Page 30 of Summer L.A.W.

Sahara caught the shift. Her eyes flicked to the trembling glass, then to Crystal’s damp fingertips. “You feel it, don’t you, Crystal? The call.”

“I don’t want to feel it,” Crystal muttered.

Sahara turned another brittle page in the book she had been consulting. Then she stilled. “Here. Listen.” She read aloud in a voice that seemed like she was trying to soften the blow. ‘When the moon fattens full, and the tide gnaws at the shore, the sea shall claim its own. Daughter of storm, breaker or shield. Deliverance or drowning, chosen by her hand.’

The table went very still.

“Well, that’s subtle,” Mason muttered. “No pressure, sweetheart. Just decide the fate of mankind between dinner and dessert.”

Joell’s tone sliced through the silence. “Prophecy or not, we need answers before that thing makes landfall. Rayna, how long until Payne’s people deploy?”

“They’re already out there,” Rayna said. “But they don’t have the one thing the ocean actually wants.” She looked straight at Crystal.

Crystal swallowed hard, pulse pounding in her ears. “You’re saying it wants me?”

The floorboards underfoot gave a faint, ominous creak. Somewhere deep in the mansion, pipes groaned as though water were surging through them—again.

Lioness shut her sketchbook with a smack. “Okay, that’s enough spooky ambiance. Either our witch-sister is developing a plumbing kink, or Poseidon just RSVP’d.”

The witches exchanged uneasy glances, but no one laughed this time.

Crystal didn’t wait for the meeting to adjourn. She shoved back her chair hard enough that it overturned on the rug and bolted from the library. The mansion’s corridors twisted and turned in the dark, but she knew the way to her suite by heart. She slammed the door shut behind her, pressed her back to it, and tried to breathe.

The sea was still in her ears. Not just waves, but words. A cadence she almost understood, like the echo of a language she’d once spoken. She curled her hands into fists until her nails bit into her palms. Then she threw herself on the bed and tried to muster enough anger to keep the tears at bay.

A soft knock, then Mason’s voice. “Crystal?”

She groaned. “Go away, sailor.”

The door opened anyway. Mason slipped in, closing it behind him. He leaned against the frame, arms folded, casual as if he hadn’t just followed her flight through a magically shifting house.

“You look…not well,” he said mildly.

“No kidding.” She sat up and scooted to the edge of her bed, running a hand through her damp hair. “In the span of an hour, I’ve gone from a mildly salty witch to an oceanic doomsday prophecy. Forgive me if I’m not hosting tea and crumpets.”

He came closer, crouching down in front of her so she had to meet his eyes. “You’re scared.”

Crystal barked a brittle laugh. “Wow. Insight of the year. Do they hand out medals for that in the Navy?”

“Only if we survive the apocalypse,” he said. Then, softer, “It’s not just a prophecy, is it?”

Her throat tightened. “It’s like the ocean knows me. Like it’s reaching for me. And I don’t know if I’m supposed to reach back or drown.”

For once, Mason didn’t joke. He simply brushed the damp hair from her temple and said, “You won’t face it alone. Not while I’m here.”

The words shouldn’t have mattered. But the steadiness in his gaze, calm where her nerves reverberated in chaos, anchored her in a way even dry land hadn’t managed.

She repeated his words in her mind. You won’t face it alone. Not while I’m here.

Her breath caught, too fast, too uneven, and suddenly she was aware of how close he was. His hand lingered at her temple, sliding almost unconsciously to the curve of her jaw. She didn’t pull away.

“Mason…” she whispered, though she wasn’t sure if it was a warning or a plea.

He didn’t move closer. He only held her gaze, solid and sure, like he could take her storms without flinching.

And for the first time that night, Crystal felt less like she was drowning, and more like she might want to be held. Damn, she didn’t want to need anyone, but she did. She needed him. “Hold me,” she whispered.

He moved in quickly and enveloped her in his arms, tucking her head under his chin.