Page 105 of Storm and Sea

“Pay attention. Step back with your left— no right, and I’ll follow.”

They stumbled through the steps, bumping knees and stepping on toes more than once. Both kept their heads down, watching their feet and laughing each time they mixed up their rights and lefts.

“No, your left, my right!” Nyel said through a fit of laughter as they moved in what could be loosely described as dancing. And, with something akin to grace, Nyel stepped out of their two-step, twirling beneath Atreus’s arm. That was until their fingers twisted, and they clashed elbows.

Both men pulled back, sucking air through their teeth and rubbing their funny bones.

“We’re not ready for advanced moves like that yet,” Atreus said, rubbing the joint.

“I bet it looked cool. Before we hit each other, at least,” Nyel said, grimacing through the discomfort.

“We both look like complete idiots, I can guarantee,” Atreus said, then worried it came out too harsh. But Nyel laughed with a nod.

“Okay, again. I know what I did wrong.”

Atreus didn’t hesitate this time, growing more comfortable with each step. Before they knew it, the sky turned a deep shade of orange, and both of them were sweaty. But Atreus had to admit they’d improved.

“We’ll put those humans to shame at the next festival,” Nyel said, chest heaving. They’d picked up the pace as their confidence grew, their bare feet gliding on the wooden floors without a single crushed toe.

“We’ll see,” Atreus said, “let’s get some air.”

They opened one of the windows wider, stepping out onto a narrow landing that looped around the lighthouse. It wasn’t meant for people to walk on, though Atreus had been doing it for years.

Nyel let out a long sigh as the wind cooled their skin. The radio music turned to something slow, the woman’s alto voice singing powerfully in a minor melody. There was a soft ‘thump’ as Nyel closed his eyes and leaned his head against the glass.

Atreus gazed at the horizon, at Baia Vita in the distance. It was a view he’d seen hundreds of times. Now, his eyes were drawn to the sireno at his side.

His friend.

With a pang, Atreus realized that’s what Nyel was to him. The word didn’t settle right in his stomach, like that time he’d tried to eat kelp.

I need to get ahold of myself.

Still, his errant thoughts ran away with him no matter how he resisted.

Leo was a friend, Marina was a friend, Giovanni was a mentor, and Horace was an elder he respected. All those titles felt right for the people he’d assigned them to. Yet friend didn’t fit Nyel. He stared at the sireno, contemplating this. With his eyes closed, Nyel looked entirely at peace as the ocean breeze blew his hair. The dark, wavy strands danced over his forehead. For the first time, Atreus noticed how long his lashes were.

He’s beautiful like this, too.

Again, he was overwhelmed with the same stuffiness he’d felt inside the lighthouse—that suffocating feeling of being too close. Their proximity was all at once something he was too aware of. His breathing sped up.

Nyel’s arm bumped into his. “You okay?”

“Mhm,” Atreus said quickly, returning his gaze to the horizon. “We should head back.”

“Wanna race again?” Nyel offered halfheartedly.

“I don’t think it’s good for you to be humiliated twice in one day,” Atreus teased, earning a soft punch to the arm.

“You’re lucky I’m too tired because those are fighting words.”

“Next time, then.”

“Next time,” Nyel agreed.

And the certainty that there would be a next time made Atreus’s heart skip. There would be many next times—just him and Nyel. Despite the stuffy feeling he couldn’t explain, the idea didn’t bother him one bit.

“Think we could make this jump?” the sireno asked, peering over the edge.