Follow Me: Immersed, #2

By Francesca Riley

He belongs to the ocean, she belongs to the land. Now they're together, but you don't just walk away from a curse. Someone is going to have to pay - starting with her.

 

Skye Sebastian didn't believe in happy ever after. But when she fell for Hunter, a mysterious, mesmerizing swimmer, somehow she set him free. Now the beautiful boy who loves her has walked out of his ocean prison to share her world with her.

It seems like fairy tales really do come true, but Skye knows there is always a price to pay. When Hunter's cursed past begin to stalk them, they fear there is no such thing as free.

Has their love doomed them? Or will it save them?

Once you're in too deep, there's no going back

 

 

The second instalment of this addictive, mythical love story will leave you breathless.

Come on in, the water's fine…

 

Fans of Becca Fitzpatrick, Laini Taylor, and Kami Garcia will love the Immersed series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ocean Echo Books
• Release date: May 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9780473474805

Francesca Riley

Francesca Riley is a New Zealander, living and working in Auckland, on New Zealand’s North Island. The stunning beaches of this beautiful country inspired those of Bannimor. Immersed is her first young adult series. Francesca is a writer and artist, who loves mysteries, movies and love.  Her favourite books are old-fashioned murder mysteries, or children’s and YA novels where bravery and passion exist alongside magic in the world we think we know.

Book preview

Follow Me

Immersed Book 2

Francesca Riley

Copyright © 2019 Francesca Riley

Editor: Lisette de Jong [e-mail]

Cover: Amala Benny, Mayflowerstudio.com

Logo & Shell Illustrations © Francesca Riley

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.

All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

ISBN:  978-0-473-47480-5

Books on the Immersed Bookshelf

PRELUDE

1. Skye. Together

2. Hunter. Human

3. Skye. Doubts

4. Skye. Introductions

5. Hunter. Real

6. Skye. Perfect

7. Skye. Haunted

8. Hunter. Cursed

9. Skye. Consequences

10. Hunter. Statues

11. Skye. Reunited

12. Hunter. Altered

13. Skye. More Introductions

14. Hunter. Interrogation

15. Skye. Accepted

16. Hunter. Encounter

17. Skye. Confrontations

18. Hunter. Exposé

19. Skye. Confidences

20. Hunter. Threats

21. Skye. Incongruous

22. Skye. Risk

23. Skye. Darker Consequences

24. Hunter.  No Restitution

25. Skye. A long Game

26. Skye. Close

27. Skye. Closer

28. Hunter. Breakout

29. Skye. Kin

30. Skye. Taken

31. Skye. Secrets

32. Hunter. Sacrifice

33. Skye. Returned

34. Skye. Not Over

35. Skye. A Window

36. Skye. Come With Me

37. Hunter. Repercussions

38. Skye. Drowned

39. Ethan

40. Skye. Transformed

41. Hunter. Helpless

42. Skye. Lithus

43. Hunter. Navigation

44. Skye. Inquisition

45. Hunter. Punished

46. Jarrod

47. Hunter. Paradise

48. Skye. Lost

49. Hunter. Vow

About the Author

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Prelude

LUNGS BURNING, SUBMERGED in endless emptiness.

Lips clamped tight against the probing water. Terror like hot wire through her veins.

Up was a million miles away, just a shimmer far above, impossible to reach.

It was too late.

So, this was drowning. Lips parting, lungs filling...

It felt like destiny. It felt like coming home.

1. Skye. Together

SKYE HELD HUNTER’S cold hand so tightly that her fingers cramped, while his slowly warmed in hers. He stumbled against her, treading on her foot more than once, sending them into fits of laughter. Skye’s felt bordering on hysterical. Or as close to pure joy as she’d ever felt. Her stomach ached, and her cheeks were stiff from smiling so widely. Her lifelong belief that love hurt flashed into her mind.

Am I that awful at this walking on land thing? Hunter joked when she laughed again. Then his smile faded, eyes widening, and she felt the same emotion ripple through her – Hunter, walking on dry land. With her. They stared at each other, stunned at their new reality. Together. What it meant. It meant happy ever after. She’d thought it didn’t exist.

Hunter leaned in, touching his cold forehead lightly to hers for a moment. This must be what bliss feels like, she thought. His face so close to hers was irresistible and she closed the gap to brush her lips against his.

