Chapter 2

PSAMATHE

My feet sank into the sand as I made my way to the precise section where the sea met the beach. The setting sun reflected off the waves and the sky was an unbelievable shade of pinky-orange. No wonder Aphrodite wanted to have a Jinx event here, it truly was the epitome of a romantic setting.

Without meaning to, I found my thoughts wandering and turning over some of what she'd said. She was right, it had been a long time since Proteus died, and even since I'd managed to forgive myself for not having graduated from immortal to goddess in time to keep him with me. Not that I thought he'd agree to that. He'd loved life, but he'd also been the kind of man who saw it as something to be enjoyed until it ended.

Would he truly be okay with me moving on?

I looked out over the waves, jumping slightly as they parted and the head of a seal emerged. I let out a small laugh. It wasn't the first time I'd been spooked by one of them, I thought they enjoyed the mischief.

The seal disappeared in a moment, replaced by a familiar figure. I tried not to stare at Zale's toned chest where it rose from the water, but it was hard not to.

"I didn't expect you here, Sama," he said.

"I came out for a walk," I said needlessly. "I needed to think."

"Same, that's why I came for a swim." He pointed to a towel a few feet over.

I nodded and turned my back so he could get out of the water without me staring at him more, even if that was kind of what I wanted to do. It wasn't appropriate though. We were friends.

The water sloshed as he made his way onto the sand, and I strained to hear what was going on so I knew when it was safe to turn around.

"How are things at the sanctuary?" I asked.

"Pretty much the same as normal," he responded. "We have a new seal."

"What's their name?"

"Persi," he said. "It's safe to turn around."

I laughed and faced him. "Haven't you run out of Greek gods to name seals after?" I asked, more amused than anything else.

"Well, remind me how many sisters you have?" He rubbed a towel over his face and hair, but it was still damp from the sea.

"Fifty," I murmured, conceding his point. "All either fathered or turned immortal by Poseidon."

"Which are you?" he asked curiously.

"No idea. He's not exactly the fatherly type, so I never asked. I'm not sure he'd be able to tell me even if I did."

"I'd have thought he'd have calmed down by now," Zale said.

"Oh, he has. But that doesn't mean he can remember what he was doing nearly three thousand years ago. Fifty daughters, remember. And that's just the nereids, there are others too." It was best not to dwell on any of that. Anyway, Persephone would love that you named a seal after her. She adores animals of all kinds."

"I'll remember that if I ever meet her," Zale responded.

"You should, it doesn't hurt to be in the Queen of the Underworld's good books."

He chuckled. "Fair point."

We stood in silence as we both tried to work out what we should be doing next. "Do you want to come up to the bar for a drink?" I asked.

"I don't have a shirt."

"It's lucky you're friends with the owner, then," I joked. "And you can tell me all about Persi."

He nodded and the two of us headed up to the terrace of my hotel. I didn't want to go inside and face the scrutiny of my staff and customers, but out here was nice and safe.

We made ourselves comfortable and I gestured for one of the servers to bring us our drinks.

"You should come by the sanctuary sometime and see the seals again," Zale said.

"I'd like that."

"Maybe if you do it really publically, we'd be able to get more donations," he half-joked.

"You don't have enough?" This was the first I was hearing about it. "I can free up some funds..."

"No, Sama." He reached out and put his hand over mine, sending tingles through me in response. "You can't spend your own money on the sanctuary, it would be never-ending."

I opened my mouth to protest but shut it again, an idea starting to form.

"But if you visit, some of the other islanders might decide to donate again," he continued.

"So they can donate and I can't?"

"You can donate, just within reason," he reminded me. "I know you love the seals, but you can't give everything you've got to them."

"I do need to keep the hotel running," I agreed.

The bartender returned and put our drinks down in front of us. I smiled at them and made a note of their name so I could make sure to add a tip to their wage packet.

I picked up my wine and swilled it around. "What if I had another way of getting donations for the sanctuary?" I asked.

"Another way?"

I nodded. "There's an opportunity that's come up for me where I can pick a charity, perhaps I could suggest the sanctuary."

"What kind of opportunity?"

I bit my bottom lip, noticing his gaze linger a little more on the gesture than it should, though I found I liked it. "I'd rather not say. Let me make a call tomorrow morning, and then I'll come to the sanctuary and let you know if it's a go or not. Though I'm guessing I'll still need to check with the director?"

He nodded. "I doubt she'll say no."

"Good." I took a sip of wine, pleased and surprised that a walk on the beach had brought me good company, and clarity on what charity I should pitch to Aphrodite.

Which made me feel a whole lot better about the impending party.