Page 131 of Storm and Sea

Warmth swelled in Nyel’s chest even as he knew it shouldn’t.

“How did she take it?”

Atreus threw in another log, harsher than necessary, sending up a flock of sparks like frightened seabirds on the beach. “About as well as you can imagine. But she didn’t attack me, so I guess that’s something.”

His voice was laced with vinegar. The same bitterness coated Nyel’s mouth. He didn’t want to talk about this anymore, but there was no getting around it.

“How did you find me?”

“Figured there were limited places you would go. I searched the stony beach first. This was my second guess. If you weren’t here, I was gonna check your house in Corallina.” He tapped his nose. “I can’t do the scent thing like you can.”

“How long do we have to stay here?” Nyel asked, already missing his bed. His room.

My home.

“I told Marina we’d still be there to help with the Bayallon. Thought she could use a couple of days to process.”

“That’s fair.”

The unspoken question fermented on his tongue, turning more acidic by the second. When he could no longer stand its bitter lemon-rind taste, Nyel whispered as if the words themselves might sting.

“Will she tell anyone?”

“I— I don’t think so.”

“That’s not reassuring, Atreus.”

“What do you want me to say?” he snapped, “It’s not like I’ve done this before. And I hate to break it to you, but you scared her half to death.”

Nyel shrunk back. “I know. I’m so sorry.”

“No.” Atreus groaned. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped. It’s not your fault. It was an accident.”

But that didn’t stop Nyel’s gut from twisting with guilt. This was his fault.

“I have no clue what she’ll do,” Atreus said honestly. “And that scares the shit out of me.”

He poked at the fire, his posture relaxed despite everything.

“You’re actually taking this better than I expected,” Nyel said as his eyes followed the embers. It was midday, and there was no need for the fire. But it was something to do. And they desperately needed a distraction.

He thought Atreus would turn into a ballistic mess the moment their secret was out.

Maybe this is the calm before the storm.

The taller man shrugged, sitting beside Nyel and resting his elbow on a bent knee.

“Maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet. But I don’t regret anything.”

“You could have stayed hidden. You didn’t have to tell Marina about yourself. When I got splashed, it looked like…” Nyel shifted uncomfortably. “Well, for a second, it looked like you were going to take my side.”

“I was.”

“Why? Not that it mattered; you outed yourself right after, anyway. But why? You told me when I first came to the island that⁠—”

“You were on your own?” Atreus finished, poking the fire with a stick, sending up another flurry of sparks.

“Yeah. Before, well, everything, I thought you’d—” Nyel chewed the inside of his cheek, unsure of how to continue. Sharks, he was bad at this. Why was talking to Atreus about this so freakin’ hard?