Without thinking, she pressed her hand to her chest. Mirroring him.
She stared at her own palm. It still tingled, and she swore she could still feel the warmth from his touch. With a soft exhale, she sank into the dark, curling into the embrace of the lake’s deeper layers.
Who are you? She closed her eyes. And why does your touch feel like the beginning of everything I’ve ever dreamed?
Chapter Forty
It was a brilliant, cool morning when Jabir emerged from Jack and Cory’s cottage the next day. He paused outside and stretched, lifting his arms over his head before dropping them with a thump against his sides. Early morning clouds drifted like lazy sails overhead.
His gaze turned to the lake. The water glistened in the shifting light, calm and glassy—like it had paused its breath, waiting for something to happen. A slow, eager smile curved his lips.
This place is amazing, he thought.
He walked through the village before veering off toward the shoreline. His boots crunched softly over stone and sand, while his gaze remained fixed on the water. He should’ve been thinking about finding Zohar, Bálint, and the others, but… his thoughts kept drifting back to the girl from the night before.
The one with the shimmering hair and eyes like sea glass.
The one who vanished like mist when he touched her.
The girl who still made his fingertips tingle and his heart race with excitement.
His dragon stirred, restless and watchful.
She out there.
Jabir wasn’t sure if that was hope or instinct whispering to him. Maybe both.
He wandered farther, to a quiet stretch of rocky shoreline framed by tall water trees and wind-tossed reeds. Here, the lake curved around a bend, broken only by boulders smoothed by water, weather, and time. The boulders jutted into the shallows like forgotten pieces of an ancient wall.
He climbed them with easy, practiced balance—hopping from one to the next—until he reached the one farthest out, surrounded by water that glowed a mysterious blue-green beneath the sunlight. It might have been waist-deep, but it was probably a lot deeper. It was hard to tell with the water being so clear. He had a perfect view of the lake from here.
He dropped his tote with a soft thud and sat cross-legged on the rock before he dug into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a handful of smooth pebbles he’d collected. He selected a small, round green one that reminded him of her eyes.
He rolled it between his fingers, then flicked his wrist and sent the stone skipping across the surface.
One… two… three… four… plop.
Not bad.
He did it again… and again—letting his mind wander.
Was she real?
Had he imagined the way she looked at him, the way her fingers brushed his, the way her touch lit up his body like he’d been waiting for her his whole life?
“I wonder what their houses look like,” he murmured aloud, tossing another stone.
Were they carved into the limestone? Built from shells? Did they sleep in beds of woven kelp? Did they laugh like land people? Cry? Dream? Fall in love?
He was about to throw another stone when something shimmered in the water.
He stiffened, his body alert and his eyes narrowed.
The movement was just a flicker. A glint of silver. It could have been a fish. Heck, it could have been sunlight on a ripple.
His dragon stirred again, more insistent.
It her. Look. It her.
