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“Try me in the sea, then.” He looks up at me. Fierce, innocent resolve still written across his features.
The last of my restraint shatters. I call another wave onto the rocks, this one crashing down right on top of him and catching him in its claws. Keliveth grabs at stone and rubble and gasps for breath as the water pulls him closer to the edge of the platform. Closer to where the sea waits to swallow him. Blue light streams from his fingers as if he’s trying to cast runes, but the light flickers each time I send another blast of water smashing into him.
“Don’t you understand?” I shout over the crashing waves. “The other contenders won’t fight the same way you do. They won’t play fair.”
“Then we don’t have to play fair either.” He sputters as another blast of water strikes him. “We can win this however we want.”
His face steels with resolve, even as his fingers slip on the wet stone. He looks down at the waves, then back at me, and gives me a grim smile.
Then he jumps.
I gasp and run forward just in time to see the huge black breakers pile over him. The waves toss gleefully into the air and batter against the walls of the palace, as if delighting in the prey they’ve just claimed.
He’ll never survive a jump into waves like that. Terror grips me. I went too far to prove my point.
Now he’s gone.
I dive in headfirst, shifting into my sea-dwelling form as I do. No light comes from the lower levels of the palace now, and I can barely see through the murk, but I reach my awareness out into the water. If Keliveth is still alive, I should be able to sense him.
Nothing.
No—a faint trace, far beneath me. I swim deeper, catching hold of the closest current and ordering it to break its course and carry me downward through the inky water.
Then I catch sight of Keliveth. Shock reverberates through me.
It can’t be.
I blink to be sure of what I’m seeing.
He hovers in the water, waiting for me, his eyes open and his arms and legs treading in strong, steady motions. He has discarded his heavy outer robe, leaving him bare-chested again. Strands of indigo light twine up his arms and torso, emanating from circular, knotwork runes marked in ink on his skin. His chest doesn’t rise and fall, as though he no longer needs to breathe. When I swim closer, he darts toward me quicker than I expect, the rune-light streaming over him.
“How ...” I grab hold of one of his wrists and inspect the glowing runes. I recognize some of them as symbols for increasing strength and speed, but they’re mingled with runes I’ve never seen before—intricate elven handiwork, created to do magic the sea-folk would never need. Such as sustaining life underwater.
To my astonishment, he speaks, his voice only a little muffled by the water. “Runes for surviving and moving underwater. I drew them right before I came out here in case your mother tried to drown me again.” He pauses, the triumph in his face tinged with sadness. “I’m not a fool, Evya. I know this will be difficult, but I also think we have a chance. Please say you’re willing to take it with me.”
He breaks off with a cough, then clamps his mouth shut as the water shoves against his magical defenses. Some of the strands of light on his arms flicker and go out, leaving streaks of ink in their place. Fear jolts through me. Whatever he used to mark them on his skin seems to be slowly washing away in the water. He starts to swim upward again. I swim beside him, asking the currents to speed us on.
I brace for the waves to strike us as we reach the surface. Instead, we break through calm, smooth water, with only the whispers of the breeze across its surface. The eastern horizon casts a glow of pink and gold over the placid expanse of sea.
Keliveth treads water beside me and stares out at the sunrise. With a start, I realize that somewhere in our ascent I took hold of his hand, and I haven’t let go.
I don’t want to let go. I don’t want a world where his songs and his hope have no place, and I don’t want to see that hurt in his eyes ever again.
“I should not have underestimated you.” I speak softly, all of the ferocity draining from my voice.
“It’s not like you’re the first to do so.” Keliveth shrugs. I see a glimpse of his history in the simple, heavy motion. Do the elves, too, see him only as a dreamer and not as the warrior he is? Perhaps we can use that to our advantage. I face him and take his other hand. His fingers twine with mine, and a wave of calm runs through me. “If you don’t want me as your mate, I understand, and I’ll leave. But if you’re trying to send me away out of fear, don’t. Stop telling yourself there’s no hope. Stop telling yourself your own dreams mean nothing. I’ve heard your songs, and I know what sort of world you long for. What if this is our best chance to make that world a reality?”
His words shatter the last of my stubbornness. Joy and longing break over my weary heart like the dawn over the water, and I don’t want to deny it anymore. If Keliveth is willing to fight for me, maybe I should be willing to let him, and to see what we can be together. Even if we fail, at least we will have tried to change the world.
I grab his arm and trace the sharp angles of one of the runes on his skin. It flares with a little more light, then flickers again as the ink smears beneath my touch. “Those runes won’t last long enough. Challenges can take hours. You will need something more permanent. And there are other runes that could be useful, and ways to combine them that would increase your endurance and speed. Maybe if we—”
Keliveth catches hold of my hand and presses his lips to my knuckles. Words flee me. The smile on his face no longer holds any desperation or sorrow, but a tenderness that calls to me. The easy waves nudge us closer together, until we’re almost nose to nose. I lean in just a little farther and brush my lips against his.
He kisses me back, gently at first, then deeper, pulling me close. Swelling into a passion that knocks the breath from my lungs. We part briefly, teasing each other’s mouths with light kisses, then melt into each other. I’m lost in the rhythm of his beating heart and the feel of his lips on mine.
Far away, from the lower halls of the palace, I feel the ripples of the Seamother’s fury. I shut it out, letting myself stay in this moment with Keliveth for as long as I can, not caring if my mother oversees. The next few days will bring enough troubles, but I’m done being swept along on her currents.
I’m done being afraid.
