Salted Hearts

III. Beneath the Surface

glistening water in sunlight's glow,

hiding the depths where dark things grow.

no hand can grasp, no eye can see,

what truly lies beneath the sea.

The afternoon sun painted the coastline in shades of gold, the light glinting off the waves like shards of glass. Cora lingered near the edge of the training grounds, her arms crossed as she watched the surfers practice. Their laughter and shouts carried over the crash of the waves, blending with the distant hum of seagulls circling above.

Her gaze kept drifting to Kai Montague, who stood knee-deep in the water, his board resting at his side. He was giving pointers to a younger surfer, gesturing animatedly as he explained the mechanics of catching the perfect wave.

He looked so at ease, more like the ocean was an extension of himself.

Cora frowned, shaking her head. She wasn’t here to admire his charisma or the way the sunlight caught in his hair. She was here to find answers, to unravel the mystery of who he really was and what he was hiding.

But the more she watched him, the harder it became to reconcile the image in front of her with the accusations in Devoe’s file. Her gaze shifts into the ocean. What more could it reveal? Kai didn’t look like a criminal mastermind. He looked like someone who had never known the weight of a dark secret.

And yet, she knew better than to trust appearances.

“Lost in thought again?”

The voice startled her, and she turned to find Kai walking toward her, his board tucked under one arm. Water dripping from his wetsuit.

“I’m starting to think you enjoy sneaking up on me,” she said, her tone sharper than she intended.

Kai smirked, tilting his head as he studied her. “Or maybe you’re just easy to catch off guard.”

Cora rolled her eyes, refusing to rise to the bait. “Don’t you have a wave to catch or a fan to charm?”

He chuckled, setting his board down and leaning against it. “You’re more interesting than any wave or fan right now.”

The casual remark caught her off guard, and she felt a flicker of unease. Kai had a way of saying things that felt like both a compliment and a challenge, and she wasn’t sure which one this was meant to be.

“I doubt that,” she said, her voice cool.

Kai’s grin widened, and for a moment, she thought he might push further. But instead, he gestured toward the water. “Why don’t you come back out? You did better than most beginners yesterday.”

“I’m not here to surf,” she replied, her tone firm.

“Then why are you here?” he asked, his hazel eyes narrowing slightly.

Cora hesitated, caught off guard. She forced herself to stay calm, to keep her expression neutral. “I’m just observing. The surfing world is… different from what I’m used to.”

Kai raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “You don’t strike me as someone who likes to sit on the sidelines.”

Cora shrugged, her gaze drifting back to the water. “Maybe I’m just trying to figure out what all the fuss is about.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The sound of the waves filled the silence, a steady rhythm that seemed to echo the unspoken tension between them.

“You’re an enigma, Flair,” Kai said finally, his voice softer than before. “You show up out of nowhere, keep to yourself, and watch everything like you’re waiting for something to happen.”

Cora’s stomach tightened, but she forced herself to laugh lightly. “Maybe I just like people-watching. It’s fascinating, you know? Seeing how people act when they think no one’s paying attention.”

Kai’s eyes flickered with something she couldn’t quite place — curiosity, maybe, or suspicion. “Careful, Flair. People might start wondering what you’re hiding.”

The words were spoken lightly, but they carried an edge that made her pulse quicken. Was he onto her, or was he just trying to rattle her?

Before she could respond, a shout from the water drew Kai’s attention. One of the younger surfers had wiped out, tumbling into the waves with a splash. Kai sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Duty calls,” he said, flashing her a quick smile before jogging back toward the water.

Cora watched him go, her mind racing.

___________________________________________________

The sun dipped lower in the sky as the training session wound down. The surfers began to pack up, their laughter echoing across the beach as they exchanged stories of their triumphs and near-misses.

Cora lingered on the outskirts, her eyes scanning the group for any sign of unusual behavior. But everything seemed… normal. Too normal.

She turned to leave, her boots crunching against the sand, when a voice stopped her.

“Leaving so soon?”

She turned to see Kai standing a few feet away, a towel slung over his shoulder and his board propped up beside him. His hair was damp, curling slightly at the ends, and there was a faint smudge of sand on his cheek.

“Long day,” she said.

Kai studied her for a moment, then nodded toward the nearby bonfire that had been lit as the evening set in. “Stay for a bit. It’s not every day you get to see a sunset like this.”

Cora hesitated, every instinct telling her to decline. But something in his tone — almost casual, almost inviting — made her pause. If she wanted to get closer to him, to learn more about what he was hiding, this might be her chance.

“Alright,” she said finally, walking toward the fire.

The group around the fire welcomed her with easy smiles and friendly banter, their energy infectious. Someone handed her a stick with a marshmallow, and she found herself reluctantly joining in as they roasted them over the flames.

Kai sat across from her, his expression relaxed as he listened to the conversation around him. Every so often, his gaze would flicker to hers, and she felt the weight of his attention like a physical presence.

“You don’t seem like the bonfire type,” he said quietly, leaning closer so only she could hear.

“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think,” she replied, meeting his gaze head-on.

Kai chuckled, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Fair enough.”

The conversation around the fire shifted to stories of close calls on the waves — injuries, near-drownings, and the occasional shark sighting. Cora listened quietly, her attention divided between the stories and the subtle undercurrents of the group’s dynamics.

It wasn’t until someone mentioned Kai’s name that she noticed the shift. The lighthearted banter gave way to a kind of reverence, a respect that went beyond his skill as a surfer.

“You should’ve seen Kai last season,” one of the surfers said, his voice tinged with awe. “That wave was a monster, but he rode it like it was nothing.”

Kai waved off the praise, his grin modest. “Just doing what I love.”

But Cora couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to the story.

As the fire burned lower, the group began to disperse, leaving only a few stragglers behind. Kai stayed where he was, his gaze fixed on the flames.

Cora hesitated, then sat down beside him.

“You don’t seem like the bonfire type either,” she said, her tone light.

Kai glanced at her, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.”