Lyra didn't respond. She stared at the flames, watching as they flickered in the night. She'd always despised fire, something so opposite to the water, but now she was intrigued by its warmth. A misplaced affection that was drawn out of her by Theo, but it was a realization she wasn't ready for.
“I’ll text Emmett,” Theo volunteered, feeling ashamed, as if they were already admitting defeat. “Maybe they'll have a better idea of what to do.”
Lyra made a noncommittal noise and kept looking at the flames. Her betrayal was sitting heavily on her shoulders. She knew there was no way she would be able to hand Theo over to Cliodhna now, but it would mean her sister's death.
A small part of her brain was screaming for her to tell Calum, tell Theo, tell someone, and see if they would help her. But why would they? They didn't know her, and if she told them, she'd have to admit her original intention was to see Theo murdered by the Queen of the Banshees. The very thought made Lyra's stomach churn so violently that, for a moment, she thought she was going to be sick all over the beach.
But how did she find a way out of this that saved her sister? Calum might want her head for the deceit, and she couldn't blame him for that, but maybe she could appeal to him as an older sibling? Theo tucked his phone away, finished sending a message to Emmett, and directed his attention back to Lyra. She could feel it like a spotlight, or the sun at midday.
“I have a question.” Theo broke the silence.
Lyra smiled softly, unable to keep her stoic expression, and nodded. “Go ahead then, princeling.”
Theo shifted his weight while he got comfortable in front of the fire, and Lyra admired the way his cheeks blushed in the dim lighting.
“Why were there two of you in the water?” Theo asked, his blush almost a permanent feature of his face now.
“I’m sorry?” Lyra sat up straighter, her heart beating a little bit faster in her chest.
“There were two of you.” Theo motioned to the river, as if that would illustrate his point. “I didn't know what or who you were fighting. I didn't know it was a kelpie. I thought there were two of you. For a minute, you called out to me. Or was it the kelpie?”
Lyra’s heart dropped to her toes. She had been moments away from being ill, but now her stomach flipped in a much different way.
It couldn't be… could it?
“You're saying that you saw two of me in the water when I was fighting the kelpie?” Lyra could barely get the words out, but she repeated herself, needing to hear Theo confirm it one more time.
“Yes.” Theo started to look concerned. “Is that bad?”
Lyra's lip curled into a smirk, then a grin, before shifting into a full-blown smile. She wasn't alone in her feelings after all. And now, more than ever, some way or another, she would have to tell Theo the truth as soon as she found the words.
“A kelpie,” Lyra drawled out the words, savoring the moment, “shapeshifts into whatever form its victim will find the most desirable.”
Lyra watched with unparalleled glee as understanding, then horror, washed over Theo's face. He buried his head in his hands, his flush intensifying.
“Oh god.” He groaned while Lyra started to laugh. He sounded like a teenager caught with a crush, and Lyra was loving every second of it.
“Don't be bashful now, Theo.” She grinned, scooting a bit closer to him around the fire. “You must know now that I find you attractive.”
Theo didn't pick his head up but muttered something into his hands, sending Lyra into another round of giggles.
“I think it's endearing,” Lyra whispered when she was able to catch her breath. She slipped her hand into the crook of Theo's arm and tugged his hands away from his face.
“Do you promise?” Theo asked sheepishly.
Lyra responded by pressing a swift kiss to Theo's cheeks and watching with glee as his blush deepened yet again.
“I promise.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Theo’s chest tightened as he stared across the small distance between him and Lyra. The air between them thickened, the tension racketing up until the rest of the landscape faded away entirely.
“This isn't a good idea,” Theo mumbled, partially thinking about it to himself, and not realizing he said the words out loud. It was a dumb thing to say and even he knew it. They were past disclaimers now. Lyra laughed, her hair shimmering in the moonlight.
“None of this is a good idea,” Lyra agreed, motioning to the river behind them. “I’m only here because of a pact I made that would kill me if I don't follow through. You are here because you're cursed. There is a goddess after all of us, now, honestly. She won't only be after you if she discovers I've made a second deal.” Lyra shrugged. “What does it matter now?”
Theo watched Lyra's lips as she talked, falling under an entirely organic spell. There was no witchcraft in Lyra's words, no tune or hymn falling from her lips that would seduce him. No, he was completely under the spell of a beautiful woman, the most original and ancient kind of witchcraft.
