Page 92 of Devoured

Calix looks up, away from the crabs and toward the moon. His gaze hardens. “Some older kids followed us out the next time we came. They snuck up behind us and lit the crabs on fire with one of my candles. They… they screamed. The crabs screamed until they died. Luckily, Sin was there. He compelled the assholes to beat each other to a pulp. But those crabs stayed dead. There was nothing we could do to bring them back.” He sucks in a harsh breath before stretching out again, allowing his feet to hang over the waters. “I forgot about that memory until tonight.”

My fingers curl into my palms until my nails bite my skin. I welcome the sting, the distraction. “I’m so sorry, Calix.”

He glances at me through his periphery. “Do you ever get tired of apologizing to people?”

“What?”

“This court has always been a nightmare, Vanessa. It’s not your fault.”

“But I—”

He shakes his head. “No. No more apologies. Not tonight.”

A cerulean fog suddenly rolls across the water and over us, leaving a faint shimmer of magical blue light on our skin. Sweet like cotton candy, but warm to the touch. I recoil from it. It’s far too warm for the hollow cold inside my chest.

“Sea mist,” Calix explains automatically. “Faerie magic.”

“Whatever happened to the faeries?” I ask, far too grateful for the sudden change in subject. “Is it true they went extinct?”

“I’m not sure. Some of our texts say they vanished. Some say they died out. There are a few others who claim the faeries are just in hiding, but…” He shrugs, gesturing to the beach around us. “If they were in hiding, why would they let all this fall to ruin? Why would they let their realm close?”

I nod as if I understand, but I don’t. I’m still too human—even as a werewolf—to seriously ponder faeries. “They could be cowards.”

Calix’s lip twitches. “Maybe.”

“Or they could live in the center of the Earth. Some mortals believe that, you know. Lizard people who survive in the Earth’s core.”

Calix raises a skeptical brow. “Lizard people?”

I wave the question away. “You would be surprised by how whimsical humans can be sometimes. Flat Earth, lizard people, fake moon landings…”

“Are you sure whimsical is the right word here?”

My nose wrinkles. “Maybe not.”

“Maybe not, Hart,” he agrees.

We sit in the quiet for a few minutes then, watching rainbow fish swim past—their bodies reflecting shimmering, iridescent rainbows on our faces—and listening to the crabs as they dance. When I visited in the daytime, the realm didn’t seem anywhere near this magical. But now, cast in the silver glow of the moon with blue mist still dancing on my fingertips, I think it might be beautiful.

“It’s peaceful out here,” I breathe.

“You only say that because you don’t know what lurks in the deep.”

“Sirens?”

“No. No more conspiracy theories tonight.” He leans back on his hands with an almost laugh. “I was talking about megalodons.”

“Megalodons exist here?”

Calix offers a small, dark laugh. “Why do you sound more shocked about that than the faeries and sirens and lizard people?”

“My dad and I used to collect shark teeth. He and my mother started the tradition before she left, and then… well, when I was really little, we would go to the beach and search on the shore. Every Saturday as soon as the sun rose, he would force me out of bed, grab our nets, and drive us across the bridge.” My voice thickens with emotion. “My dad called every large tooth a megalodon tooth. He was lying, of course. Just goofing around. We stopped going when I was older. I think he assumed I thought it was dumb.”

“Did you?” Calix asks.

“No. It was my favorite thing we did together. I loved being with him, and he was always happiest there. Like the water washed away all his bad memories, until there were only him and me and those stupid teeth.”

“Vanessa…” He leans forward and hangs his head low, rubbing his eyes with his hands. “What were you doing to me? What happened back there?”