Page 137 of In Violent Waves

Wilder tilted his head. “Of what?”

“What if it’s not the same?”

He chuckled, and the sound was a balm to her fraying nerves. “It probably won’t be. But you’re going to get in the water, anyway. Might as well enjoy it—changes and all.”

He was right, and that annoyed her. She huffed a sigh and took another sip of her lemony tea.

“Do we have any other plans?”

Wilder shook his head.

“I figured I’d do some fishing to catch us something for dinner. I need to check the garden and see if there’s anything still edible to scrounge together. There used to be someone to tend to these things while I was away, but it doesn’t look like they’ve been here for quite some time.”

“What do you think happened?”

Wilder pondered her question. “It was an elder elf. I’m worried he’s passed and no one bothered to tell me.”

Lyra pursed her lips and turned her gaze back to the sea to avoid the emotion that flickered across his face.

“I’m so sorry.”

He sighed. “It happens. We’re not immortal, even if sometimes it feels that way.”

Lyra nodded and plucked at the silk fabric of her gown. “I’m going to see if Daisy packed anything for swimming.” She stood and felt the weight of his stare on her. When she met that gaze, she was surprised to see his eyes had darkened, the bright blue now the dark blue of the ocean outside.

“Let me know if I can be ofanyassistance.”

His voice was practically a purr, and she fought the shiver that crawled down her spine.

Lyra didn’t know if she could handle his mouth on her again. It had been better than she imagined, and this body welcomed a heightened sense of pleasure.

Her mermaid form didn’t allow for those kinds of positions. But to do it again crossed some kind of invisible line. This was only a truce, but it was feeling like it had shifted tomore.

The servant had discarded her trunk in the bedroom on the right side of the house. A narrow iron bed sat in the corner, and an ancient, carved wooden armoire was on the opposite side of the room.

Carvings of ivy and small butterflies twined up the door. Her trunk was at the foot of the bed, and she had to shove the plush comforter out of the way to open the lid.

Rifling through the plethora of dresses, tunics, and shoes, she was annoyed that there wasn’t anything suitable for swimming. But that hadn’t been Daisy’s fault. She was supposed to be on a royal tour, meeting the Lords and Ladies of Oberon’s court—not traipsing through the countryside and swimming in the ocean.

She’d take the latter any day, though. It wasn’t unfathomable to think Oberon’s court was as twisted as her father’s.

Lyra kept pulling out dresses until she came to the bottom of the trunk. A thin blue cotton dress with ruffled cap sleeves and a shorter hemline lay at the bottom.

It would have to do. It was the only dress that might hold up against the saltwater. The thin chiffon and gleaming beaded gowns would be ruined.

Lyra slipped out of the violet silk and donned the blue cotton dress. There was a small mirror beside the armoire, and she stood in front of it as she braided her hair back in one long braid that grazed her lower back.

She padded on bare feet through the cottage. Paintings of wildflower-covered meadows and roiling oceans dotted the whitewashed walls. It was cozy here, and she felt like she was seeing a glimpse of who Wilder was on the inside. And she found she very much liked what she saw.

He was already outside and had swapped his black pants for light linen trousers that were rolled up over his ankles. The extravagant tunic was replaced with a plain white short-sleeved one, and he gripped a fishing cane in his hand. He looked like part of the landscape.

As hard as the stones and as glorious as the ocean. Lyra took a deep breath, but something tightened in her chest and slithered through her veins as she found her way outside.

He outstretched his hand to her, and when she took it, her heart pounded in her throat. Wilder tucked her in close to his body. They walked as one over the rocky landscape and to the sandy shore.

Millennia of waves had pulverized large boulders into black sand. They stood at the water’s edge, and Wilder placed the cane on the ground before toeing the water. He bared his teeth, and she giggled.

“Cold?”