by K. K. Allen
“Oh, so now you’re going to pretend you’re some hero?” Johnny’s face is red, and his chest puffs up like he’s about to strike.
I place a hand on Johnny’s arm to calm him.
Alec glares back at Johnny. “Everything I’ve done is to protect Kat.” Alec turns to me with softer eyes. “I stood you up that day and stayed away to protect you.” Alec’s expression holds uncertainty, as if he’s unsure I’ll forgive him. “Ava constantly wanted me to prove that I was loyal to her. Mostly, all I had to do was ignore you and stick by her. I didn’t know what she was capable of, so I did what I had to do.” He turns to Johnny. “I didn’t want to hurt you, man.”
Alec looks sincere while apologizing to Johnny, but the anger is still blazing behind Johnny’s eyes.
“You didn’t hurt me. You hurt Kat, and that’s unforgivable.”
Alec steps forward, jaw hardening. “And what about what you did, huh? She could have died because of you stealing her mom’s locket. Worse, Erebus could have taken her without a second thought. And I would have never considered killing someone I cared so deeply about.” Alec turns to me, my heart tearing in two. I can see the depth of his plea that burns like desperation in his eyes. “I only stuck by Ava to let her think I was loyal, and so that I could help you when the time came. Not that you need any help.”
Despite the tension, he smiles like he’s proud of me, and I can’t help but smile back. “Okay,” I say, holding up my hands to change the subject. “But what are you? If you’re not an Enchanter and you’re not an Equinox…”
Alec looks back up and shakes his head. “I don’t know, Kat. I know that I’m not exactly human. I know that I can build a fire in my hands with just a thought. I can cause great harm with a simple touch, and I know that whatever I am fooled Ava and Iris into thinking I could be evil like them.” He frowns. “But I don’t know why—or how.”
“You’re a descendant of Apollo, God of the Sun and Light, among other things,” Arabella chimes in, making us all turn to her. “All the signs are there. You just have to know your history. Your power illuminates gold, similar to an Equinox. But I think Erebus knew what you are. He might have just thought you were too lost to know the difference. If he had made you loyal to him, there’s no telling what that combined power would translate to. But my guess is that it’s something otherworldly, and he was banking on that.” She shakes her head, looking between Johnny and Alec. “How can you not know what you are? Either of you?”
Arabella scolding Johnny and Alec makes me cringe then sigh. “Alec was adopted, Arabella.”
“Oh.” She contorts her face. “Sorry, Alec.”
He shrugs. “Whatever. So I’m a descendant of Apollo.” He shakes his head, telling me that he thinks it’s ridiculous. “I didn’t understand what was happening to me, but I felt myself changing. And then the day of my birthday in Weeki Wachee, I noticed that I could do things—with my mind. Ava noticed in the spring and started talking to me about it there, but I rejected her at first. And then on the day of our almost-date, she revealed herself to me at the marina. She told me that I was just like her and that you were evil.”
An image of Alec and Ava together that day all becomes clear. “But she was the evil one.”
He nods. “I know. I knew that immediately, but I had to know what she was up to. Plus, I wanted to understand what was going on with me. And then after the earthquake at Trisha’s party, Iris revealed herself to me. I was terrified that something would happen to you if I betrayed them. So I was so cold and distant, and I never got to explain why I stood you up that day. I’m so sorry, Kat. You have to know how awful it’s been staying away from you.”
Alec takes my hand, and my chest squeezes, but I pull my hand away almost immediately. I don’t look at Johnny, but this can’t be easy for him to witness.
Alec looks at Johnny’s bruised and battered features and frowns. “I really am sorry, man. No hard feelings. I needed them to believe that I was against you.”
Johnny shrugs. “No harm done.”
I turn to Johnny to assess his injuries. He’s already healing without my help, but I run my hands over his bruised face then his arms and chest, all while searching his piercing blue eyes. All I can do is wonder where we stand after everything. There’s so much left to say.
His gaze is blank in return, crushing me, then after he’s healed, he pulls my hand away with a quiet, “Thank you.”
