Page 85 of A Reckless Indulgence

Someone slings an arm around his shoulder. “Where’s your girl?”

Cav winces, and Briar’s grip loosens.

Lace nudges Cav from the other side. “We want to play with her.”

A knot forms in Cav’s throat. “She left.”

Briar and Lace exchange a look over his head. “…Let’s get you drunk.”

“I don’t want to drink,” he mumbles, but the two of them are already tugging him toward a familiar pub, one he would have taken Lyx to if she were still here.

“Three of your strongest,” Lace calls to the barkeep.

Briar sits Cav down at the bar. He’s exhausted from searching. It’s not the satisfying feeling of the night before; this fatigue makes his scales dry, eyes itchy, tail heavy behind him. He curls it around the stool legs to keep it from dragging on the floor.

Lace slides a shot in front of him. Cav doesn’t reach for it, even when Briar and Lace tip theirs back. They’re still watching Cav when they set their empty glasses on the counter. “You sure you don’t want it?” Briar asks.

Their typically flippancy has been replaced by concern, and that makes Cav feel worse. He pushes away from the bar and wanders out onto the wooden deck. As far as the eye can see, there are places to explore and things to do. Cav is drawn to none of it. Nothing drives him. Nothing excites him.

Usually, he adores the hustle and bustle, but right now, he wants nothing more than to curl up in his sheets and smell Lyx embedded there. It’ll be days before he can do that again. Until then, he’ll have to settle for the hammocks strung up between trees at the edge of the deck.

He finds one hanging on its own. The fabric is almost the same color as his hammock on the ship. The place where Lyx laid next to him. Where he slept until she asked him to stay with her.

He climbs inside and finally lets his eyes slip shut. Every gentle breeze, every ripple, every sway reminds him of where he is. Where Lyx isn’t. Where he could be instead. If he closes his eyes, he can still feel Lyx’s body aligned with his, her breath against his neck, her whispered words weaving through his bloodstream.

He reminisces until he dozes off. It’s a small mercy for his aching heart, sending him to a dream world where he can pretend Lyx is still with him. When he wakes with his legs tangled in the fabric, he reaches out for Lyx before he remembers she isn’t here. His heart plummets again, stopped only by something crinkling in his hand.

It’s too dark to make out in the setting sun. Cav sits up in hammock to use the light of the torches. In his hand is a different piece of parchment, hastily folded and tied with twine. The knot is sturdy, more suitable for a boat than a letter. Cav slides the tip of his claw to cut the twine in two before he moves to a nearby table. He flattens out the parchment with his palms.

Northern boathouse. Alone. Come get your prize.

His heart trips. How does he recognize that handwriting? It’s not the scrawl of Lyx from before, but he can’t quite place it. Where did this come from? What does it mean?

Torchlight dances across one of the parchment’s creases. Cav cups his hand to pour out what’s inside. The objects are small and iridescent, so feather-light they might blow away in the wind. Around their edges is a darker rim of flesh, like they’re tiny scales plucked from a fish.

A chill spreads through Cav’s body. Not a fish.

Lyx.

His head snaps up. On the deck, clusters of people laugh and dance, playing games and drinking in the fading light. There is no sign of Lyx. No sign of anyone who’d leave this note. There’s not even anyone glancing in Cav’s direction, except for Briar and Lace.

“Look who’s finally awake.” Briar holds up a shot from their table. “Ready to make bad decisions?”

Cav lifts the letter. “What is this?”

Lace cups a hand to his ear against the ruckus. When Cav moves closer, Briar and Lace both look at the parchment in confusion. “Where’d you get that?”

“I don’t know,” Cav answers. “Did someone give it to me?”

Briar leans out to look toward the hammock, then back to Lace. “Was it that crusty guy?”

Cav’s ears perk. “Who?”

“Some man hovering around you while you slept. We ran him off.” Lace gestures along the side of his face. “He was covered in crustaceans or something.”

Fear latches onto Cav’s chest. Who could that be? What do they want? And what is happening to Lyx?

Who knows how long Cav’s been holding that letter — and Lyx’s life — in his hands. He stuffs the scales into his pocket and moves to the wooden stairs off the side of the deck.