Relieved, CC nodded enthusiastically. "I think the well mystery has been solved. I feel like such a fool making a big fuss over nothing. Abbot William, please forgive me for interrupting you again."

The abbot's blue eyes narrowed at her, but he gave her a brief nod.

"We must speak, Father," Andras said suddenly. CC was pleased that he sounded coherent and in control once more. "I have had news from the mainland that is of concern to

Caldei." As an afterthought, Andras turned to CC. "Undine, I—"

CC waved her hand. "I wouldn't think of taking you away from important business with the abbot. I'm fine now and can easily find my way to my room. Goodnight Andras, Abbot William."

"Come, my son. Let us retire to my chamber where we may speak in peace."

Without another glance at her, the Abbot and the knight hurried from the courtyard, and the monks returned to the dining hall. CC was left alone with the silent well.

She ran a shaking hand across her face. Her knees wobbled and she felt the sharp bite of bile in the back of her throat. Sarpedon had followed her, and he had found a way to reach beyond his realm. The thought of being trapped within the walls of the monastery with the merman's malevolent spirit overwhelmed her. She needed space. No, she acknowledged grimly to herself—she needed the ocean. She ached for its comfort and the sense of belonging she felt whenever she was submerged in its liquid embrace.

And Dylan, her heart reminded her. She needed Dylan. Could he be out there in the soothing water, waiting for her?

CC hesitated, chewing her bottom lip. Yes, the ocean was Sarpedon's realm, and she was vulnerable to him there, but apparently that vulnerability now extended to the monastery. CC felt a surge of anger. What right did he have to stalk her?

The gate to the monastery was open, and it was much easier to walk through it than it would have been to climb out of her window. She would only be gone a little while, she promised herself. She'd be back before anyone would notice her absence. Squaring her shoulders stubbornly, she followed the sound of the calling waves through the gate and out of the monastery.

Picking up her skirts, she jogged down the path that led around the outside wall of the monastery to the edge of the cliff. The sun was low in the sky, and blushing colors of mauve and saffron lit the sea. On the horizon cumulus clouds billowed like giant dust bunnies that had been dyed the colors of evening. Carefully, she chose the winding path she had followed the night before, forcing herself to slow down so that her dress wouldn't catch and rip on the scrubby brush that lined the little trail.

Unexpectedly, fog began to form over the water. CC watched it spread, surprised at the ease with which it covered the rich colors of the evening sky. Like the cloak of a giant, it billowed up the side of the cliff. Within just a few steps CC was totally surrounded and had to slow her de-scent even more, picking her way down a path that seemed to dissolve into fairylike mist. She waved her hand in front of her body and was intrigued at the way the tendrils of wetness curled around her. She had never seen fog like that before—it shimmered with a strange iridescence, as if it was made of opals and pearls. She probably should have been frightened; instead the soupy fog made her feel hidden and secure.

Her shoes sank into sand at the moment a small section of mist shifted and parted, allowing Gaea to step through its diaphanous curtain. Tonight her robes were the color of smoke sprinkled with starlight and diamonds.

"Good evening, Daughter." The goddess embraced CC, holding her within the maternal comfort of her arms. "I thought you would desire to be free of the monastery this evening."

CC stood with her head resting on the goddess's shoulder. Gaea smelled like summer grass and lilacs.

"It was Sarpedon, wasn't it?"

"Yes. He possessed the knight." Gaea stroked her hair.

"I was so scared!" CC sobbed, feeling her body begin to tremble again.

Keeping one arm around her daughter, Gaea motioned to a large moss-covered rock behind them, inviting her to sit.

"Sarpedon only intensified the desires which already exist within the young man." Gaea's lips tightened. "The knight is honorable, but Lir's son is very powerful. It is a simple thing for him to manipulate Andras's lust. The knight has no defenses against Sarpedon, and you cannot warn him. Andras is a man who has been fashioned to despise the supernatural and the unknown."

"He didn't seem to remember any of it. He just accepted the explanation I made up."

"No doubt Andras has only a vague, dreamlike memory of his actions while he is under Sarpedon's influence. He is not the kind of man who would admit weakness, and a loss of memory, or of control, would be something that he would refuse to acknowledge, so consciously he will cling to any excuse offered him. It is only unconsciously that he will be in tumult. The knight's will and soul are as a kingdom in civil war, and he does not have the ability to reach beyond what he has been taught to seek aid."

"Then what can I do?"

"I do not mean for you to fear Sarpedon, but I do want you to be wise. Right now he enjoys toying with Andras. It amuses him to use the warrior's desire while he searches for a way to possess you." The goddess's tone was businesslike, which was as much a comfort to CC as was her presence. "But as long as you stay under my protection he cannot possess you directly, nor do I believe he can force the knight to act so against his nature as to actually do you harm, even if that was his intention."

CC gave the goddess a dubious look.

"Remember, Sarpedon does not want you injured; he simply wants you returned to him." Gaea's frown was a gentle chide. "Do you not trust me, Daughter?"

"Of course I trust you," CC said quickly, feeling her fear begin to thaw.

"There…" Gaea cupped her daughter's chin in her hand. "All will be well, do not doubt it." The goddess kissed her forehead gently. "Now, I hear the waters calling to you. I know they will soothe you even better than I."

"Isn't Sarpedon still looking for me?" CC asked.

"My fog will hide you from his eyes tonight. And I believe you need to conduct a search of your own." Gaea raised her beautifully arched brows suggestively and nodded towards the sound of the waves. "Find what is in your own heart, Daughter."

"Is Dylan out there?" CC's voice had dropped almost to a whisper.

"Did he not say he would be waiting for you?"

"He thinks I won't be here until I need to change back to my mermaid form, and that's not for two more nights." CC brushed a hand through her heavy hair. "Can I even change tonight?" She felt the call of the water, as always, but it wasn't as intense as it had been the night before. Instead of an overwhelming desire, it was just an itch somewhere under her skin.

"You must wait for the third night to change into your mermaid form—if you change more often than that, you may not be able to overcome your desire to remain a creature of the water."

"And then Sarpedon would get me." And he would kill Dylan, CC added silently to herself.

"Do not concern yourself with Sarpedon tonight. Concentrate instead on knowing your heart."

"But if I can't change back into a mermaid…"

"If Dylan is your true love, he must accept the part of you that is human."

CC gestured at her layers of skirts. "I'm not exactly dressed for swimming."

Gaea's smile was mischievous. "I have always believed one should not be dressed at all when one finds herself embraced by the ocean." With a slender finger she touched the intricate laces at CC's back. Instantly they fell open and the cloth slipped from her shoulders as if twenty nimble-fingered servants had assisted her.

CC stood to step out of the dress and smoothed it across the rock. Before she pulled off the shift, she glanced at Gaea. "How am I going to get back into that thing?"