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I made the first move and stepped back. “Just off to the healer’s shop.” We both gathered peppers and refilled the basket. It seemed our fingers grazing each other’s was far more planned than accidental. At least from my side. “Raina needs a poultice for her sore knees,” I explained.

“I’m heading that way, too.” We walked side by side along the path, past various shops and seller’s carts. I assumed the locals saw the man often, yet all gazes seemed to turn our direction as if we were iron and they were magnets. A middle-aged man with hair combed to the side and plastered down with some kind of grease stepped out of the candlemaker’s shop. He spotted Revel instantly. Not hard to do.

“Greyhart, we need to talk. There were some visitors at the gate—” As he spoke, he seemed to realize I was standing in Revel’s big shadow. The man glanced at me briefly, returned his attention to Revel, then his face snapped back to me. His mouth dropped open for a moment, and he fussed with the scarf around his neck. “Miss Willow, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Raphael, this is Mayor Harvet,” Revel said.

“Nice to meet you,” I said. “Thank you for arranging to have me live here in Norvale. I’m in your debt.” I’d slowly come to the horrifying conclusion that I would not have lived long if I’d been left on my own in the human world.

“Not at all. We’re happy you’re here.” He shot a conspiratorial wink at Revel. “We’ll talk later about those visitors, but crisis averted for now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Willow.”

“You, as well, and please, call me Rafi. Everyone does.” I flicked a sideways glance at Revel. “Well, almost everyone.”

Mayor Harvet was a small man who moved a bit like a frightened deer with quick, light, unsure steps. He scurried ahead and disappeared into the draper’s shop. After the mayor’s welcome and his cryptic message to Revel, that I was sure had something to do with me, something profound occurred to me.

“Bringing me here to Norvale was sort of like dragging an unexploded bomb into town.” I touched his arm to slow our pace. “Me being here is not good for Norvale. It’s not good for the Valians.”

Revel’s dark lashes dropped, shading the expression in his eyes.

“I’m right, aren’t I? People are tolerating me being here, but just barely. I can sense it when I pass by strangers on the road. I can’t blame them. No one wants an unexploded bomb in the middle of their town.”

“No, that’s not true,” he said just emphatically enough to assure me that it was true.

“I’m putting everyone in danger here. The visitors at the gate—it was Prince Fenrick’s beasts again, wasn’t it? How long before they figure out how to breach the barrier?”

“They won’t. They’re vicious, but they cower when faced with a real fight.”

I smiled up at him. “You mean like a fight with Revel Greyhart.”

He shrugged. “Made a few of them pull tails between their legs.” His expression turned serious. “People are glad to have King Articus’s and Queen Raphaela’s granddaughter safe in our care. Yes, you bring with you some unwanted trouble, but you’re here because you’re safest within the Valian borders.”

I blew out a puff of frustration. I smiled politely at a woman with two young children. The two were fighting over an apple, and she tried to placate them by promising they could share it at home.

“I hate that I’m the source of danger for them.” I hung my basket on my arm. “Fudge and Twinkies … the bell.” I sucked in a sharp breath and ran for the nearest bell. “Run!” I rang the bell loudly. “It’s coming.”

“What the hell is she doing?” the tower watchman yelled down, but Revel knew exactly what I was doing.

“To the towers!” Revel’s booming voice was nearly louder and more urgent than the bells. People were already climbing the towers by the time the watchmen confirmed the tide was coming. The sound of the bells clanging was nearly deafening. Revel pulled my hand. “We need to go.”

I gave the bell one more ring, and we raced for the nearest tower. This time I knew the drill. I didn’t hesitate. Revel grabbed my waist to give me a boost higher up on the tower, then he climbed up behind me.

A horrid briny smell mingled with the nervous sweat of everyone around us. Revel and I ended up on the top platform. I climbed over the railing, and he joined me. I couldn’t stop myself from taking his hand. A repeat of the last deadly sea surge played out below. The ferocious black water raced through the gulley and snatched a few vendors’ carts off the shore as it filled the crevice with it dark waters. People looked around frantically and called to loved ones across the towers and loved ones yelled back. And then the eerie almost deafening silence as the tide smoothed and the wild rippling vibrated beneath it.

“Does it usually happen so often?” My throat was dry from angst.

“Sometimes. We can go without a tidal surge for months and then have three in a row.”

I squeezed Revel’s hand harder. “This is horrible,” I whispered. A knot tied up so tightly in my stomach, I nearly bent over from the pain.

An anguish-filled silence fell over the town as the sea withdrew its angry tide. I released Revel’s hand and wrapped myself around his arm. A collective breath was held, and the water receded. People came to the front edges of the towers and looked up and down the gulley. The only thing the dangerous tide had left behind was seaweed and a few shiny black fish flipping wildly about. It took a few more minutes of stunned silence before a cheer loud enough to rattle the towers blasted through the air.

Revel pulled me toward him. “What’s that you were saying about being a source of danger to them? You did that, Raphael. That tiny power of yours is pretty fucking big. You gave us the extra time we needed.” His gaze touched mine so intensely, a shiver went through me that settled deep in my belly. I gazed up at him for a long, electricity-filled moment and then glanced around. We were the center of attention. Hands came up to hide mouths, and the earlier elation was replaced by curious and gossip-filled whispers.

I stepped back from him, not wanting to give people the wrong idea.

His cocky smile, the one that always sent heat swirling through me, appeared. “Let’s get the hell down from this tower.”

Eighteen