More colorful rays explode into the air, and I snuggle into Devin's embrace. We needed this moment of serenity and peace.

He kisses the back of my neck, and a slight shiver spreads over me as a girly grin invades my face.

"I missed you," he murmurs with reserved strain.

I turn so I can nestle into his chest before sharing his sweet confession.

"I missed you, too."

His smile matches mine as our lips connect once more, folding in perfect unison as they dance against each other with a soft embrace under the mesmerizing beauties lighting the sky.

"You two going to do that all night?" Hale grumbles.

Devin shares a crooked smirk and looks into my eyes before answering him.

"We very well may."

Hale grumbles louder as he turns his nose up with bitter distaste.

Deacon and Camara snuggle into each other as more bursts of lights fill the sky. Devin's breath is almost seductive when it lingers against my face with its warm promise. I smile as I soak in this moment; one we won't be allowed to experience as often as I wish.

"How do you feel right now?" he murmurs against the top of my head.

"Like I'm a normal girl enjoying a night on the ocean with my insanely hot, rich fiance," I gloat.

He smiles endearingly, and a different set of swirls stir in his eyes.

"I love hearing you say that. I'll love hearing you call me husband even more," he says in his tantalizing tone.

"I'll love calling you my husband," I almost giggle.

He kisses me briefly before drawing back and standing to his feet as Ther wraps up the pyrotechnical display with the grand finale.

The exploding wonders erupt from his hand, and they fizzle out quickly to give way to the new booms emerging to take the place of the faded echoes.

The thunderous exhibition's end brings everyone to a standing ovation to applaud Ther's breathtaking performance.

He playfully takes a bow, and then Devin starts pulling me away.

"We'll have to behave tonight," he snickers out in a low, almost muted tone before we reach the cabin entrance, but I tug on him to keep him from going in.

"Why?" I whimper.

His eyes show their joy in my whining dismay, and he whispers his reasoning.

"I don't want to sink the boat, and we both know you have no control over your strength in the bedroom. You're untamable ways force me to lose my control as well," he teases.

I blush slightly, and then we realize belatedly that Hale has been too close to the conversation.

"Holy fuck. Damn you, Devin Cole," he gripes from behind us.

Devin laughs lightly at the unintentional tidbit he's revealed that has left Hale green with envy.

"Sorry. I thought I kept my voice low enough to escape the ears of anyone," he snickers, though I'm not so sure he didn't want Hale to hear that.

I'm sure on some twisted inward level, Devin is poking his chest out and strutting around proudly, though he's too much a gentleman to make it that obvious right now.

Men. Sheesh.

"How'd you like the fireworks?" Ther excitedly chirps as he struts across the deck on his way to us.

"I loved them," I say genuinely.

"Of course, I love flashing lights, but it wasn't my favorite form of flashing. But then again, I already witnessed that sort of show earlier today," Hale adds with malicious intent as his eyes daringly stare into my very wide and slightly alarmed ones.

Uh-oh. This is going to be bad.

"What are you talking about?" Devin asks with a touch of suspicion.

"This morning, when Adisia flashed me," he boldly and bluntly pops out.

Devin's eyes narrow at him, and his jaw tenses before clenching to a locked state. His hands fist at his side, and I purposely step in between him and Hale.

"I jumped up before I realized what was going on. He didn't see much. Just let it go," I plead gently.

"I should probably go... away," Hale mumbles when he sees how incredibly pissed Devin actually is.

I start pulling on Devin's hand to lead him away from his tempting desire to punch a hole through the ocean floor - using Hale's head as the driving force. The swirls in his eyes darken, and I know I've lost this battle.

A gushing wave roars up from the sea and carries the unsuspecting Hale with it once more. He squeals slightly as it sucks him under and twists him in its grip with a wringing motion.

He gasps as he claws back to the surface, and Devin smirks daringly. Hale growls as he climbs back onto the boat, and starts peeling off his soaked shirt.

"Remind me again why I elected to help you and get shunned by my group to be treated like this," he scoffs.

Devin smiles a little sympathetically in response to Hale's pitiful whine.

"Because you know we need you more than they do, and you've already made too bad a bed with Serena too many times to have stayed there much longer. Water stings less than fire," Devin snickers.

Hale shrugs with his surly stance. "True. Although, I'm no longer too fond of water."

Devin laughs lightly as he shakes his head, and we duck into the cabin area. He leads me back to the room where my ring had been kept - his room. I feel his arms wrapping around my waist as he follows me to the bed.

"I'm surprised he wasn't more persistent," he mumbles.

"What do you mean by that?" I inquire.

He smirks lightly as he unties the strings of my suit and they drop, as does the top half of the bathing suit. My breath grows harsh against his smooth chest as my chest bares itself freely in front of his eyes.

"If he saw that much of you, he had to have been reeling all day. Too bad you're mine," he remarks smugly.

Undeniably, completely, and irrevocably yours.

I blush slightly, and then I match his seductive tone.

"I don't think there's anything bad about being yours," I seduce.

