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“Before I went to the caves to look for you, I had a brief dream about prawn cocktail in a chilli-spiced blood sauce. I was sitting at a grand candlelit table being served by a chef in an obnoxiously large hat.” He kissed his fingers like he could remember the flavour. He sat on the porch steps, as if trying to absorb the moonlight into his icy skin.

“Do you think it was a dream or a memory?” she asked, taking a seat beside him.

“I don’t know.” Gideon shrugged, staring out over the cliffs to the sea like he was trying to find home.

“When you remember where this fine castle is, then you can have all the prawn cocktail you like. Something to look forward to when you leave here,” she said, aware of him staring at her.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with me a bit longer. I couldn’t find anything on the internet that matched my memory, or I found too many generic examples that didn’t even have a name or location; how is one to trust anything they see online? If I searched every castle, it might take me another two hundred years to find home.”

“Don’t lose hope. We still have Miranda searching, and there is still the Maritime Museum or the library to check out. Don’t lose faith while we still have options,” she said, resting her hand on his leg.

“Or I could kiss you again,” he said, holding her hand.

“What?” She chuckled nervously.

“I don’t want to pressure you. I’d never force my will on a lady, but I think we can both agree that whenever we come into intimate contact, my memories return. When I bit you, the kiss last night. I think it might have something to do with your siren song, drawing something out of me,” he explained.

“You do have a point, and I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try,” Aerin said, not understanding why she was so nervous when she had practically eaten him alive the other night. Gideon leaned in close, his hand trailing down her back only to feel him still.

“What’s in your hair?” Gideon asked, running his hand through the sticky ends.

“Oh no, this is so embarrassing!” Aerin pulled away a little, recalling this morning’s incident. “I thought it would’ve washed out by the time I finished emptying the crates. I can’t believe I didn’t notice sooner.” Aerin ran her fingers through her hair and noticed the black ink dried to her lengths, and let out a frustrated groan.

“Kennie sprayed me when I was collecting some rubbish that had gathered at the entrance of his den. “I didn’t want him eating anything toxic, but I got a little too close while he was sleeping,” Aerin confessed. She had managed to wash it off her body with all the swimming, but it clung to her hair.

“I really want to kiss you, but you smell like Kraken.” Gideon’s brow furrowed as he fought to get close, only to pull away.

“It takes a real man to admit that,” she said. His efforts made her giggle. He tried so hard not to react, but even she knew how bad the ink stank, never mind his heightened sense of smell.

“I’m going to go shower.” Aerin hurried away before she died of embarrassment. She felt his eyes follow her as she left him on the porch. He’s right; it does feel nice to be prey for a change. She shook away the thought and hurried upstairs.

Three shampoos later, Aerin was still rinsing ink and suds from her hair. She silently cursed Kennie for ruining the moment, but she couldn’t neglect his den; he’d been in a bad mood that morning because she had lured him away from the sailors and ruined his meal. She didn’t want him snacking on rubbish to fill the gap. With so much rubbish in the sea these days, it was hard to stop him from gobbling up waste and plastic; his stomach broke down ships, but couldn’t handle plastic.

She did her best to keep the cove clean, but it felt like a never-ending cycle. The water circling the drain finally ran clear, and she added a fourth dollop of shampoo to be safe. The bathroom light went out, and the water suddenly stopped. Damn fuse box! First thing on the list to be replaced, she cursed, grabbing a towel and ignoring the suds running down her face and back.

“Gideon?” she called out, walking down the stairs. When he didn’t respond, she figured he had gone out for a walk. Her eyes allowed her to see in the dark, so blackouts were no big deal. Usually, she only had to flip the switch and all was right again. Heading down to the basement, Gideon’s coffin was empty, and she found the fuse box blown.

Great, another expense. She sighed and grabbed her phone to text the electrician to see if he had any availability first thing in the morning. She would have to dip into her savings, but there was no other way.

“Aerin? Are you down there?” Gideon called down as the electrician texted back that he would come when he could, but there might be a delay because his crew were putting up the lights for the Autumn Festival. She said she’d take whatever he had, no matter the hour, in hopes of him coming out sooner rather than later.

“Yep. The fuse box is blown,” she explained, joining Gideon in the kitchen. “It must’ve blown because I was in the shower for too long. I never should have installed the electric shower.”

“I think it might have been the microwave oven that did it. There were some sparks when I tried to heat up a cup of blood,” Gideon said, guiltily.

“Sparks? It’s only a few years old. It was supposed to have a five-year guarantee,” Aerin whined. “Did you put the mug in and turn the dial to twenty seconds as I showed you?”

“Same as I always do.” Gideon nodded, picking up the mug from the counter.

Instantly, she discovered the cause. Aerin closed her eyes and let out a low sigh. She counted to five before reacting; she had to remind herself that he didn’t know any better. “You left the spoon in the mug? The metal spoon?”

“So I could stir it,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “From your expression, I’ve made a grievous error.”

“You can’t put metal in the microwave. Thankfully it was only twenty seconds, or there could have been a fire.” She decided to look on the bright side. Her microwave and fuse box were toast, but at least she still had a kitchen.

Chapter Thirteen

Aerin