Page 17

17

Leander

“ H ey, Lee? Do you think we should check on her?” Now Kai was really sounding worried. “It’s been almost an entire day.”

I stretched my legs out in the cramped tent we’d stolen from the Pacific’s newly acquired territory. It was tight fucking quarters, and neither of us had been able to sleep in it, but it beat sitting in the sand while we waited.

“Give her time,” I said, trying to sound patient. I wasn’t used to being the level-headed one.

Kai released a deep, tired breath and leaned forward, his shoulders sagging. “It’s just that… Laverne’s delicate, you know? I never should have agreed to this.”

Delicate? Yeah, not even close.

“Keep whining, and we’ll have to start sparring again to work off some of that energy,” I warned. “I could go for a few more rounds.”

He immediately straightened up.

“No, please,” he wheezed out with exhaustion and a healthy dose of fear. “I can barely move my arms from earlier.” He made a pathetic show of opening and closing his hands. “But seriously, dude. It’s been too long, hasn’t it? What if she’s hurt or something even worse? I just want to be a good brother to her.” He took in a slow breath before adding, “I still can’t believe she’s really my sister.”

Yeah, that made two of us.

I poked my head out of the tent, noting that the sun had dipped lower on the horizon. I fucking hoped that whale-sized beast wouldn’t create another blue moon tonight. Just thinking about Laverne molting made my skin crawl. I could definitely go without seeing it happen again.

“Calm down, man. I’m sure she’s fine.” Ducking back into the tent, I muttered under my breath, “She’s fortunate to have a brother like you to look out for her.” Envy tinged every word. “How many siblings does that make for you now? Nine? Ten? Sounds nice.”

Beside me, Kai’s face flushed pink. “I like to think I have twelve,” he said cautiously, letting a glimmer of optimism seep in. “Since you and Barren are my brothers, too, right?”

My initial reaction was a light snort, but I couldn’t deny the unexpected warmth that spread through my chest from being included in his family. My throat tightened, and I cleared it. “I guess you can count me in.”

“R-really?” He looked so relieved. “That’s awesome! I bet Barren would be happy to hear it, too. Do you think we should call him?” He fumbled with his pockets before pulling out the phone Barren had given him before we left. His smile immediately fell as he turned it all around, tapping all over. “Oh, weird. It won’t turn on.”

I chuckled. Before, everything Kai did irritated me. But after spending time together, I’d grown to find some of his quirks endearing.

“When was the last time you reluminated it?” I asked. Kai was totally clueless about phones.

A sudden burst of light flooded the tent. “Oh! There it goes,” he said triumphantly. A couple more taps followed. “Seems like holding my finger down did the trick. So, should we call him?”

I clapped an encouraging hand on his back. “Go for it.”

Then again, after we left for the Pacific against his wishes, it would surprise me if Barren even answered.

“Hey! Look! It’s ringing!” Kai exclaimed, grinning at me.

The ringing persisted, and we continued to stare at the phone until it finally stopped.

Fucking called it .

Noticing the disappointment in Kai’s eyes, I blurted out whatever whaleshit first came to mind. “Don’t worry about it. He’s probably sleeping. What time is it over there, anyway?”

“Kai!”

I wasn’t ready for the cheerful, burst of sunshine voice that interrupted my attempt to console him.

Shit . She was back already.

Ever since Laverne’s mother had discovered us earlier this morning, she’d been constantly running back to be by Kai’s side.

From a distance, it was difficult to tell her apart from her daughter. They had the same eyes, the same tails, the same…

Okay, fuck it, all these sea lions looked the same to me.

Whenever she came up to the tent, though, it was suddenly obvious how much larger she was than Laverne. And while they both seemed overly excitable, she had a mature warmth in her voice that couldn’t be further from Laverne’s attitude.

“Kai!” Her voice carried a note of relief as she called out to him again.

“Yeah, we’re still here,” I muttered, giving Kai a nudge to grab his attention. Every time she came by, she seemed overly concerned about us leaving.

Kai looked up from his phone and immediately smiled. “Charlene!”

He genuinely seemed to enjoy her company, and well, she wasn’t so bad, especially since she’d taken it upon herself to feed both of us. But it felt foreign to me, being on the receiving end of a mother’s affection.

Instead of more fish this time, something gold gleamed in her jaws.

“I was so worried, dear, that you’d leave without saying goodbye!” Despite her size, she barged right into the tent, squeezing into the narrow space between the two of us. Maybe Laverne had taken after her in some ways.

“Look, look! I brought you something,” she said, sitting it on Kai’s lap. I eyed it and immediately recognized it as a human creation. Jewelry, they called it.

Kai seemed even more thrilled to receive it than she was to offer it. “Whoa, it looks so awesome! Thank you, Charlene,” he said, taking it and inspecting the circular object at its center. His smile gradually softened into a bashful grin. “What is it?”

“A watch!” she said cheerfully. “Humans love them. They set them in the sand to mark where they put their clothes, so they always know where to find them.” She patted his side with a gentle flipper. “I thought you might need it for the tent, dear, in case you left it. So you’ll know which one is yours.”

Yeah, we were the only fucking tent on this stretch of the beach.

Now that he knew what it was, Kai seemed even more touched by the sentiment. “You always take such good care of me.”