Alec looks between us now, my hand still resting on Johnny’s arm, and his expression changes to defeat.
Johnny pulls me closer. “Kat, can we talk?”
With a final glance in my direction, Alec nods without a word and turns to follow the crowd out of the maze. Arabella and Trisha follow them.
Johnny leads me down a different path to exit the maze. I realize immediately we’re taking a shortcut to the marina. Something about the direction we’re headed makes me anxious, and I can’t stand the silence between us any longer. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you after I found my locket. I should have never told you to leave Apollo Beach. I should have listened.”
He squeezes my hand. “You have nothing to apologize for. It was me who was wrong. I should have never taken something so special from you.”
“But you didn’t know.”
He takes in a deep breath. “Kat, you know my story. You know how long I stayed out at sea after my parents died, surviving all alone, all because I was seeking revenge. That vengeful feeling never left me. Even though I have a home here, I never stray far from the sea. I’ve never stopped looking for my parents’ killer. When you and I met, I couldn’t see anything clearly when it came to you. And then I thought it all made sense when Ava told me you were dangerous. But I was still so confused. What she was telling me didn’t make sense, but I was so desperate to believe it. Everything changed the night I rescued you from the water. After that, all I knew was that you had to live, and that I would do anything to protect you.”
Emotion shakes my chest. “But you were still awful to me, even after that night.”
He nods. “I was confused, and angry at myself for what I’d almost done to you, but then I started to get to know you.” He blows out another breath and shakes his head. “I can’t explain it, Kat, but what I feel for you—I would do anything to protect you. Anything.”
He turns to me then pulls me into his arms. His comforting embrace is exactly what I need, but something about his tight hold unsettles me. Like it could be the last time he ever hugs me again.
“I don’t know how Arabella found me, but I’m glad she did.” His forehead touches mine, and I close my eyes. “And now we know what I am.”
“You must have known you were enchanted.”
Johnny shakes his head. “I knew I was different. Sometimes I thought I was imagining it. Living on the water as long as I did can definitely do crazy things to a person’s mind. But after Arabella told me what she knows, it all makes sense. My parents raised me to understand what I’m meant to do, so nothing has changed there, but putting a title to who and what I am does change things a bit.”
I shake my head. “Why? How?” A sting pricks the back of my eyes as I wait anxiously for what’s coming next.
He closes his eyes for a second before opening them again. “I need to be out there, protecting the sea. Especially with the threat of the Equinox so alive right now, I need to be protecting what protects us all.”
What is he saying? “Don’t leave.” I don’t care if I sound panicked. I am. Johnny cannot leave. Not right now. Not ever.
He pulls my face into his hands and presses his lips to mine. I can feel the emotion between us and something much more electric. I understand now why his kiss affects me so much. We’re giving each other energy in a way that only Fated mates can, yet he doesn’t even know we’re meant to be together.
When our lips part, it’s like a volcano of pent-up emotions is finally erupting into a flow of hot tears. “Please don’t leave, Johnny. You’re safe here.
We need you here.”
But I can tell his mind is already made up.
“I need to be out there. It’s where I belong, Kat.”
“No, Johnny. You belong here with me.”
He shakes his head stubbornly. “It’s not like you need me to keep you safe. You’ve got your family and Alec.”
Something in his expression is off. He can’t even look at me as he speaks. I’m confident he has more reasons for leaving. And then it clicks. I shake my head as a ball of anger grows in my chest. “This has nothing to do with you belonging to the sea. You’re going after Erebus, aren’t you?”
When he says nothing and looks away, I know it’s true. His anger toward Erebus is deep. The Equinox killed his parents in front of him, and he wants to avenge their deaths. It’s his fury for Erebus that blinded him into thinking I could actually be part of it, and now it’s the catalyst to making him leave me.
I grab his arms and squeeze. “What are you going to do when you find him? If you find him. Erebus will be back, Johnny, and when he does come back, we’ll need you here. And you need us too.” It seems as if my words do nothing for him, so I try a different tactic. “I don’t want you to go.”
