I put my head in my hands, not wanting Wolfe to see my undoing. I couldn’t make the pieces fit when I thought my mother didn’t know the truth, but everything makes more sense if she does. And of course she does. As the pieces fall into place, the ones inside me break apart.
I feel a soft touch on my back. His hand is still for a moment, then he moves it in circles. When I finally feel like I can speak again, I lift my head and take a long breath.
“I’m sorry,” Wolfe says, and there is no derision or superiority in his tone. He means it.
“Me too.”
I think Wolfe is about to reply, but he just looks out at the water. Finally he says, “They’re going to kill me for this,” more to himself than to me. He exhales, heavy and slow. “I want to show you something.”
“I don’t think I have the energy for anything else tonight.”
“Please,” he says, one of the few times he’s ever sounded gentle. “I think it will make you feel better.”
“I can’t go with you.”
“Yes, you can. Just give me this. After tonight, you never have to see me again. I promise. But you’re already here, and there’s something I want you to see. I think it will make a difference.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
When I look at him, I don’t see deceit or lies. I see sincerity.
“No magic,” I say. “I can’t do it tonight. I can’t.”
“No magic,” he agrees.
He offers me his hand, and I stare at it for the span of a breath before taking it. I follow him as he walks into the water. By the time it’s up to my waist, I’m worried.
“What are we doing?”
“Looking for a current,” he says, as if it’s obvious.
“A current?”
“Yeah. I’d have found it already, but it’s no longer the only current close to the island.” I don’t miss the accusation in his voice, but for the first time, I don’t feel like it’s directed at me.
“What do you need a current for?”
He looks at me then, beautiful in the moonlight. “To go home.”
The water is freezing, and goose bumps rise along my skin. I’m so cold, but I follow Wolfe even deeper. “I don’t understand.”
“I wasn’t lying when I said we can’t use the streets. The only way to reach the manor is through an ocean current that goes directly to our home’s shore. So we are technically using magic tonight, since the current itself is magical, but we aren’t the ones creating it.”
The water is up to my shoulders now. I’m so cold, but there’s also a thrill running through me at the knowledge that I’m being taken somewhere no one in my coven has ever been. No one even knows it exists, and I lean into the feeling because it edges out the pain of being lied to. It will still be there waiting for me once I’m home, but for now, I push it aside.
I know I should be terrified. My parents would never find me if something happened, but it feels vital that I go, that I learn about this part of my heritage. That I let myself be uncomfortable and see for myself the life that’s been hidden from me.
“Mortana,” Wolfe says, turning to face me. The water rolls and moves around us, but my feet are firmly on the sandy ground. I have loved this sea for as long as I’ve lived, and I will not start fearing it now.
“Yes?”
“I’m trusting you with this. Don’t make me regret it.”
I swallow hard. “I won’t.”
He searches my eyes for another breath, then nods. “Good.”
Suddenly, I realize I’ve never seen Wolfe in sunlight—the one time we met during the day, the sky was blanketed in dark clouds—and I wonder if he’s as beautiful at noon as he is at midnight. I wonder if the sun loves him as much as the moon does.
He steps closer to me, and we both drift up, moving with a wave that rolls through us.
“This is intense the first time you do it. I need you to hold on to me and not let go for anything. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, it’s coming for us.” He takes both my hands and places them around his neck. Then he gently grabs my hips and pulls me into him. “Wrap your legs around my waist.” His voice is low and rough, making my insides roll like the ocean around us.
I let the water lift my legs, drifting from the security of the ocean floor. I wrap them around Wolfe, my entire body touching him.
“Okay?” he asks.