Brush was what she intended, but her arms twined around his neck, pulling him closer, his ocean-cold lips against hers washing every other thought out of her head. His soft chuckle against her mouth brought her back to herself as he drew back a little, reminding her of the real danger his prolonged touch posed to her. Lead on, he whispered.

Follow me, she murmured back, smiling.

They turned together towards the archway that lead out of Ciarlan Cove. Skye walked so close beside him that they constantly touched, making it real. This was real. But when they stepped inside the rock archway, Hunter slowed, then stopped. What if they can’t see me?

By the faint light from the hidden entrance ahead she read trepidation in his face. "What if who can’t see you?"

Anyone.

Skye stared at him. She hadn’t thought of that. She could barely think beyond this instant. Well... Didn’t you say I make you present? That others can see you when you’re with me?

True. I did. You do. His nearly shoulder-length dark hair fell about his face, a few twisted strands already drying to the colour of fire-smoked driftwood. So, never leave your side from now on, is that what you’re saying? I can live with that. She heard the smile in his voice, saw his lips curve.

Me too. Hunter never leaving her. She could definitely live with that.

"But...what if they can’t see me?" he repeated. They stared at one another.

Then they’ll think I’m a loony, talking to myself. We’ll know soon enough. Her tone was light, but his words had cast a shadow over her joy. Hunter being able to leave the sea was inexplicable. Impossible. There had to be a catch.

But he had left the sea. He was safe and whole. And with her. And in this moment, that was all she wanted to think about.

Rummaging in the bag she’d left in the archway she pulled out towels. Handing one to him she began to dry herself with the other. Hunter studied the towel in his hand, bemused. One of about a million ‘firsts’ for him, she realised. He followed her actions, smiling incredulously, and she smiled with him.

After drying herself off as much as she could, Skye put her clothes on over her swimsuit along with an old jacket of Rowena’s she’d borrowed expecting to be half frozen when she made it back to shore. Oddly, she wasn’t cold at all. Something to do with Hunter’s shell ring on her finger, she supposed.

She turned and looked uncertainly at Hunter’s long frame, dressed only in his old seventies swimming shorts. Anything she’d brought for herself was miles too small for him. It hadn’t for one second crossed her mind to bring something for him. He shouldn’t be here, needing dry clothes. But he was. Staggering delight flared, dazzling her.

I don’t need anything, he said quietly when he saw her riffling through her bag for the third time.

She bit her lip, glancing at the fading light. I kind of think you do.

Blend in with the humans, he grinned. I get it. He wrapped the towel he’d used around his waist, and taking her damp towel, slung it around his shoulders. Now he looked like any other beach-goer who’d lingered a little too late in the water.

Any other beach-goer that is, who looked like he’d stepped out of some gothic model shoot, whose silvery charcoal eyes could turn her heart over. He raised his eyebrows in a silent request for approval and she nodded, her breath annoyingly elusive.

Deciding they were as ready as they could make themselves, they began to move towards the dusky light outside. Then abruptly Skye halted, pressing her hand against the cold shadowed rock, her arm forming a barrier. She stared at the opening just a few steps away.

Her heart hadn’t stopped racing since Hunter had crossed his boundary. Now it pounded at a ghastly new thought. One she couldn’t ignore.

Skye? What is it?

"Hunter, what if your boundary has only moved? We don’t know how this has happened – you able to be here with me, across the waterline. You think your boundary is somehow me now. But what if it isn’t? What if your boundary still exists, somewhere beyond the waterline now? What if we reach it without knowing – and cross it – and you –" She hunched over, bracing her hands on her knees, exhaling.

Hunter crouched beside her and peered into her face. Skye, breathe. He rubbed her back, slow firm stokes that helped her lungs function. Yes. I could end, he agreed, dissolve. He stood, helping her to straighten as he did. "But I don’t believe I will. I trust...this, whatever this is."

But when he turned to leave she still didn’t move. Maybe we should just stay here? Until we’re sure you’ll be safe.

"You can’t stay here. And something has changed. I feel it. I don’t know what, or how, but I know it’s got something to do with you. And with before, when I nearly lost you and brought you back."

You think I’m some kind of token now, right?

Hunter smiled, the half-smile she loved. I’ve been given this chance to return to the living. To be with you. I can’t stop now. I can’t go back. His smile faded at that thought. "Being with you, and not being that, however brief, is worth the risk. But I think it will last. This is real. It will last."

