THE SECRET SEA: EXPANDED EDITION

26

Most of our strange crew is asleep, including the umbrella, but Eve and I remain restless. She slides next to me for warmth and we watch the fire dance for a while.

"I'm sorry for all this," says Eve.

"Don't be," I say. "I'm just happy you're not hurt."

"The person who aligned themselves with Suzy isn't the person I am now. I would have never agreed to put you in so much danger."

I smile. "Frankly, it's nice to have a sense of direction. I think I'd rather be doing this than go through another job interview."

Eve looks into my eyes. "Tim, this is serious! Do you realize how incredibly lucky we've been so far?"

"So, we'll just keep being lucky, right?" I groan. "I'm trying to be strong here, Eve."

"Simply trying isn't enough anymore," says Eve, exasperated. "It looked like you were going to shit your pants out there. Can you blame me for being worried?"

I know she's just pushing my buttons like always—and the sense of normality it brings is almost comforting—but it still hurts. "I think I did alright, all things considered. Your backhanded bullshit gets old sometimes, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, you need to do better. This is no time to just let the world wash over you. There's a confident person hiding behind your eyes I desperately want to meet someday."

"I was out there shooting vampires just like everyone else. Give me some goddamn credit!"

"Tim, you nearly blew your own brains out just to save me!" A tear rolls down Eve's cheek. "You can't just give up like that."

"For you, I'd do it all over again," I mutter. "Call me pathetic if you want."

"You're not pathetic. A pathetic person would have gone into shock by now or simply gone insane, both are exceedingly common when mortals encounter magickal forces. Tim, no one can tell you you're strong, you have to believe it! I just...if something happened to you—"

Eve wipes her cheeks and abandons the rest of her sentence. We both go quiet for a time.

"Do you miss Steven?" I blurt. I hate myself instantly.

Eve lets out a slow breath. "Queen Suzerain wore Steven's soul like a costume. She allowed his personality to shine through to maintain our cover, or sometimes, purely for her own amusement. Otherwise, Steven was trapped. I was relieved when Suzy finally released his soul. To me, he was already gone. It was like living with a ghost.

"I heard you two...getting intimate. You seemed happy together."

"Whenever Suzy let Steven come through to the physical plane, she used an enchantment which temporarily wiped away the part of me that could discern magick from reality. I knew she was manipulating me, but I embraced the dream-like state. I desperately wanted to believe my normal life had returned. When you came back into my life, I felt something in my heart begin to shift. You weren't some apparition. You were real and..." Eve's words seem to fall apart.

"Eve?" I feel my own tears welling.

"I always knew how you felt about me, even when you were trying to hide it."

"I loved you from the moment I met you," I say. She deserves the truth.

"You bastard," says Eve, gasping a breath. "You think I didn't see you carrying that goddamn torch? Do you know how conflicted it made me feel?"

"I...I'm sorry. I knew you couldn't reciprocate so I kept my feelings a secret. I tried so hard not to let it show, I swear."

"Stop trying for once and just do something!"

My hands fall on Eve's shoulders and I pull her toward me. I push my lips to hers and she returns the kiss with intensity—our body heat rising as we press closer. We only stop when we hear giggling.

Eve's soft lips pull from mine as we both turn and peer across the fire. "The umbrella and racoon are staring at us," she whispers.

"Kersmoitches!" says VarnLiqn, mocking us with his little puckered black lips.

"I think we better get some sleep," I say, my heart pounding. I curl up next to Eve and try to take my mind off the kiss.