The ride home was silent, awkward. Derek sat pressed against the driver’s side door as if in the hopes of distancing himself from Kellen as much as possible. In the close darkness of Derek’s sedan, Kellen gave off a faint, fishy odor, a ripe smell that reminded Derek of salt marshes at low tide. He had to crack his window a bit, raise his nose toward the fresh air that ruffled his hair, just to breathe. Earlier that evening, if asked what he’d do to get his lover back, Derek wouldn’t have hesitated—anything, he would’ve said. No price was too large. But sitting here beside Kellen, slapping away the hand that kept lighting on his knee, trying not to gag on the merrow’s dank stench, Derek began to wonder just how far he’d be able to force himself to go to save Tad.
If he had his talisman, h