He took both her hands in his, and tugged gently until she followed. Elation, fear and adrenaline were a jangle through her bloodstream. Walking backwards, glancing behind for direction occasionally, he led her out step by step until they stood together in the open air of the saddle, the narrow valley that ran between Bascath Bay and Ocean Beach.

Here the sea was a murmur, seagulls’ cries like an ancient echo. A solitary bird chirped softly nearby, and the early evening’s warm breeze rippled the long grass. Hunter tilted his head back a little, his eyes closing as he inhaled the soft scents of the honeyed grass, the dry earth, the shadowed foliage on the hillsides above. His expression was awed, alight from within.

Skye swallowed. Although fear for him hurt her throat, she couldn’t take this from him. And what if he was right? That this was forever for him now? Free of his cursed prison. With her. The idea was beyond wonderful. The joy she’d felt crossing the dry sand with him beside her welled up again, overwhelming her. When he opened his eyes and met hers, her smile matched his for happiness.

Will you walk me...home? he nodded towards the path.

Love to.

2. Hunter. Human

OHH... HUNTER TOOK in the scattered amber pinpricks and geometric shapes of distant Bannimor village lighting up against the hills in the deepening dusk. Their destination. He swallowed, his chest tightening. It’s like...like some mythical realm, with the way to get there suddenly revealed. As if I’ve said the magic words, he turned to Skye, a smile flashing over his face, or found the perfect magical guide.

Skye stepped from the saddle path onto Bascath Beach. More like found the completely ordinary human guide, magical boy, she countered, drawing him after her with a gentle tug.

Believe me, there is nothing ordinary about you Skye. In the evening light it was hard to tell if she blushed, but her expression made it easy for him to imagine the soft pink no doubt colouring her cheeks. And I’m not sure if cursed really counts as magical. He’d meant it as a joke, but Skye’s worried look made him regret his words.

I’m not what I was, he amended. Because of you. Her mouth opened as if to speak then closed abruptly. He guessed what her unspoken argument was. Look at me, Skye, he stretched his arms wide, does this look like the body of someone cursed to dissolve in agony the second I cross the water’s edge, or maybe ever? He saw her eyelids flicker in fear. But he believed what he was saying. This had been set in motion the moment their eyes had met in the channel. Reaching a gentle hand to her face, he traced his fingertip down the soft curve of her cheek, Is this the touch of mist, foam on the sea? He heard her soft inhalation of breath. You’ve done this, Skye. You’ve set me free. I’m not going anywhere, apart from with you.

She blew out a slow breath and nodded, her eyes shining. Offering him her hand she murmured Shall we? and he recognised her sweet tribute to the day he’d offered her safe passage through the sea from the submerged rocks of Ciarlan Cove. Emotion flooded his chest as he took her hand and they turned toward the village.

Every step over the last gentle slope of the beach was a revelation. He felt like he’d grown taller, towering above an eye-line he’d only glimpsed from far off. He looked around constantly, trying to see everything at once. Everything – except the water behind them. He kept his eyes averted from the dark waves and their whispering crests of foam. Only the past lay there for him now. His home for all those countless years. His prison.

Like an icy breath on the back of his neck, colder than his own skin, he felt its presence; felt that to look back would be to fall back and lose what he’d gained. As though the sea itself would reach out and drag him back into its belly. He felt himself tensing as if to fight. He would never go back.

Suddenly the beach pitched beneath his feet. He stumbled again, throwing out his hand for balance and adjusting his stride for an incline he knew didn’t really exist. Embarrassed, he glanced at Skye, but she merely smiled, bracing her arm to steady him.

Are you ok? she asked for about the eleventh time.

I’m... Yes. The beach won’t stay still. It is getting better, though.

Finding your land legs? she teased.

Land legs? he was puzzled for a moment then grinned. As opposed to sailors and their sea legs?

That’s the one, she grinned back.

Skye. Saving him from stumbling. Saving him from eternal banishment. She was like his own personal miracle.

Increasingly conscious of the distance growing between him and the water, he found himself taking deeper breaths. He’d long become familiar with the thin quality of air compared with water in his Nemaro lungs. But he almost expected it to worsen with each step away from his world, although it hadn’t so far. Perhaps it was excitement that made him feel he couldn’t fill his lungs enough? Or fear?

