on my chest, his body close to mine—I had.

That feeling, that is what terrified me more than anything else.