*
A CRESCENT MOON hung over the nearly deserted beach like an enchanted lantern, casting both light and shadow over Kesh as he sat across the blanket from Beka. As usual, he’d brought a veritable feast of delicacies from the sea, as well as the requisite bottle or two of heady champagne. Beka sipped at hers and tried to stop wishing he were someone else. Like maybe a cranky ex-Marine with broad shoulders and a way of kissing that made her tingle just thinking about it. It was hard to believe that only three weeks before, she hadn’t known either one of them. Life had been much simpler then.
Farther down the beach, a boisterous group of college-age kids were drinking beer around a flaming bonfire; the sounds of their laughter and the deep rhythmic beat of their music made for a pleasant backdrop when separated by half a mile of sand and rocks. Other than that, there was only the whooshing of the waves coming in and going out and the occasional bird calling on its way back to its nest for the night.
Their own smaller fire crackled and snapped, sending embers dancing up into the sky like tiny firefly messengers. The smell of the smoke gave a pleasant tang to the sea air, and Beka inhaled deeply, trying to draw the energy of the elements into her core. She was so tired. But it meant so much to Kesh that she be there, she hadn’t had the heart not to show up.
As if echoing her thought, the Selkie prince said, “I am so pleased that you could join me tonight, Baba Yaga. You have been very busy of late.” It almost didn’t sound like scolding. He handed her a plate laden with dainty, perfectly presented bites of food that she had no desire to eat.
“Well, I am trying to save your people’s home, Kesh.” She mustered up a smile to ease the sting of her words. After a moment’s consideration, she confessed, “I should probably tell you that I spoke to your father.”
The darkness made the shadows seem to creep into Kesh’s gray eyes. “Oh?” he said cautiously. “And what did my progenitor have to say?”
“He told me that the children who’d fallen ill hadn’t gotten any better since the Selkies and Merpeople moved to their new temporary grounds,” Beka said, wishing there was some way to soften the blow. “I’m so sorry.”
“Ah,” Kesh said. “That is unfortunate.” A smile flickered over his lips; he was no doubt trying to put up a brave front for her, so she wouldn’t feel worse about it than she already did.
“I’m working as hard as I can, I promise you,” she said. “I’ve got to be close to an answer. I feel as though it is right in front of me, and I just can’t see it.” Frustration made her stomach hurt even more than usual, and she shifted the food around on her dish without eating it.
“I have every faith in you,” Kesh said. He bit off a piece of bright red salmon with sharp white teeth. “So, did my father say anything else of interest?”
Beka played with the sand, not wanting to meet his eyes. The coarse grains felt unusually harsh against the sensitive tips of her fingers. “Well, your brother did mention that you and your father had some kind of falling-out and you’d left home.”
“Indeed, that is true, Baba Yaga,” he said, his voice soft against the sound of the ocean. “However, I am sure it is but a temporary estrangement. Do not worry yourself on my account.”
Beka looked at him, impressed that even during a difficult time he still concerned himself for her feelings. A lock of dark hair had fallen over his forehead, giving him an endearingly childlike charm, and his admiring smile glinted at her across the salty air. She waited to feel something, anything, other than friendly affection, but her heart stubbornly refused to cooperate.
He still wasn’t Marcus, dammit.
“There’s a new problem too,” she said, giving up on her plate and laying it down on the striped blanket. She took a sip of champagne instead; the bubbles seemed to calm her uneasy insides, and the expensive wine soothed her frayed nerves. “Something you might be able to help me with, in fact.”
He bowed slightly regally as always. “Anything I can do, my dear Baba. What is this new problem, pray tell?”
Beka explained about the renegade the Queen had tasked her with finding, and then took a deep breath. “Kesh, I need you to tell me the truth. Are you involved with this man? You told me you and some friends had been acting against the Humans. If you are mixed up in this, I can help you, but I need to know.”