A burst of panic gripped him, and he turned to Skye again. The strangling emotion, whatever it was, melted away as he looked at her. Skye. One step at a time, he could do this as long as she took these steps with him. "Is it odd that more than ever before, the nearer you are to me, the more right I feel?" he mused.

If that’s odd, then I’m downright freakish. Because I feel the same way. Her words were shy, but heartfelt, and he felt her fingers squeeze his. He would take care to let her hand go soon, but not just yet. He needed the comfort of her touch right now no matter how certain he was that crossing his boundary was right.

Looking up from their linked hands to her lovely face, he marvelled yet again at the way her smile sent sunlight through his chest, erasing weight and years. She made him feel so...human.

And soon he would meet more humans. As they continued towards the village panic threatened again. To calm himself, he focused on his surroundings, consciously acknowledging each sensation. Soon he felt the crunch of brittle seaweed and the wonderful feel of fine sand beneath his soles: dry soles on the dry sand high above the high tide line. Stopping, he wriggled his toes in the cool, powdery texture.

Incredible. He looked up from his sandy feet to Skye, but his smile faded as he took in what lay beyond her. The village was so close now, he could make out buildings, movement, colour. His heart pounded, his grip on her hand tightening. A glow from street lamps lit a flight of steps some distance ahead, like a celestial invitation to ascend.

...Insane, he muttered, his breaths deepening. She followed his gaze.

Do you want to go back?

But staring fearfully at what lay ahead, the certainty he’d felt about stepping from the water surged up in him afresh, as if each cell in his cursed body knew the truth of the changes in him, willing him forward to freedom. Never. This was real. This was his. His and Skye’s.

Hand in hand they stepped forward again, and he registered the touch of his ring, still on her finger and raised her hand to see it. Like a minute circle of grey cloud, it was safe passage for her into his world. His old world. Suddenly he knew he didn’t want her wearing it. You won’t need this anymore, he smiled, hiding a stab of alarm.

Need? Since when was that the reason any girl ever kept a ring from her boyfriend?

Her words, the smile in her voice despite her bashful expression, derailed his thoughts completely. He knew that word. Boyfriend. Is that what I am?

Um... Aren’t you? she hedged, dropping her gaze, looking mortified.

Yes, he whispered, but it feels like more.

She met his eyes again, radiant. He couldn’t resist closing his arms around her small frame, pressing his cheek to her sea-tangled hair, staggered at the gift of her, her open heart. Releasing her, they resumed their walk. Taking her hand, the touch of the shell ring refocused his train of thought.

Did wearing it put her at risk? Her longing for the sea – it could draw her back, put her within the call of his clan. If they still existed... Was she still in danger? The only way to answer that was to go back, to look for the others.

And he wouldn’t go back. He wouldn’t risk losing this chance of a life with her. Should he ask her to throw the ring away to be safe?

But before he could speak Skye halted. They’d reached the foot of the stone steps. The street lamp above cast a soft glow over them where they hesitated on the pocked, shadowed sand.

Are you truly sure about this? Skye asked, her voice low.

Hunter knew his nod wasn’t completely convincing, but he was resolute. They began to climb. Each step upward felt momentous. At the top they halted once more.

An old stone wall curved away either side of them. If there was going to be a new boundary for his mortality, surely this was it – the separation between beach and village. They stared at each other for a long moment, then Hunter looked at his free hand. He wasn’t feeling any pain or discomfort, but still he hesitated before reaching out towards the street. He heard Skye draw in a sharp breath and not exhale it.

Arm stretched to its full length, Hunter wiggled his long, intact fingers above the pavement. Smiling at her in delighted victory, there was a silent ‘I told you so’ in his raised eyebrows, and he heard relief in her laughter. Relief he shared. Together they stepped forward. Hunter stared around, his eyes widening.

3. Skye. Doubts

SKYE’S HEART RACED as she watched Hunter take in her world, up close, for the first time. The flicker of neon light on his skin added a completely unnecessary touch of the surreal to seeing him here. As if she could feel anything but totally unreal right now.

She looked around, attempting to understand the scene through his eyes. The low-key, end of season nightlife of Bascath Bay was getting underway, no doubt a screaming metropolis to his ocean-attuned senses. Cars cruised slowly by, gleaming like sleek beasts in the muted light. A live cover of an old-school girl-band from a nearby bar competed with a passing car stereo and hypnotic dance music from another venue.

