Now Hæra, too, began to relax against Madeleine’s warmth. It was much less threatening than the fire’s. Said fire was banked now, leaving Hæra to feel much the same way. It was a fine feeling. How long since she’d known satisfaction?

She’d thought, once, that it would come from beating a pair of wings against the wind. She’d never do that now. That was clear enough. It had been folly to think she ever could. Why would the Sire and herd have taken her back just because she reappeared and said she’d killed a human? That had been her desperation talking. She’d needed to believe that her dream could not be beyond her grasp forever.

Well, it was. In exchange for centuries with wings, Hæra now had an uncertain handful of weeks with the sleeping woman at her side. Should Madeleine stay beyond the end of summer (and she’d said nothing about doing so), that didn’t change the particulars. Even if they somehow managed to remain together without trouble, Madeleine would grow old and die long before Hæra would.

Not so long ago, Jonathan had told Hæra: Stop thinking like a child and look to the future. She’d replied confidently that Madeleine’s return would solve every problem, but of course Jonathan had been right. How irritating that humans, short-lived and limited, could see the bigger picture better than she could.

They were far from perfect—their history showed as much—but humans did a lot of things better. Like grow. Like change. Madeleine had said so herself.

Perhaps now wasn’t the time for deep reflection, though. This bed was so comfortable. Jonathan had done well to get Madeleine a new one. And strangely, it seemed to have a magical property. As she lay on it, Hæra grew heavier. It was like the first time she’d come on land from the buoyancy of salt water. Unlike then, her muscles also relaxed, and she was warm.

It was time to slow her metabolic system and rest. She’d had a long day, to say the least. She might close her eyes, although that wasn’t necessary. Even her eyelids weighed her down tonight.

Hæra snuggled closer to Madeleine and closed her eyes, sinking into the heaviness.

The sea witch looked upon her.

Instead of resting on Madeleine’s bed, now Hæra stood in the middle of the whirlpool. She was in human form. Her feet, shod in her work boots, rested upon the sandy ocean floor.

The witch stood a few feet away. Her face was hard as fossil.