Children of the Sea 02 - Sea Fever

hunger he could satisfy.
     
    He went to see her only because it suited his purpose, Dylan told himself as he passed the ferry road. His very public pursuit of Regina provided him with an excuse to keep an eye on the humans’ comings and goings, to listen to their gossip. If a demon did possess an islander, chances were good that his neighbors would be discussing his strange behavior over coffee at Antonia’s the next day.
     
    And yet . . .
     
    He wanted to see her. Looked forward to the wary light that came into her eyes when he walked through the door, the challenge in her chin, the annoyance in her voice. Liked watching her through the pass-through into the kitchen, her quick, neat movements, her small, strong hands, the impatient press of her lips. He smiled, picturing her. Always busy, always in motion, like a bird at the edge of the tide.
     
    60
     
    He pushed open the restaurant door, making the bell jangle. The restaurant cat raised its head from its window perch, regarding him with sleepy golden eyes.
     
    Margred paused in the act of untying her apron. “Oh, it’s you.”
     
    Dylan raised an eyebrow, nettled by her obvious disappointment.
    Selkie or human, married or not, Margred had power, a purely female magic that would always draw men’s eyes. But this time the sight of her did nothing to blunt the edge in him.
     
    His restless gaze moved past her to the kitchen. “Where is she?”
     
    “Regina? She went to the dock to meet the ferry. I am waiting for her to come back.”
     
    “Why?”
     
    “So I can go home.”
     
    He bared his teeth. “Who is she meeting at the ferry?”
     
    “No one. They’re off-loading supplies for the restaurant. Dylan . . .”
    Margred’s eyes were troubled. Seeking. “What are you doing here?”
     
    She had faced a demon before, Dylan reminded himself. They had faced a demon together. He did not need to pretend with her. And Conn had not instructed him to lie.
     
    “Conn sent me.”
     
    “Why?”
     
    “He believes the fire spawn are seeking something on World’s End.”
     
    Margred went very still. “Seeking what?”
     
    Your child. Yours and my brother’s. But Dylan could not say that.
    He did not know it to be true.
     
    “That’s what I’m here to find out.”
     
    61
    “Vengeance?”
     
    “It’s possible.”
     
    “Then why did you not come to me?” She crumpled her apron between her hands. “Why did you not warn me?”
     
    “Because we do not know.”
     
    “And because I am human now,” she guessed.
     
    Possibly. Probably. Guilt made him stiff. “By your own choice.”
     
    “Yes. My choice. Being human pleases me.” She added deliberately, “Caleb pleases me.”
     
    “Till death do you part,” Dylan sneered.
     
    She tossed her head. “Better a lifetime with him than eternity without him.”
     
    “And when you both are old, will he still please you then?”
     
    “Yes,” she said with absolute certainty.
     
    “How do you know?”
     
    “Why do you care?” she shot back.
     
    The back door slammed.
     
    “Idiot supplier sent me iceberg,” Regina said. “Four crates of—Well.” She stopped, her gaze flicking from Dylan to Margred and back again. She set a big cardboard box on the stainless steel counter; crossed her arms. “Don’t let me interrupt.”
     
    “You’re not interrupting,” Margred said. “I am leaving.”
     
    The bell over the door jangled in her wake.
     
    “Shit,” Regina said wearily. She ran her fingers through her straight, cropped hair. “I was going to ask her to give me another twenty minutes.”
     
    62
    “Why?” Dylan asked.
     
    “Ma’s doing mayor stuff— waste committee meeting,” Regina explained. “I’m covering the dinner shift by myself. Which isn’t a problem normally, but there wasn’t room for the truck on the morning ferry, and now I’ve got to unload the delivery myself.”
     
    She was already moving as she spoke, sliding the carton, wedging open the back door. There was no rest in her, no peace, only this slightly nervous, crackling energy. And yet for the first time all day, Dylan felt his shoulders relax.
     
    He walked into the kitchen as she returned from the alley carrying another big box. Through the open door he could see an old white van, its rear doors open to reveal stacked crates and cartons.
     
    “You are alone?”
     
    “I just said so, didn’t I?” She sidestepped to avoid him.
     
    He followed. “Where is Nick?”
     
    “At