I waved off her apology. “Your parents were wise to give you a chance to see how humans and fae live topside together.” Otherwise she would have always been curious about the wonders of land, maybe even grown to resent her mother and father for not having a chance to embrace both sides of her heritage. “I do have one more question. Why do you wear the tail sometimes and not others? It seems like it would give you an advantage.”

“The magic requires time to regenerate. It’s not an issue at home, in salt water, but here it’s difficult to recharge that specific type of magic.” A dismissive shrug. “Not so much a mystery as a practicality.”

I mulled over her answer, imagining her soaking the shorts in a salt bath in her hotel room to rejuvenate them, and found the whimsy of Harlow’s life enchanting. “I hope you’re happy with your choice.”

“That makes two of us.” A tight smile stretched her lips. “Well.” The barnacles’ cling was tested by Harlow twisting the bag until it faced under the dock. “I’m ready. How about you?”

“I hate that you have to go alone.”

“I’ve survived worse odds.” She knocked on the warped planks. “Besides, you’re here.” She drifted away from the dock. “You won’t let anything happen to me.”

The pearl bracelet felt tight around my wrist. I ran my finger underneath to loosen it.

With a flip of her tail, Harlow vanished beneath the surface, and the waiting game began.

Chapter 16

Ten minutes passed counted out by my fingers tapping against my thigh. Ten. Some humans could hold their breath for twenty-odd minutes. The record was something like twenty-two minutes and twenty-two seconds. Nonaquatic fae had a similar lung capacity. That said, the average human only managed thirty or forty seconds before they started gasping for air.

Not that I was obsessed with drowning statistics or anything, but how would a nine-year-old girl survive such an arduous trip to the surface? If she was still alive at all. Harlow might be fast, but if the caves ran as deep as she thought they might, then pressure sickness might also be a factor. Too many variables. Too many grim thoughts circling me. I was sick of them.

“Is it safe to come out now?”

The sound of Dell’s voice eased the tension in my shoulders. “I didn’t hear you.”

“You weren’t supposed to.” Her next steps made enough noise to compensate for the previous ones. Moonlight glimmered in her hair and bathed her cheeks when she winked at me. “Stealth mode and all that.”

“The patrols haven’t turned up anything?”

“Nothing so far.” She tapped the side of her nose. “The scent from the parking lot was strong enough we all imprinted a scent memory. We’ll know the creature if we come across it again.”