His eyes return to mine. He truly looks conflicted. “I don’t want to leave you.” He explores my eyes, and I think he’s about to say something else, but he doesn’t. Instead, he drops his hands and shoves them into his pockets. “I have to leave tonight. Arabella says—”
He pauses, and my jaw drops, a deep hole of hurt spreads in my chest. “Arabella told you to leave?”
He shakes his head. “It’s not like that. She clarified my goals, and she’s right, Kat. I need to be out there, especially right now. The pollution in the bay is only a tease to what’s coming. I can’t do anything to help if I’m working doubles at Island Grille.”
Another tear slips down my cheek, and he wipes it away. “I’ll come with you,” I say, heartbroken by the thought of him leaving.
“No, I need to do this alone.”
I shake and glare up at him through teary eyes. “You’re choosing revenge over me.”
His jaw tenses, and he shakes his head. “All I know is that I need to go.”
He reaches for my hand and tugs me toward the marina docks. I can hear the bay waves in the distance. They sound eerily calm tonight, but nothing in me feels calm. My mind roams, wondering why Johnny could think leaving is the best solution. Most of all, I’m saddened that he would choose leaving over staying with me.
When we reach his yacht, which sits at the end of the marina docks, something tugs at my chest as I remember our time together on the water. I can’t imagine life in Apollo Beach without him. I can’t imagine life without him.
I look up at him, but his face remains saddened. And distant. I ache for his broodiness now.
“Promise me you won’t wait for me.”
There they are—the words that peck away at my core like a starving bird. A tear rolls down my cheek, and I turn away. If I speak, I’ll choke on my words. It’s best that I listen now.
“He’s already taken too many people from us, Kat. My parents, Darryl, Ava, Iris, your mom, and—”
I shake my head and glare at him. “I get it. You’ve made up your mind.”
He moves away from me and begins untying rope and tossing it into the boat. I just stand there at first. I’m tempted to puncture a hole in the engine, but that would be petty. Instead, I conjure up the winds. If I create impossible boating weather, then—
“Kat, stop!” His stern voice throws me off.
I shake slightly, my lips trembling as the wind calms back down, but the pain in my chest is too deep.
“Kat,” his voice is gentle now, so I turn to him and lean into his final embrace. He presses his lips to mine, our connection sparking the air as if I needed a reminder of what we share. Why doesn’t he feel this? If he’s truly my Fated? How could he leave me when I’m begging him to stay?
My unanswered questions only break my heart more. I deepen the kiss, trying to trigger the undeniable spark we shared on his boat. It’s there. I feel it, but by the way he’s holding back I fear he’s completely unaware. I grip his shirt, I run my fingers through his hair, and I tug hold him to me while the tears flow down to where our lips meet. I can taste my own sadness, my fear of losing a piece of my heart if I can’t get him to change his mind.
He pulls away and searches my eyes like they’re his only anchor, but he’s unsure whether to cut the rope or stay put. Hope beats in my heart. “Stay,” I whisper.
For a flicker of a second, I feel like he might actually listen. Then, without another word, I feel the loss of him as he breaks free from my hold. I watch him climb into his yacht, start the engine, and sail out of the marina.
I don’t know how long I stand there with a rainfall of tears streaming down my face, but it’s long enough to see an empty horizon and the sun begin to rise until I know for certain… Johnny is gone.
It would be a lie to say that I feel any better throughout the next week. My classes at the School of Gaia start on Monday, and I’ve yet to prepare for a thing. I couldn’t concentrate if I tried. I haven’t given up hope that Johnny will miss me and appear on the water while I’m watching the sunrise on my balcony every morning. This morning is no different.
After finally giving up on daydreaming about our reunion, I put on my bathing suit and walk out to the pool. Charlotte and Rose left hours ago for the school, where they will greet a new family of Enchanters, so I have the big house to myself.
