“I’m not all her world,” Madeleine said. Hæra herself had said, on the beach, all the things she loved. “But that’s good. I shouldn’t be. And she’s not just odd—she is different from me.” The mug was hot against her palms as she held it even tighter. “From us.”

They regarded each other in silence, for a moment.

“Aye,” Jonathan said heavily. “There’s no changing that.”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. How long I can stay. Even if I did—even if somehow we worked this out⁠—”

And what would “working it out” mean? Hadn’t Madeleine said, only yesterday, that it was too early for love? That meant it was way too early to think about…whatever this was. A long-term commitment to someone outside her own species?

She swallowed. “She won’t get older. People will notice.”

“I know.” Jonathan bowed his head, as if in defeat. What else could he do? It was only the truth.

Maybe now Madeleine could have that panic attack. It wouldn’t be useful, but at least this situation deserved it. “She can’t go back to the sea, can she? Her own family tried to kill her. What’s she supposed to do?”

There had to be a plan. Hæra could lie in Madeleine’s bed, their naked bodies could glide together, their mouths could mate. They could roam the island hand-in-hand and talk about anything. But, even if they wanted to, they couldn’t grow old together. What then?

“There’s money,” Jonathan said quietly. “More than she knows, I think. That bloody trow means we do all right.”

Madeleine had never seen the trow. Just something else she wasn’t ready for.

“I set aside some for her every month,” Jonathan continued.

It took Madeleine only a moment to understand. “So she can leave.”

“Aye, if I don’t die in time.” At Madeleine’s startled look, he added, “I mean if I live long enough so folk notice she doesn’t age, and then she has to run before she can inherit the lot.”

“Doesn’t she already own at least part of it?” After all, Hæra’s treasure chest had paid for the place.

Jonathan shook his head. “We didn’t have her birth certificate when I bought, and I was nervous that folk might look too close. I offered later, but she wasn’t interested. Now at least I can give her enough to get started.”

Another silence between them held the truth. It would only be a start. And there was something else to consider.

“She told me she can’t go inland,” Madeleine said in a low voice. “She loses her strength if she’s too far from the ocean. That limits her options.”