Chapter One
Smothered by darkness, Cam slept at the bottom of a cold void. His hulking body lay motionless on a bed of silt, instinctively holding the breath inside his lungs until it was time to wake.
Peaty clouds swirled with the motion of the water around him. He felt it loosely, in dream: the tug and sway of underwater currents. Invisible, yet very tangible forces hefting against his mass of muscle and blubber.
They whirled and eddied about him as though he were a great stone on the loch bed, picking up speed and momentum. The current grew in strength, rushing into a growing spiral with Cam at the centre. Cold water pushed insistently at his slitted nostrils, at his pointed mouth, grappling for a way in. Cam spewed a stream of bubbles, still trapped in sleep as the current hissed in his ears like the hiss of surging flames. He dreamed a whirlwind of ethereal fire, turning the water to steam around him. He was burning and drowning at once. The weight of the loch crushed him.
Green eyes appeared in the darkness. Startlingly green, and incredibly fierce. Around them a face like his mother’s, but not. Streaks of flaming red in her hair and a jaw set hard with pride. She was a figure made of flame, treading water in the gloom while Cam struggled in panicked sleep paralysis.
Wake up, little witch,she said, though her mouth did not move.It is time to wake up.
Chapter Two
Cam burst into consciousness with a gasp—a dangerous move underwater. A gulp of icy liquid slid down his long throat, making his lungs burn.
He thrashed his flippers, turning his bulk over and bolting for the surface with a heavy flick of his giant tail. There was light above, so it must be dawn.
Cam crashed headfirst out of the water to suck in a breath, then noticed how high the sun was and panicked again. He splashed back down, frantically hoping no one had seen him. How late was it? Too late to be called dawn any more. He cursed himself for lacking Lachlan’s aquatic body clock. Lachlan had always seemed to time it perfectly, able to rise from the loch just before the first hint of sunrise tinged the sky.
But then, Lachlan had had three hundred years to perfect the art, whereas Cam had only had two months.
Hell, Lachlan—he’d be worried.
Pushing the memory of the nightmare out of his mind, Cam swam under the surface towards Lachlan’s pier. Sure enough, Lachlan was sat on the end of it peering anxiously over the water.
Cam remained hidden below. As much as he wanted to reassure Lachlan, his more playful tendencies perked up at the opportunity for mischief. Keeping out of sight, Cam willed the transformation to spill over his body.
This was the hardest part. The first time he’d transformed from Nessie to human he’d been spurred on by a well of passion, buoyed by a need to reunite with Lachlan that was all-consuming. Now it took more deliberate thought. He had to wilfully coax each part of his body to get on board with the idea of changing shape. It wanted to stay in the water, where it belonged.
His body fought against him now, groaning under the unpleasant friction of leaving its aquatic comfort zone. The process gave Cam the distressing sense of being an elastic band pulled taut—up until itsnapped, hurtling him into a smaller size and shape and desperately trying to remember not to breathe straight away.
He floundered underwater for a few seconds, regaining his bearings. The shock of cold against his human skin was always the worst part, but he’d gradually gotten used to it. It was safest to transform in the water, rather than dragging his Nessie bulk onto land first.
His transformation must have caused a stir in the loch’s surface, because Lachlan was leaning over the end of the jetty. Cam positioned himself right underneath, knowing he was still obscured by the murky water. He kicked himself upwards as fast as he could manage.
‘Mmf!’ Lachlan’s exclamation was muffled by a wet kiss and a splash of water.
Cam planted his hands on the wooden platform and hoisted himself up, toppling Lachlan backwards in the process. They both landed in a sprawl of sniggers, catching kisses in-between the laughter.
‘You’d think I’d learn,’ Lachlan said wryly, glancing down at his now-sopping wet T-shirt. ‘One day I’ll bring spare clothes with me.’
‘Sorry.’ Cam smirked, not feeling particularly sorry at all. He climbed off, mentally peeling away the layers hiding Lachlan’s body. ‘We could always—’
Lachlan snorted another laugh and pushed weakly at Cam’s bare chest. ‘Later. We’re on a time limit, aren’t we?’
He kicked a black backpack toward Cam. It contained fresh clothes—thin layers to go under his biking leathers—and Cam’s hiking boots, along with a number of sundries he’d requested the day before. Cam inspected the large pouch of rock salt and bundles of sage. ‘You got the chain as well?’
‘I put it on the bike,’ Lachlan assured him. He sucked in his lower lip while he watched Cam dress, eyes lingering where the thin fabric highlighted Cam’s muscles. Cam flexed his arms nonchalantly, throwing his pectorals into sharper relief. Lachlan’s eyes glazed for the briefest moment before he snapped them away and cleared his throat. ‘Did you oversleep?’
Cam held back a grimace. ‘Sorry. I can’t get the hang of waking up before the sun.’
‘You’ll get there.’ Lachlan paused, fiddling with his cuffs. ‘Are you sleeping okay?’
‘Had another nightmare.’
‘The same one?’
‘Yeah. Drowning and burning. The usual.’ Cam shrugged, picking up the backpack. ‘I’m sure it’ll pass eventually.’
