“I don’t want things to feel awkward between us now,” I said quietly.
My glance moved to her lips and I felt the urge to taste them again. Breaking the ice, I took a step closer to her, slid a hand beneath her chin and tilted her head upward. I lowered my head and brushed my lips against her neck, her cheek, before kissing her full on the mouth.
Her breath hitched, but then a smile spread across her face.
“Neither do I,” she said, twining her fingers with mine and planting my hands on her waist. “But I’m glad we held back last night.”
“I am, too,” I said, relieved that she felt the same way.
It was clear that we both had too much on our minds, too many obstacles to overcome, to start a relationship in that way. But at least I’d feel more relaxed in her presence now that we were being honest about our attraction for one another.
“But,” she continued in a low voice, draping her arms around my neck and drawing me down closer to her again, “I’d like you to keep kissing me.”
I pulled her body flush against mine. The tips of our noses touching, I whispered:
“I’ll see what I can do about that…”
Our journey across the Arabian Sea was thankfully uneventful. The echoes in our ears continued, but by now, this was no longer shocking. As we neared Sri Lanka, it became clear to me that we would need another vessel. There were things going wrong with this one, and we’d almost come to the end of our supply of extra fuel.
We neared Colombo early afternoon, but we waited until evening before approaching the shore. I grabbed River’s backpack, filled with cash and the coins that hadn’t yet been converted, as well as the vial of amber liquid that she didn’t want to let go of yet. I took her hand, and we abandoned the boat along a deserted beach and began to run toward the port. River had washed our robes in the sea and dried them on the deck in preparation for our arrival, so at least we weren’t running around in bedsheets.
We soon arrived at the main harbor and our search for a new vessel began. River pointed out a few, suggesting that I check them out, but this time, I was looking for something different than just a regular boat. What I wanted was a submarine. But one proved to be hard to find. There weren’t many around. And those I did spot were far too difficult to break into without damaging the vessel. But eventually, I found one in a private bay area that I managed to gain entry to.
There was terror in River’s eyes as we lowered ourselves inside. I could practically see the image of another set of security guards chasing us in her imagination. Thankfully, this time we weren’t chased—at least we didn’t notice anyone. I was able to start up the submarine without much delay, since it was quite an outdated vessel, and then I navigated us away from the harbor. I glanced at River to see her staring at the control panel as she took a seat next to me.
“You’re… really smart,” she said, running a hand over the panel. “I wouldn’t be able to start this thing if you gave me a million bucks.”
“It helps when your uncle has been teaching you since you were a kid,” I replied.
“Well, you have a cool uncle.”
I smiled to myself. “Yeah. I guess my family is pretty cool.”
River paused, wetting her lower lip. She fixed her gaze straight ahead through the windscreen at the dark waters rushing past.
Then she said, “If one of your witches manages to figure out how to cure me, how will I get back to New York?”
“That is going to be the least difficult part,” I replied. “Our witches can transport you there by magic. I promise it will be the fastest journey you have ever been on.”
“And… If I turn back, will I ever see you again?” Her voice sounded strained.
I wasn’t sure how to answer that. “Once I’ve figured out what’s wrong with me—assuming I manage to—and I return to The Shade, you could come visit me.”
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“Yeah,” she said. “I guess so. But how would I contact you?”
Again, that was a difficult question. Neither my parents nor the witches liked to just give out phones to anyone. They didn’t like lots of lines of communication open into The Shade, unless it was for emergency purposes. Still, I was sure that I could convince Corrine to give one to River.
“I would try to sort something out for you. We’ll have your address also, so we know where to find you.”
“Okay,” she said, her voice now sounding dry and hoarse. “Because… Ben, I really like you.”
Averting my gaze away from the controls again, I was surprised to see that she had tears moistening the corners of her eyes.