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He drew nearer. I looked up at him and our eyes met. For a moment, I was lost in his gaze. His eyes were so gold, like the sun. They were flecked with green and they glowed in the darkness. Like a cat’s eyes. I felt a sudden urge to reach out and touch his face, to feel the warmth of his skin. But I resisted.
“There’s magic down here too.” His head tilted back. “The water is full of it. According to my ancestors, the first Elves were born from the magic of the sea.”
I smiled, amused. “Do you believe that?”
He chuckled. “Who knows? But it’s a delightful story.”
He fell silent, and we stood there, watching the scene before us. The current rocked the squid back and forth.
After a while, he broke the silence. “Care to join me?”
He led me down the hall and I followed him, my curiosity piqued. His stride was long and confident, and I hurried to keep up with him.
We turned a corner, and he opened the door. I walked into the room and my breath caught in my throat. He followed me into the room.
It was an underwater garden. Plants and flowers lined the walls, their colors bright in the darkness. Bioluminescent creatures floated around the room, their light shining on the plants. Shelves of books lined one wall, and a table sat in the center of the room, covered in maps.
I walked over to the table and ran my fingers over the ridges of the map. “Impressive,” I whispered.
The map showed the layout of the bottom of the sea, with all the major landmarks labeled. I traced my finger over to where I knew the garden was located.
He walked over to a bench and sat down, his long legs stretched out in front of him. I followed him and sat next to him. Looking up, I saw fish swimming by, their fins trailing in the water. The bubble we were in must have been invisible to them.
He handed me a book, and I looked at the title. “The Tales of the Sea Witch,” I read aloud.
“Have you heard of this tale?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t.”
“It’s about a Selkie,” he drawled. “A woman who finds herself in unknown waters one day and she can’t get out. She’s stuck there, swimming in circles. But then she meets a creature who takes her under his fin and shows her the way out.”
“That sounds like a children’s story.”
What was he trying to tell me? That I was like the woman in the story? That I was lost, and he was going to show me the way out?
His eyes met mine, and amusement danced in their depths. “It is. But there’s wisdom in children’s stories.”
I leafed through the book, my fingers tracing the words on the pages. It was written in an ancient language that I didn’t understand, but the illustrations were beautiful.
They depicted the sea witch swimming through the water, her long hair flowing behind her. In one painting, she was riding on the back of a giant sea turtle, her arms around its neck. In another, she was standing on the shore, looking out at the sea.
It wasn’t accurate, of course. A real selkie would never be caught in unknown waters. They were far too clever for that. But it was an interesting tale.
I looked at him from underneath my eyelashes. “And what wisdom will I find in this story?”
He chuckled and leaned back, his arms crossed behind his head. “That even when you’re lost, there’s always someone who knows the way home.”
Was he speaking from personal experience? But his face was carefully blank and I couldn’t read anything in his expression.
He yawned and stretched. His muscles rippled under his skin. His gaze met mine, and he grinned, a knowing look in his eyes.
I didn’t look away. If he wanted to play games, I could play them just as well as he could. A woman never revealed all her cards at once. But sometimes disorientation could be used to your advantage.
“Like you have found in lady Kanna’s arms?” I said slowly, drawing out her name.
He looked at me, his eyes piercing through me. And for a moment I thought he was going to say something, but then he turned his gaze back to the garden and the moment was gone.
I won this round.
