Page 33 of Ghoul Me, Maybe
“I think the magic in Lowtide isn’t just old,” she says slowly. “I think it’ssentient.Tied to the sea. Tied to cycles. Tied to... you.”
A beat of silence.
“Tous.”
The word cracks something in me. Because hearing her say it, like that, with no hesitation—it does things to my soul I didn’t think were possible anymore.
“Sienna…”
She doesn’t let me finish.
“I think whatever brought you back wasn’t just unfinished business. It’splace magic. Tidal magic. Old and wild and rooted deep in this land. And now that we’ve anchored?—”
“It’s bleeding through the seams,” I finish.
She nods.
Another step. Closer. I can see every freckle on her face now, the way the wind lifts her hair just enough to brush against my chest. The warmth of her pulls at me like gravity’s been rewritten just for her.
She’s watching me.
And I’m watching her.
But neither of us moves.
Because whatever this thing is—this connection, this magic—it’salive. And it wants something from us.
“Tell me the truth,” she says, voice trembling. “If I find the relic. If I break the curse. Will you be gone?”
I don’t lie.
“I don’t know.”
Her eyes glisten, and she looks like she might cry.
“I hate this,” she whispers. “I hate how close I feel to you and how scared I am that it’ll all vanish the second we fix it.”
I reach out. My hand hovers, inches from her cheek.
And this time, when I touch her, she doesn’t flinch.
Our bond flares, bright and terrible and beautiful. Her breath hitches. My form solidifies for half a heartbeat, enough for her skin to press against mine, real and warm and alive.
And for a second, there’s no death between us.
Only longing.
Only heat.
Only truth.
“I don’t want to vanish either,” I murmur. “But if it means saving you, freeing this town... I’d make that trade.”
She closes her eyes, and her lips part like she’s about to say something that’ll split the world in half.
But the tide crashes behind us, louder than it should, and the moment breaks.
We step back.
