Page 75 of Night's Reckoning
“And you?”
He raised an eyebrow. “What about me?”
“Did you go down to see it today?”
“I did.”
“And what did you think?”
He tapped his foot and looked over the water where the crew had set buoys to mark the rough perimeter of the shipwreck. “Uh… it’s a big waterlogged ship with lots of dirt and coral on it and theoretically some shiny stuff underneath all the dirt and sand.”
She smiled. “There’s shiny stuff. Trust me.”
“Part of me just wants to dig in and damn the historical significance, and the other part of me wants to stay away completely. Usually when we go after stuff, it’s just you and me on our own. We have a client. We have a goal. And we just go for it and make our own rules. This feels so…”
“Regulated.”
“Exactly. And neither of us is a fan of rules.”
“My father is a fan of rules,” Tenzin said. “You should trust Cheng. He’s done many salvages like this. The Laylat al Hisab will be with the cargo.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” Since she’d brought it up… “Speaking of the cargo—”
“We should dance.” She hopped off the railing and walked to him.
Ben blinked. “I… What?”
She looked up with wide eyes. “Don’t you hear it?”
He turned his head toward the open windows of the mess hall and heard the strains of “What a Wonderful World” drifting through the air.
He couldn’t stop the smile. “There’s a Chinese cover of this song?”
She stepped into his arms. “Ben, there is a Chinese cover of every song.”
“Not every song.” He put his arms around her. It felt easy. Friendly. Like it had been before everything changed.
“If there’s not a Chinese cover of a song yet, give it another year,” Tenzin said. “YouTube never sleeps.”
“Maybe that’s why it’s your natural ecosystem.”
Her eyes went wide. “You’re right!”
Ben laughed and spun her around. The words were different, but the melody was the same. “Do you remember the first time we danced to this song?”
“In Venice?” She danced back into his arms and laid her head on his chest. “I remember. I remember everything.”
His heart ached. “Do you?”
“With you? Of course I do.”
Did that make it worse? He couldn’t tell. He couldn’t think. And for one night and one dance under a beautiful full moon, Ben didn’t want to.
20
After the enjoyable night with the humans, the three diving vampires decided to take the rest of the night off. The party had produced an ebullient mood that spilled over the entire ship. Once again, Ben was proven right.
Cake. It was magic.
