“Even if I say you win, it’s still a lie, you know.” Emma huffs.

Galen won’t take the bait. Not today. “Fine. It’s a lie. I just want to hear you say it.”

With an expression mixing surprise and suspicion in equal parts, she says it. And it sounds so sweet coming from those lips. “You won.”

As he walks the bag over to her, he feels giddy, like he were the one getting a gift. In a way, he is. When he passed the wreck on his way back from the Cave of Memories, he knew he had to take her there. “Here. Go change. You don’t need the mask and flippers, but I want you to wear the suit. It’s designed to retain your body heat. It can keep a human alive in freezing temperatures for a few hours, so you should be nice and cozy in it.”

She peers into the bag. “A diving suit? Why would I need this?”

He rolls his eyes. “Go change.”

When she emerges from the bathroom, he almost falls off the bar stool. The suit hugs every curve of her body. The only thing he doesn’t like is the way she’s scowling. “I look like a seal in this thing,” she says, pointing to the hoodie.

He grins. “Keep it on. If you’re warm enough when we get there, you can take it off, I promise.”

She gives an impatient nod. “This better be good.”

*   *   *

To preserve her air, they stay surfaced. Occasionally, he dives to check their location. This last time, he grins. “We’re here.”

She smiles. “Finally. For a while I thought we might be going to Europe.”

“Before we go down, are you okay? Cold?”

She shakes her head. “Not at all. Actually, I’m kind of hot. This thing really works.”

“Good. Deep breath, okay? Dr. Milligan told me to pull you down slowly to make sure your body can handle it. If you feel tightness in your chest or anything uncomfortable, you need to tell me right away. We’re going deeper than ten Empire State Buildings.”

She nods, eyes wide. Her cheeks flush with either excitement or the heat she complained about. He smiles as his arms encircle her waist. As they descend, she talks to the curious fish flitting about. But the farther they go, the fewer and fewer fish there are until Galen would be surprised to see any that didn’t glow.

“How did you meet Dr. Milligan, anyway?” she says, almost as an afterthought.

“I saved his life. Well, we saved each other’s lives.”

She rests her head against his chin. “Says the guy who hates humans.”

“I don’t hate humans.” At least, not anymore.

After a few minutes, she wiggles in his arms. “Well?” she says.

He turns her around to face him. “Well what?”

“Are you going to tell me how you saved Dr. Milligan’s life?”

“You really are the most curious person I know. It worries me.”

“It should.”

He chuckles. When she arches a stubborn brow, he sighs. “Toraf, Rayna, and I were playing around some reefs off the coast of the Bridge Land—er, Mexico, is what you call it. We were about ten years old, I think. Anyway, Dr. Milligan was snorkeling with two of his friends on the other side of it. We were careful to stay away from them, but Dr. Milligan had strayed from the rest of the party. I found him on our side, lying on the bottom and clutching his leg; he had a cramp. I could tell he was about to pass out. I pulled him to the surface. His friends saw us and pulled him into the boat. They saw my fin; I wasn’t very good at changing into human form yet. Or blending. They tried to pull me into the boat.”

Emma gasps. Galen gives her a crooked smile. “This won’t give you nightmares, will it? You know how it ends. The good guys get away.”

She pinches him. “Get on with the story.”

“Dr. Milligan put the boat in gear, full-speed. They lost their balance and dropped me. The end.”

“Nooooo. Not the end. How did you find each other again? That was before you met Rachel, right?”

He nods. “I didn’t see him again for another year. I kept going back to the reef, because I thought he might, too. And one day, he did.”

“What about his friends? Did they ever try to find you again?”

Galen laughs. “They still do. And they’re not his friends anymore.”

“Aren’t you worried they told someone about you?”

He shrugs. “No one believes them. Dr. Milligan denied the whole thing to the human authorities. It’s his word against theirs.”

“Hmm,” she says, thoughtful.

They spend the next few minutes in silence. Just when he thinks he can’t take it anymore, she talks again.

“I’m definitely not hot anymore,” Emma says. Galen stops. “No,” she says quickly. “It feels good. Keep going.”

She would tell him anything at this point to see the surprise. And he would give her the benefit of the doubt. The truth is, he’s excited this moment is here.

When they get close, he faces her to him again. “Close your eyes. I want this to be a real surprise.”

She laughs. “You think I even know where we are? We could be in the North Pole for all I know. I don’t have a sense of direction on land, Galen.”

“Well, just the same, close your eyes.”

When she complies, he picks up speed, skirting them along the ocean floor until he sees it looming ahead of them. He turns her around. “Open your eyes, Emma,” he whispers.