A Thousand Salt Kisses Later (Book 2 of Salt Kiss series)

First time in a long time

The next day I spent time up in my old bedroom in the attic, now an empty space. Things had been awkward that morning, to say the least, and Sam had gone out, without even saying goodbye. I knew I had hurt him; and I felt like I desperately needed to resolve this, for the sake of both of us.

I lay on my back in the middle of the floor gazing up at the skylight. It was a cloudy day, and I anticipated that rain would soon pelt onto the glass above.

I thought about my nightmare. Was it the post-traumatic stress? My counsellor had asked me about disturbing dreams when I first met with her. I couldn't be sure, but my trip to the West was imminent, and I thought once again about Jemima's advice. I needed to face up the past, I decided.

For the first time in a long time, I let myself think about Starfish Island; and all the romance and drama that its seas had held. I'd met Llyr in the waters one night when I was seventeen, having swum out too deep at a beach party. I had become panicked and crazed as the current dragged me out further.

When I came across him, he had carried me back to shallow waters, where once in the moonlight, I had realized just how good-looking he was. I had been completely embarrassed for being such an idiot, but he was so gentle and reassuring that I had relaxed quite quickly. And it was not only Llyr's sweetness that had captivated me but also the mystery about him. His hot rugged looks, strange tattoos and quirky old fashioned use of language had left me desperate to know more.

From that very first time we met, there had been this insane chemistry, and I swear, I had fallen head over heels, thinking of nothing but him from that point onwards. He had appeared to feel the same; pursuing me and whisking me away on adventures I could only previously have dreamed of. It was only a matter of time before he told me that he loved me and I had felt ecstatic, believing that was it; we would be together forever. Urgh, I was so naïve.

So... silly and young.

As I lay there, I even wondered if the intensity of our love was to do with him being magical. Llyr was one of the 'sea people', as the islanders called them; a colony of merfolk that lived beneath the waves. Llyr's ancestors had been cursed to the seas some millennia ago by a Celtic witch, their once human bodies turned half fish. But their fortunes had turned over time, and with the help of a good water spirit, they had become masters of the ocean and able to shift back and forth to human form.

My mind travelled to the day he told me all this, on our special beach. I had felt so lucky to be entrusted with these precious secrets. I closed my eyes and remembered his finger trailing up and down my shoulder as he spoke, before resting somewhere in my hair. I remembered how safe and good it felt to be near him, our skin warmed by the sun dipping beneath the horizon. I could have stayed like that for a hundred years.

As I remembered him, I felt goose bumps up and down my arms. He was a mythical being, but I knew that it was the person under the magic that I had loved so deeply.

The door slammed downstairs, and I sat up.

Ididn't know if I would ever see Llyr again, but I knew what I had to do next.