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“Aurelius!” came Jari’s voice.
Aurelius ignored him as he ran down the steps to the beach. Maybe it would all go away if he got in the water, like the world’s biggest salt bath. He almost slipped in the sand and managed to right himself before darting toward the edges. The soft sand, which was surely also salty, puffed under his boots, and he undid the clasp on his cloak to let it drop. Maybe it was because the ocean was so enormous that it could barely be comprehended. Nobody could traverse the depths.
There was so much salt, it was no wonder the smell was detectable. The sand grew moist, and the water's edge rushed forward as if to meet him only to change its mind and slide back. Jari shouted behind Aurelius who ran right into the surf.
The cold water soaked his trousers, poured into his boots, and splashed his lower shirt. The nag was barely there. He was almost normal, and his eye stung as a few drops splashed his face.
“What are you doing?” Jari suddenly had his arm, and he squinted as Aurelius laughed. He probably thought some new insanity was breaking through. “You scared me.”
“Even with salt right against my skin, I haven’t felt so good.” Aurelius flung his arms around Jari’s neck and jumped on him.
Jari held him up, and Aurelius looped his legs around his waist. He almost wanted to take off all of his clothes and roll around in the surf until every inch of him was soaked.
Until someone complained about indecent exposure so close to the docks.
“It was like that as soon as we entered the city, and I could truly smell the salt and the ocean. I thought I was imagining it because I wanted this to be the answer, and my mind was just playing tricks.” Aurelius buried his nose in Jari’s neck to smell his rose scent mixed with the smell of the sea.
Jari’s arms tightened around him. “Is it better in the water?”
“No. I just want it all over me. It’s the smell in the air. I don’t ever want to go away from the ocean. Tomson can have Nova and do whatever he wants. Fuck it, at this point, I wouldn’t care if Este took it all. I just want this and you.”
“Do you truly feel better? You’re not just saying that?”
“Yes, it’s even better than before. The nag is barely there. It’s almost like I’m…normal.”
Jari grabbed a handful of his hair and kissed him so hard, Aurelius almost thought they were about to be rolling in the sand with clothes coming off. They’d definitely get reported for public fucking.
Aurelius managed to work a hand down into the collar of Jari’s shirt to scrape his nails along his back. That usually got a growl or some reaction that made desire flutter in Aurelius’s belly.
“If you don’t stop-”
Someone whistled from the docks, and Aurelius drew back his head when his hair was released. “What color is my eye?”
Jari frowned. “It’s still gold.”
Aurelius held back a sigh as he slipped a finger under the strap of his eyepatch. So the ocean wasn’t going to erase Mammon. “Fuck.”
“But if you feel better, that means this will work,” Jari said in a hurry. “We’ll stay here. We can find jobs and a place to live. You’ll be surrounded by the salty air every day.”
Aurelius paused as he stared into Jari’s eyes. If the air was enough here, perhaps he could have his fantasy and the man he wanted to share it with. “I know I didn’t say it earlier, but I do love you.”
Jari kissed him again.
Chapter Twelve
Jari wanted to flip off some of the soldiers in the group when they returned to the dock. They wouldn’t stop staring and must have guessed something was going on between Jari and Aurelius. He sat with Aurelius on a bench and waited while the group stood around and stayed out of the way of those going back and forth.
Sailors were unloading a couple of ships, and another farther down was casting off. A couple of gulls screamed overhead as he kept hearing Aurelius’s words.
If the items were destroyed to ensure nobody ever touched them again, maybe that would be enough. They could stay here. Aurelius’s life would be normal, and he wouldn’t go insane over the years. It wouldn’t be cut short and reduced to a fragment of what a typical fairy should have.
His eye was still gold, but he looked so normal, and Jari kept sneaking glances at him while their soaked boots sat on the boards in front of them. In the distance, he spotted Este returning on her horse. She started giving orders as soon as she was close enough.
“You. Pay the men their wages. You’ll all wait here in World’s Edge until we return. You. Everyone can go drink or do whatever in the meantime, but keep them out of trouble. If I come back and any of you are locked up, you can stay there. Don’t embarrass me or Wockston and remember who you represent when you’re at a tavern or wherever.”
She said she’d likely be gone for a few weeks, and since their wages wouldn’t cover that, they were to stay at a place called Lily’s Rest. The owner used to be a dancer in her Mother’s playhouse, and Este could pay her later from the treasury forboarding so many soldiers. All of the horses including Mercury could be boarded in her stable. After a last warning to behave, Este let someone take her mount, and the group left.
“I’m guessing you found your friend,” said Jari.