"You would if you were any other man but me."

My breath hitches, and his hands pull me to his arresting, salient body, and the bare skin on skin contact is enough to bring my blood to a boil as my breasts push against his upper abdomen.

He drops his head back as if he is distressed, and then he walks away to pull open a dresser drawer. He tosses me a shirt, but I'm confused by what exactly is going on.

I keep my upper half exposed as the stringy portion of the bathing suit drapes past my covered bottom half.

"What's this?" I ask in a baffled pout.

"A shirt," he says sardonically, and the literalness of his phrasing offers coy mockery for my true question.

I roll my eyes while I huff in frustration, "I mean, why are you giving me a shirt?"

He snickers slightly as he pulls off his shorts and flashes into a loose pair of low-hanging jogging pants that expose his perfect hip lines.

He flops onto the bed and pulls his hands up behind his head to be comfortable, despite the obvious sexual energy charging around the light-flickering room.

"I told you we have to behave. You're far too wild for such a small, fragile contraption, and I'd prefer it if no one else saw you're incredible chest for the rest of our time here. I'd also prefer it if no one else saw you in such a slinky swimsuit ever again. I'm not trying to sound controlling, but you're a descendent of Aphrodite. It makes it hard for most men to keep their eyes off you as it is," he grumbles slightly.

I drop the shirt to the floor as a menacing smirk invades my face. I stalk toward him, swishing my hips slightly to draw his eyes to a smoldering gaze.

I slide my leg across his waist while keeping his eyes trapped in mine and the electrical currents flow over him to offer a stimulating, erotic touch.

"Most men? What about you?" I seduce.

He smiles as his eyes narrow with devious intentions. He rises and grips me at my hips before jerking me tighter against him.

"Aphrodite doesn't hold any power over me, but you do," he smolders. He flips me to my back, and his extraordinary body presses with promise against mine. "But I also have the ability to say no when it risks the safety of our brand new boat," he teases.

Our. Mmm. That word sounds so good coming out of his mouth.

I smile and then pout at his rejection. "That's not fair. You set me on fire and then dunked me in ice."

He laughs as he stands to pick up the shirt I had abandoned. He tosses it to me once more as he responds.

"You spent the better part of the day seducing me," he retorts.

"I had every intention of finishing what I started though. You just revved up the engine and cut it off. That's just cruel." I exaggerate my pout.

He laughs ridiculously hard as he kisses my forehead with a patronizing touch. Jackass.

"I'm sorry, baby. I'll make it up to you when we're on dry, stable, resistant land."

I roll my eyes, but in doing so, my eyes flash a new color as I glance into the mirror across from the bed.

They quickly return to their gentle blue, but I'm shivering slightly from the unexpected change. Devin's smile drops instantly as the teasing playfulness is sucked from the room.

"What the hell was that?" I gasp.

His mouth is almost stunned into silence, and his eyes bear the shocked, terror-stricken gaze of a child watching a horror movie.

"What?" I prompt again.

"We need to speak to the others," he mumbles with his stupefied, horrified, and disbelieving face still dumbfounding me.

I pull on the shirt, and he tosses me a pair of boxers to pull on as well. I have to turn the waist band down several times just to make them stay up - somewhat.

He clutches my hand and almost drags me back out.

Theia and Phillip are laughing with Ther and Kry until Theia sees her son's face. Her expression mimics his instantly without even knowing what is going on.

"What? What happened?" Her panic is apparent.

"Adisia's eyes," he mutters with the disbelief still clearly notable in his tone. "They just turned white."

"White?" she gasps, and her glass tumbles from her hand to the deck below. "That's impossible," she squeaks as the glass continues shattering against the wood.

"You're sure?" Kry asks in a far more serious tone than I've ever heard him use.

"Positive," Devin says with breathless suspense.

Hale walks up bearing the same taxing look as the others, and I'm still fucking clueless as to what's going on.

"What does white mean?" I blare.

"Did Persia tell you who Kahl's mother was?" Devin asks in his worrisome tone.

"No. It never came up, given all the other butt-loads of crazy going on. Why?" I inquire desperately.

"She said Kahl was full titan," Ther says quietly while running a hand through his hair.

"It's possible it was just a fluke, or maybe a glare from the light," Theia explains with logicality to the unfathomable hypothesis they're all secretly sharing.

"It wasn't a glare. It was an intentional flash. She was making her presence known, and Adisia saw it, too." Devin trembles.

She? Who is she? We already know about Aphrodite, so who else am I sharing my immortality with?

"Why wouldn't Persia have told us such a thing if this is the case?" Theia questions as she sits down slowly to relieve her wobbling legs.

"Persia told us very little in general, but she probably thought Aphrodite would be the only guiding entity, since that's the way it has always fucking worked. She can't have two. We still don't know anything about Kahl, other than he was full titan, and we never bothered to ask about his mother. Persia was a secretive person, and she didn't elaborate on Adisia's father's half in the least. I still don't know why we didn't press the issue," Devin groans with exasperated regret.