Page 37 of Summer L.A.W.

Then came a soft knock and Mason’s cautious voice. “Permission to enter?”

She wanted to tell him no, to spare him the sight of what she’d become. Instead, she sighed. “Door’s not locked.”

He slipped in, still in his faded jeans and black T-shirt, hair damp from a shower. His eyes flicked immediately to her glowing hand. “Guess Sahara wasn’t exaggerating.”

Crystal pulled the blanket higher, half embarrassed, half defensive. “It’s not contagious.”

“Didn’t think it was,” he said, stepping closer. “You okay?”

She laughed, short and brittle. “Define okay. My bloodstream’s auditioning for a light show, and the Atlantic won’t stop whispering in my head.”

He hesitated, then sat on the edge of the bed. “You scared the hell out of everyone down there. Joell’s tearing the compass apart. Rayna’s trying not to punch her. Feels like business as usual, except everyone’s terrified.”

Crystal tilted her head. “And you?”

“I’m just pretending I know how to help.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You always do that, you know. Dive first, think later.”

“It’s my specialty.”

He leaned in, catching her gaze. “Then let me be the one thinking next time.”

Something in her chest cracked open. A mix of exhaustion, gratitude, and too many things she couldn’t name overwhelmed her. “Mason…”

Before she could finish, the water glass beside her burst. Shards clattered against the wood floor, and a thin stream of water slithered down her skin and vanished.

She gasped. “Did you see⁠—”

“Yeah,” he said, eyes wide. “And I’m really starting to hate that ocean.”

Her pulse raced. “It’s not attacking. It’s calling.”

“Then tell it to leave a voicemail.”

She almost smiled, then shivered. “If Sahara’s right, it’s not done with me.”

Mason’s jaw tightened. “Then we don’t let it take you back.”

Outside, thunder rumbled faintly, though the storm had long passed. The glow under her skin flared once, then dimmed again.

She slumped against the pillows, suddenly tired. “You can’t fight the ocean, Mason.”

“Maybe not,” he said softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face, “but I can damn well hold onto what it’s trying to steal.”

“Then hold me. Please.”

He crawled into the king-sized bed beside her and pulled her into his arms.

The whisper in her head quieted for the first time since the battle. The sea’s call receded, for now.

Crystal closed her eyes, letting the sound of his heartbeat drown out the waves.

Mason’s warmth seeped through the blanket first, the quiet, steady kind that didn’t demand anything and just existed. Crystal let herself sink against him, every muscle unclenching by degrees. The rhythm of his breathing filled the space where the sea’s whisper had been.

His fingers brushed her shoulder, then traced the glowing veins down her arm, following their faint blue light. “I’m burning cold,” she murmured.

“Then let’s warm you up,” he whispered back, then smoothed his hand over her ribs, through the fabric of her T-shirt, being tentative, reverent. The glow brightened under his touch, reverberating like a heartbeat.

Her laugh was soft, incredulous. “You’re making me light up.”