“Are you okay?” Ty takes my hand and interlaces our fingers. “You’ve gone quiet on us.”
I put my head on his shoulder and blow out a long breath. “Yeah. But last night was…”
“Yeah.” Jack curls himself around us both. “But we’ll figure it out.”
His beard tickles the skin on my neck. It’s such a small thing to notice, but suddenly tears well in my eyes at the thought that I might have to leave Amber Bay after all because of whatever stupid plan my sister and family have cooked up.
“What do you want to do?” Ty asks.
I have no idea how to answer that question. My heart is here, and I don’t want to return to San Diego to deal with my obnoxious relatives. But I might have to, if for nothing else than to protect the people here who have accepted me. And those who haven’t, too. No one here deserves to have the wrath of witches brought down upon them.
In the end, I give Ty the only reply I can think of. “I need to talk to Aiden.”
Six
Aiden
I smellSkye long before I see her.
The sea breeze brings her sweet scent right over to where I’m sitting on a rock overlooking the bay. I’ve been here for two hours, staring out at the gunmetal, white-capped waves. Autumn scents flavor the air, rotting leaves and woodsmoke, but Skye’s floral essence punches through those to tease my senses.
Her footsteps are careful and slow on the rocky shore. If I was in a kinder mood, I’d get up and meet her halfway—there’s no need for her to tramp down here. We could just as easily have this uncomfortable conversation elsewhere.
But I don’t want to move. Mere hours ago, I was driven from the Lodge by the sounds of what she, Ty, and Jack were doing in the shower. It’s my fucking home, too, but it seems I’ll have no peace there. Maybe never again, considering how often these three have sex.
You’re jealous.
The snide voice inside my head is right. It took every ounce of my willpower not to break down the door to Jack’s bedroom and join them. They wouldn’t have pushed me away, that’s the worst of it. No, they’d have welcomed me—shewould have welcomed me—and it would have been so easy. So easy to destroy the last barrier I put between doing my job, doing what’s right, and my own selfish desires.
Skye arrives at my side and sits on a rock next to mine. She wobbles for a second, and I press my fingers into the stone to keep from reaching out to her. If she can’t even handle this on her own, she’ll die during the long, harsh winter. It’s the definition of tough love, what I’m doing here.
That word.Love. It trips me up. I don’t love Skye—I can’t. My people would never trust me again if I gave my heart to a witch, a member of the very people who destroyed so many sea dragon clans.
But this woman had nothing to do with any of that. She’s the most loving, caring, innocent creature to have set foot in our fucking village, yet my fellow clansmen wanted to—what? Send her away?Killher?
And in the aftermath of that, Maya got hurt. She might have died or remained injured forever if Skye hadn’t healed her. Guilt over that sits like a lead ball in my stomach. I should have prevented Devlin Ward from ever getting close to her. Instead, he nearly killed her.
I’m ashamed that my people could be so short-sighted. But I also realize my mistake. I brought a witch into their midst without warning, in secret, and expected them to accept her without knowing her. We—Jack, Ty, and I—hid her from the others in our desire to keep her safe, yes, but also to keep her all to ourselves.
Dragons were never very good at sharing.
“Hi,” she says quietly.
I give her a sidelong glance. She’s staring out toward the sea as well, and the dark curls that poke out of her red knit hat quiver in the wind.
“Hi,” I reply.
Her lips press together for a second, then she seems to come to a decision. She whips her head toward me and catches me staring at her. One look from her deep brown eyes is a punch to the gut. She’s so damn beautiful, I almost resent her for it. If she wasn’t, maybe this would have been easier.
But it’s not just her physical beauty that pulls me in. She’skind, which is why I invited her here in the first place, and selfless.
“I had nothing to do with that GPS tracker,” she begins. “I’d never…I mean, I wouldn’t trust my family with the location of this village. Alice kept asking me where I am, but I never told her, not even before I realized what you guys were. This is your sanctuary. There’s—”
I hold up a hand to stop the rush of her words. “I know.”
“Oh.” She ducks her chin and glances down at her knees. “Then why did you accuse me of sabotaging you last night?”
Isn’t that the question?