People strolled, some window-shopping at closed stores. Others leaned on temporary bars under outdoor lamps or sat around café tables studying menus. Almost directly opposite, the Towers’ lit restaurant windows revealed diners occupying window booths and filling the outside tables.

Hunter’s hand trembled in hers. Without speaking, she led him a few steps to the left, drawing him to sit beside her on the stone wall beneath a street lamp until he became calmer. How different this urban world must seem to his of shifting currents, flickering silver clouds of silent fish, the haunting echoes of whale song.

Hunter craned his head up, where the standing shape of the Towers rose above them. Lighted apartment windows hinted at the lives lived within. Skye saw his chest moving, his lips parting as if for more air, his body and expression tight as if he was close to saturation point. His grip on Skye’s hand became almost painful.

Ouch? she hinted, squeezing his hand back a little, not wanting to spoil the moment for him, hoping to steady him.

Oh, sorry. He loosened his grip. It’s just... For so long I’ve only dreamed what this would be like. Can you imagine walking into a dream and finding it real?

Yes, she murmured, I can. Across the road, a dark shop window’s reflection showed her herself beneath the street lamp: a pale smudge of face, bedraggled blond hair, holding hands with a wild Adonis.

She looked at him again. The light from the street lamp turned his skin to velvet, his dark eyes and the curve of his lips cast into sharp relief. As he met her gaze, she saw delight fill his. As if she was the source of it. She was startled when he gently extricated his warm hand from hers.

Sorry, he whispered. The shame on his face hurt her more than his withdrawal. It was a cold reminder that their differences still existed, that the warmth in their touch was hers, leaving her.

Don’t be, she said firmly, and was glad when his expression lightened a little.

But the reminder checked her happiness. It still didn’t seem real that he could be here with her. She felt like she was holding her breath, trying not to jinx her happiness with any sudden movement. That if she looked too closely, or questioned how this could have happened, it would cause him to melt away like a dream. Or like the nightmare curse that had bound him until now.

But like Bluebeards wife, she felt the questions force themselves out. Hunter, can you understand what happened out there? How this is possible? His expression closed in a little, reminding her of past secrets withheld. A feeling of alarm prickling through her chest, she pushed a little more. And the others, the other Nemaro. Jarrod. It was hard for her to say the name of the Nemaro who had dragged her deep below the surface. What do you think happened to them? Are they still alive?

I don’t know, he said shortly.

I saw them all sinking away like statues. Like you did. A horrible thought came to her. Do you think we should – I don’t know – maybe go back and look? Find out?

I’m not going back. His voice was low but adamant. He stared across at the Towers, then looked at her, his face haunted. "Skye, I truly don’t know what happened. I put everything I am into finding you in the darkness and bringing you back. It’s changed something between us. Connected us. I don’t want to think about the others, or why what happened, happened. All I know is – you’re safe, and I’m safe, and we’re both here. Here. Oh! his eyes widened in recollection. Your father, Skye! Is he safe? I was so focused on you I lost track of him in the battle. And I’ve been so focused on...this since, he indicated himself, that I forgot him. I’m sorry."

Skye’s diaphragm felt winded. Driven by some urge beyond her understanding, earlier today she’d made her way to wave-lashed Ciarlan Cove and discovered her father Daniel being drawn to his death. Her attempt to protect him had succeeded, but it had nearly killed her. Hunter was the only reason she was still breathing, his shell ring the only reason her father was.

Yes, he’s safe. Probably safer than he has been for a long time but... He’s being looked after, he’s sedated to make him sleep. She took a shaky breath. I’ll tell Rowena about him when we get back. She’ll know what to do.

I’m so sorry Skye. I know my clan were responsible. If I could fix it, take any of it back –

Hunter, we talked about this already. My dad made his own choices. And so did...Jarrod. None of this is your fault. Dad will be okay, I’m sure of it. She was unwilling to push Hunter on the subject he was obviously keen to avoid, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. "Still, aren’t you the least bit curious about the others? About this? Don’t you think we need to figure it out?"

Hunter looked down at the pavement beneath his feet for a moment, then met her eyes again, vulnerable. "I feel like...if I look too closely it will all disappear. You’ll disappear. I couldn’t bear that. So, just...let me have this, have you, for now at least? Let me have this. Please?"

