“I’m Collin,” he said, extending a hand. “That’s Aries, and those two are Clive and Niall. We’re—really grateful. Thank you.”
“Yeah,” Aries added, shaking Logan’s hand. “You got here just in time. Sorry I didn’t trust you at first.”
“Completely fair,” Logan said. “I probably would’ve done the same.”
“How did you even know we needed help?” Collin asked.
“I heard you shouting,” Aries cut in. “You were way out—farther than I thought possible. I jumped in to get you, but I barely made it past the break beforethisone came charging at me, yelling some nonsense about currents—then started dragging me toward deeper water.”
Logan gave an apologetic laugh. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I just... didn’t want to have to saveall of you.”
“I thought he was insane,” Aries said with a half grin. “But then something made me follow him. Instinct, maybe, or the bad eggs I ate this morning.”
Collin looked Logan over—his broad chest rising and falling steadily, arms still shaking slightly from exertion. “You’re a hell of a swimmer. I’ve never seen anything like it. And while hauling someone else.”
Logan shrugged, glancing toward Niall with concern. “Swimming’s second nature, I guess. Grew up in the water.”
He crouched beside Niall again, his voice softening. “Are you alright?”
Niall gave a shaky nod. His breath was still ragged, teeth chattering too hard to speak.
Logan glanced around at the soaked, shivering group. “I think we need a fire. You lot know how to make one?”
Collin gave a rough laugh, his throat still raw. “We may not be ocean swimmers, but we can manage a flame.”
“I’ll find supplies. There’s flint in my pack.” Aries was already on his feet, jogging toward the tree line in search of dry tinder.
Clive gently helped his twin upright, wrapping an arm around him. He turned to Collin. “Can you grab a towel from my pack?”
Collin rose with effort—his legs felt carved from stone—and stumbled toward their bags. He fished out a towel and passed it to Clive, then returned to his own things. His shirt was dry, thankfully. He shook out the sand and pulled it on with aching arms. His watch followed. Then his shoes.
Still, he couldn’t stop shaking.
The sun was lowering fast now, and the breeze coming off the water bit through his damp skin. He hadn't brought anything warmer. A towel would have to do.
He trudged back across the sand, every step a hopeless negotiation with sore muscles. When he reached the shallow pile of driftwood Aries had started, he sank beside it with a sigh and let the towel fall over his shoulders. Fire. Just a little fire. That would make everything right again.
Their quickly growing campfire crackled at the far end of the cove, nestled beneath a cliff wall that shielded them from the wind. Though modest, the fire's warmth kissed Collin’s hands and face, drawing the chill from his skin. He could have dozed off right there—if not for the pull of conversation and the strange, magnetic presence of their new companion.
“Again, thanks for everything.” Collin passed Logan a handful of nuts and dried apple slices, then poured water into a tin cup from his canteen and offered it to him.
Logan accepted both with a smile. “Just another day.”
Aries let his head thud back against a boulder, tossing a few nuts into his mouth. “I’ve never even heard of a riptide before.”
“Same,” Collin muttered, exhaling through his nose. “I always figured if the sea wanted to kill you, it’d do it politely.Thatfelt more... personal.”
Clive, still catching his breath, leaned forward. “Alright, Logan—who are you, and where the hell did you come from?”
Logan laughed, clearly unused to being the center of attention. He fidgeted with a small fishing net. “I was practically born in the sea—almost literally,” he said, retrieving a few silver fish from the net and laying them over the flames. “My mother barely made it to shore before I showed up.”
Niall, wrapped deep in a blanket, managed to speak between chattering teeth. “You from Nereid?”
Logan shook his head, taking a bite of dried apple. “No, I’m from Nesaea.”
Clive handed Niall a piece of toasted bread along with some plums. “Never heard of it. Where is that?”
“Not far,” Logan said, poking gently at the roasting fish. “Follow the coast south. You’ll run right into it—assuming it’s not high tide. Land travel’s impossible then.”
