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“Would you like to see my favorite place?” Soulara asked.

“Your favorite place?” Autumn’s heart pounded. Surely Soulara didn’t mean in the water?

“It’s a little island that not many bother with. There are four trees that shade the middle of it perfectly.” Soulara kissed Autumn’s knuckles again before lowering her hand down. Her chin was ducked, her eyes lifted in a coy look.

“Oh.” Autumn smiled, but that pesky arousal wouldn’t go away. “Your own kind of sanctuary.”

“Sanctuary?”

“A place of safety—a holy place sometimes.” Autumn shrugged, not really knowing the actual definition but she figured this was close enough.

“I suppose. I like that. Would you like to see my sanctuary?”

“Is it far?”

“No, it’s not far. But we need to swim.” Soulara pointed toward the water.

“Swim?” Autumn squeaked, her heart in her throat. She’d never been submerged in the water without a machine to keep her alive. “As in… in the actual water?”

“Oh.” Soulara nodded and sat down in the sand. “I seem to forget sometimes that your world isn’t filled with water like mine is.”

“No, water is the greatest commodity. People die and kill for drops of it.”

“Kill?” The horror in Soulara’s face made a choked sound escape her mouth. Something Autumn couldn’t quite work out.

Silence settled over them.

“Will you tell me about it?”

Autumn didn’t quite understand. “Tell you about what?”

“What it was like growing up on your world?”

“Oh.” Autumn’s skin prickled with a heat that had absolutely nothing to do with the rising sun. “I don’t really know how.”

“Will it help if I tell you about my world?”

Autumn nodded.

“My world is a beautiful place. But compared to a place like this…” Soulara waved her hands around to take in the beach and the trees behind them. “It is a lot darker. There are beautiful colors and wonderful things to explore, but the brightness of the sun up here is dazzling.”

“Like your tail.”

Soulara laughed. The sound filtered into Autumn’s ears and trickled down, relaxing her muscles the same way a shot of tequila might.

“I suppose like my tail.” Soulara nodded her agreement.

“Do you miss it?”

“No,” Soulara answered though hesitation lingered on her lips. “I don’t miss it. I enjoy the freedom of legs, but I suppose if I thought I might never return to my true form, I would miss it very much.”

“How do you do it? Turn your tail into legs?”

“Oh, that’s magic.” Soulara grinned broadly, that understated tease right back where it was before.

“So,” Autumn swallowed a lump in her throat. “You do possess magic?”

“Yes, but not all of my people do.”