He’d described exactly how she felt. No one was better at avoiding hard truths than she was. Of course. I didn’t mean – I was just curious. I wasn’t saying you have to give me answers. We’ll figure it out as we go.

His tension seemed to ease. Given her own uncertainty, Skye could only guess how precarious his new freedom must feel, how tightly he would try to hold on to it. Coldness passed over her like a shadow. She’d agreed to his request, but inside she felt the fear of losing him take root. Maybe this happiness was on borrowed time. Somehow, there must be consequences to this gift.

Hunter looked up at the building almost opposite again. She followed his upward gaze to the Towers, the high-rise where she’d stayed with her best friend Morgan until so recently. She had pointed it out to him before, and together they’d counted the floors until he could identify her window. A light glowed from their old apartment on the tenth floor, already occupied.

Did you ever look for me there? she asked softly. Whenever we parted, did you look for me at the window?

Every time. Always.

His words sent a painful insight into his life flashing through her. Out in the dark water, staring up at distant lights he could never reach, searching for the one person who knew he was out there. Who cared. She had ached for his cold isolation. Now she blinked rapidly as the surge of realisation that he was free stung her eyes. The fierce joy she felt as she turned to him was intoxicating. Wanna see where I’m staying now?

Yes, please.

His radiant smile turned her heart over in her chest. She could definitely let him have this, no more questions asked.

Walking slowly towards Café Bliss, Skye noticed that although Hunter stared around fascinated at everything, his glances at people’s faces were darting, looking quickly away. She found herself doing the same, only watching longer, checking for returned glances – could any of them see him? But they both seemed unnoticed as they walked along the sea wall on the darkened waterfront side of the street.

And despite her determination to let him have this and be happy in the moment, the sense that it may not last was like a trickle of ice through her veins. She’d lost him twice before. She couldn’t lose him again.

Rounding the bend where the road curved to meet the tidal river, Café Bliss came into view. While her world had flipped on its axis and a miracle walked beside her carefully not holding her hand, nothing had changed here.

On the corner across the road, light spilled through the large old-fashioned windows and glinted on the small cut-glass panes running along the window top. Patrons milled inside and out, and she could see the band Side On inside through the glass, their acoustic harmonies carrying above the sound of the sea. She had forgotten they were playing tonight. It was a smaller crowd than the recent café opening, but still a good turn-out. Morgan and her mother Rowena would be so pleased.

Is this the place, Skye? Is this where you stay now? At her nod he said, It’s...perfect. It’s light, and music, and people...

Yeah, it’s pretty great. It’s not like this all the time, but still... And you’ll love Morgan and Rowena. And they’ll love you. Hunter’s expression became sceptical, and fresh apprehension uncurled inside her. She was sure that if they really knew Hunter’s heart, they would love him. But would they give him the chance? What had Morgan said? Maybe it’s a good thing you’re not seeing Hunter anymore. It hadn’t been a good thing, but would Morgan get that?

Skye lifted her chin; she would make them get it. They will totally love you, she insisted stoutly.

Until they forget me.

Skye’s eyes widened. She’d overlooked that part of Hunter’s curse: being Forgotten. She thought quickly, seeing his face darken. "I think it’s the same as me making you present. Remember Harvey? He remembered...something. Amber definitely saw you, remembered you. And tried to make trouble for Skye after the fact. Rowena and Morgan won’t forget you once they meet you."

Do they know about me? I mean...you know...

Morgan knows that you’ve helped me – when you intervened with those guys, and when I got stranded on the rocks, and about a billion other times.

About a billion, eh? the corner of his mouth lifted.

At least. But I didn’t tell her about...Nemaro. Besides... Hunter – your world, your life? It doesn’t exist in ours. Magic – it might be real, but for most people it’s just stories. If I told anyone the truth, they’d think I was nuts.

Nuts?

Crazy. Disturbed in the brain. She looked across the road at the busy café. She had found the crowd at the café’s grand opening a little overwhelming. Although this didn’t look anywhere like the attendance of the opening, she couldn’t imagine it being any easier for Hunter. She looked up at him. Are you ready to do this?

He’d become tense, staring at the bright, happy scene. People... He stopped. Tried again. So many people.

In his eyes Skye glimpsed the endless space of his world, the vast, cold emptiness of the ocean; the pressing silence of the deep. Hunter and his diminished clan were as one with that world. The scattered encounters he’d had with humans had often been tragic, and always traumatic – until her. And now, his first entry