I’m lounging poolside, with the music streaming from the outdoor speakers and a book opened and levitating above me so I can read. The second I hear footsteps on the bottom of the back stairs, my heart rate immediately picks up with the hopes that it will be Johnny approaching. My eyes fly open, causing the book to fall to the deck, and I turn to see who it is.
The hope in my chest deflates, making me sad and embarrassed that I’m still hoping for something that could never come. “Hey, Alec.”
He laughs at my jumpy reaction, and I roll my eyes. “You really shouldn’t scare people around here. You never know what they’ll do in defense.” Somehow the joke lifts my spirits.
Alec shrugs. “I could’ve taken you.” He sits on the lounge chair to my right but faces me. “I’m worried about you.”
I raise my eyes at him. “Is that your icebreaker?”
He tilts his head. “Come on, Kat. A lot has happened. Don’t you want to talk about anything? I’m still here for you, no matter what.”
I smile at him. How can I resist? He’s still the sweet, charming Alec from next door. It’s hard to remember there was a time when I was head over heels for him—and that time wasn’t very long ago. “A lot has definitely happened, but I don’t know what there is to talk about.”
“I guess I missed my window to apologize for standing you up.”
I frown. “You’ve already apologized a ton for that. And I believe you.”
He kicks at the ground then looks up with a sheepish smile. “That’s not really what I meant.”
He’s talking about my feelings for Johnny. Even though I know Alec wants to believe there’s still a chance for something between us, I can’t let him get his hopes up when I have my heart set on Johnny returning. “What about you? You’ve gone through quite the transition. How are you feeling?”
Alec shrugs and takes a seat on the lounge chair across from me. “You know, this supernatural stuff isn’t so bad.” He winks at me. “Chores have become so simple. Just a wave of my hand.” He gestures with his hand, making the pool water splash.
I laugh.
“Or a swish of my finger.” He moves his finger in a swooping motion, creating a bigger splash in the pool.” He grins. “Or… this.” He takes an invisible scoop of water and flicks it on me so water spritzes me.
“Hey!” I sit up and kick his foot. “You shouldn’t abuse your powers like that.”
He chuckles. “I think I was u
sing my powers for good if it made you laugh.”
I have to give him that one. “I wonder how your powers differ from mine, with you being a descendant from Apollo rather than Astina. I mean, I guess you can actually claim you’re a descendant of Zeus, but you carry the traits of Apollo. Take Arabella’s family, for example. They carry on traits of the descendants of Triton, so they can live underwater. Enchanters can heal practically anything, and we can control the earth’s elements. But what can Apollo’s descendants do?”
Alec shrugs. “Beats me. Make fireballs in my hands is all I can come up with.”
“I guess the more you practice, the more you’ll find out about yourself. That’s what happened with me. No one could tell me anything until my eighteenth birthday. Even then, I didn’t believe it until I saw it for myself. I think it’s made me stronger.”
He smiles. “Maybe you’re right.” Then he squints. “I knew something was up with you on your birthday. It all makes sense now. And the way I was acting with you on my birthday.” His cheeks pinken with his words. “I’m so sorry about that.”
I frown. “What do you mean? You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I just mean with how aggressive I got with you. I can’t explain the changes I was going through. It just kind of took over me when I was with you.”
Now I’m the one who’s blushing while remembering our kiss against the tree. “I don’t think you did anything wrong. I’m just glad there are no longer any secrets between any of us. We can deal with what comes next together.”
He looks like he wants to say more, but pats his legs and stands tall. “Well, I’ll leave you to finish your sunbathing activities.” He smiles. “I’m going to get some shopping done for school. You’re welcome to join.” His tone is hopeful but not expectant.
I shake my head. “Thanks, but I think I’ll stay here. It was good seeing you.”
With a wink, he exits the way he came in.
My thoughts go back into Johnny-land for quite some time. It isn’t until I hear the front doorbell that I leave my chair to see who’s come to visit. I slip on my swimsuit cover-up, trudge to the front door, and swing it open to find myself staring at the back of a man’s head.