She beamed at his words, her tail smacking my back as it happily swished behind her. “Of course, dear! You take such good care of my Laverne. You’ve always been such a good big brother to her and Freechia.”

His face immediately paled, and he let out a highly uncomfortable laugh. “Well, I—I don’t know about that?—”

Her eyes sparkled with pride. “And every time I see you, I just can’t believe how much you’ve grown. You look more like your father with every passing moon.”

“W-what, really?” Kai’s face turned to even more horror. His eyes darted toward me, seeking confirmation, and I immediately shook my head.

“Nah, man,” I mouthed.

It was clear he was mortified by the thought of resembling his father, which was a feeling I understood all too well.

A nervous laugh rattled through him as he shifted the watch around in his hands. “Thanks again, Charlene—for the watch. I really appreciate it.” He sat it down just outside of the mouth of the tent, marking this one as his.

Charlene basked in the gratitude, her long snout stretching into a contented smile as she looked between us.

“This is so nice! And I even got to meet your friend,” she announced, the warmth in her voice wrapping around me like a blanket. “And how are you doing, dear? You look so tired. Are you sure you’ve been sleeping enough?” Her flipper skimmed the frayed end of my filthy shirt that I hadn’t bothered changing in days.

She’d gone looking for a replacement earlier but hadn’t been able to find anything that fit. “Are you hungry again? Can I get you something?”

I shifted uncomfortably, waving off her concern with a half-numb smile. “I’m fine.”

I wasn’t used to the type of attention she kept showering us with. It was foreign to me, being nurtured and cared for in a way that didn’t have an ulterior motive. It was even stranger for that care to come from a sea lion, although she was technically a selkie, wasn’t she?

Was this how mothers were supposed to be?

Kai gave me a look that made me think he understood just how uncomfortable her kindness made me. He cleared his throat, stepping in to divert her attention away. “I think I could go for another fish,” he said with an easy smile. “If you’re offering.”

Her face lit up at the opportunity to provide for us, and she nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! I’ll go see what I can find for you boys! You just wait right here.”

As she dashed out of the tent, I finally felt like I had room enough to breathe.

“Sorry about that,” Kai said sheepishly as soon as she was out of earshot. “But Charlene, she’s really nice, isn’t she? I know it might sound silly, but sometimes I used to wish she could adopt me and Freechia. I mean, having a mother like her would be pretty awesome, wouldn’t it?”

His smile curved as he stared out at the watch she’d given him. “But I guess Freechia was already part of her family. I really hope Charlene gets to see Laverne before we leave.”

He leaned forward suddenly, his smile faltering. “ Whoa . Is that?—?”

I spotted a glint of metal just before Kai bolted out of the tent. I got up after him, and as the beach wind hit me, I noticed even Charlene hadn’t gotten far in her pursuit of fish.

Because there, ahead of us, barreled a small sea lion down the beach, wrestling with a trident far too heavy for her jaws to carry.

“HELP ME!” a voice shrieked into the minds of possibly everyone in the Pacific.

Now, that was definitely Laverne. She’d fucking done it. She’d gotten the trident. And she was about to lose it because over a dozen sea lions were charging behind her. Fuck.

“Laverne!” Kai yelled back, panic shrilling his voice.

He took off into a sprint, but, fucking dammit , the herd was going to reach her before he did.

“Shit!” I growled, feeling my anger surge. These sea lions were getting on my last fucking nerve. “Sorry, beautiful,” I muttered, tapping into the power I’d been trying to suppress ever since taking in my trident. I’d made a promise to Claira not to use the magic, but this was a matter of life or death. The giant brute leading the pack looked downright unhinged, ready to tear Laverne apart.

I wouldn’t let him.

With a push of power, I thrust out my hands, feeling the electricity crackle in the humid air around me.

Lightning? No. There were too many of them. I had something better in mind.

I focused on the ocean, my anger quickly taking shape in the form of whirlpools. They sprang from the waves, surging toward the sea lions from behind.

The spiraling waters rose higher, racing up the beach until the sea lions’ roars turned to panicked yelps as the spirals crashed into them, knocking them off their flippers.

I winced as Charlene’s gasp cut through the chaos, but I maintained the magic until the sea lions were flung back by the force of the water. Even the hefty bastard. Fuck, yeah .

My arm throbbed, an electric pulse that shot to my heart, but I pushed through it, channeling that pain into protecting Laverne.

As the last sea lion fell, Kai stumbled, nearly tripping over his own feet. “Dude!”

Laverne didn’t bother glancing back to see what had become of those behind her. Her eyes were blown wide, her chest heaving with exertion as she continued hauling the trident through the sand.

She had almost made it to Kai when a figure abruptly darted between them with astonishing speed.

The fuck was a human doing on this part of the beach? He looked like a complete wreck, unclad aside from a scrap of fabric that barely covered his ass.

And was that… blood on his scrap of clothing?

I narrowed my eyes, trying to get a better look at him. When he turned toward Kai, I finally got a clear view of his face—black hair cut to one side and a savage sneer that betrayed a deceptively young face.

He wasn’t human, not by a long shot.

What the fuck was the king of the Southern Ocean doing in the Pacific? And why the hell did he look like he was going for Kai’s trident?