Page 10

10

Kai

“I can’t believe you’d turn your back on me to chase after this—this harlot!”

Claira had only just returned, and already, Laverne was upset.

I froze while stuffing clothes into my bag, one hand supporting my back to dull the lingering ache. “Laverne,” I warned, keeping my voice low as I cast a look at Claira. Thank goodness—her mind hadn’t seemed to pick up Laverne’s scathing words. As usual, Laverne was doing everything she could to exclude her.

Claira was crouched next to the couch, crimson hair pooling over her shoulder, holding tight to a spiral shell she’d pulled from underneath it. A shiver ran through me when I noticed her bottom lip pop between her perfectly polished teeth. My nipples stiffened at the memory of those teeth tugging, raking against my skin, until my shirt pulled uncomfortably across my chest.

I swallowed as I watched Claira stuff the shell into her backpack, then turned my attention back to Laverne. “That isn’t how we should talk about our frien?—”

Laverne screeched, and the bed underneath her released a similar note as she lunged to the foot of it. “How dare you!” Whiskers splaying, she tossed her nose up to the air. “I will never be friends with that algae-haired sea slug. And neither should you!” She cast a downward glance across the room, her eyes narrowing on Claira’s back. “A friend wouldn’t have let you get hurt,” she added, a sharp wave of her fury stabbing into my head alongside her words. “She left you for dead, Big Brother. Or are you too bewitched by her glamour to remember that?”

Wincing, I held up a hand. “Laverne, stop.” Emotions were powerful manipulators, and although we typically held them back when we communicated, Laverne’s anger had a habit of slipping through unchecked.

But she kept going, her teeth bared and neck pitched like she was preparing to lunge off the bed and chase Claira out of my room again. “Have you forgotten why we came here? Forgotten about Freechia? How can you not see that this mermaid is using you?” She stopped to let out a round of barks that had Claira nearly toppling over herself to scramble behind the couch for cover.

“The moment she gets me away from you, I come back to both of you canoodling, stuck together like a couple of mantis shrimp ? —!”

“That’s enough, Laverne!” I banged my drawers shut as I got up, the jerky movements sending a harrowing pain up my spine as I fought and failed to distinguish Laverne’s invading rage from my own. Anger wasn’t what I was used to. It solved nothing—only made matters worse. No moral decisions could be made from it.

With long breaths, I steadied myself until my rage subsided enough for me to think rationally.

“I know you have big feelings about all of this. I get it. But I’m going with Claira, Barren, and Leander. I don’t care if it’s to the Indian Ocean or the bottom of the Undersea—I’m going with them.”

Laverne snorted her disapproval, but I pressed on. “You don’t have to accept it, Laverne, but there it is. We can talk to Barren downstairs. I’m sure he can get you on a plane back to the Pacific, but I won’t be going with you.”

Emotion tugged in my chest, and my face heated as I quietly added, “I won’t return to the Pacific if it means leaving my mate behind.”

Laverne’s jaw plunged open. Her tongue twitched, likely agitated by the weight of a thousand comebacks she wanted to sling at me. But then her mouth snapped shut, and with a derisive roll of her neck, she dropped off the bed with a heavy thunk and strode through the door that joined both our rooms without so much as a backward glance.

I rubbed at the back of my neck as the door slammed shut, my eyes falling on the discarded keycards Laverne had spat out all over the floor earlier in the day. Now that I’d packed the last of my clothes, these rooms wouldn’t be ours much longer.

Claira moved closer, stealing quick, cautious glances at the door. It surprised me she’d even returned to my room, knowing Laverne was likely inside it. Laverne had treated her so cruelly this morning, I’d wondered if Claira would ever want to get close to me again.

When she came up next to me, she slung her backpack over one shoulder, her features furrowing with concern. “I can’t blame her for being upset,” she said with a frown, nodding at the door Laverne had used for her dramatic exit.

My head buzzed with a swirl of warmth and giddiness as the last of Laverne’s anger drained away.

Claira was concerned about me.

How was I lucky enough for Poseidon to match me with someone as amazing as her?

Sure, both Freechia and Laverne had cared about me—in their own intensely commanding sort of way. But the rest of my family and my kingdom? They’d never cared. As long as I was out from under everyone’s tail, they were happy to think of me as just another number. The spare of the Pacific.

But not with Claira. There was nothing commanding about how she spoke to me, and there was nothing dismissive in her gaze. Every time she reached for me, each delicate touch was precise and deliberate. Meant for me, and me alone.

I might not have been her only mate, but I knew I was more to her than just a number. I could feel our connection as acutely as I could feel the pain in my back.

“You sure you’re well enough to go?” she asked, then drew in her lower lip again.

My fingers fiddled with the short hairs on the nape of my neck while I cleared my throat. “Yeah, of course I’m sure,” I said, my voice extraordinarily manly and convincing.

Well, that’s what I’d aimed for, at least.

“Sure you are.” Her eyes veered into a roll while she wrapped an arm around me as an offer of support. “You’re still in pain, aren’t you? Your face is so red… Do you have a fever?”

Sweet breath filled the air as she leaned in to examine my face, making my nerves flare like a bonfire swept up by an ocean breeze. Her soft palm touched my cheek, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the cooling sensation of her hand against my heating skin. “I’m fine,” I said, smiling. And I meant it. With her here with me, how could I not be?

Claira let out a hum before dropping her hand from my cheek. “You do feel warm. It might be better for you to stay here while Barren takes me back home.”

My heart stuttered with a sudden sense of dread, the world spiraling downward. Like the shock of the last drop of salt water evaporating off my tail, sending my bones ripping apart, transforming into human legs.

“No, I—I can go.” I didn’t want to be left behind. Not again.

“Hmm…” She eyed my bag before bending forward, picking it up by the wide strap and testing its weight. “At least let me carry your duffel bag down to the car.”

My flush deepened as I stole the strap back from her. “That’s all right. I can carry my bag.” What kind of partner would I be if I let my mate carry my things when she was already lugging around a bag of her own?

There was a creaking sound as the door connecting Laverne’s and mine opened, then snapped closed again.

Claira’s eyebrows lifted. “Is she spying on us?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her.”

Seconds later, the door swung open. Laverne’s tail wedged into the room, followed by her body as she came through the threshold backwards. Her neck was low and stretched long, tugging on a thick strap clenched in her jaws.

Her flippers scooted across the carpet, and with a final tug, she emerged with a bag nearly identical to mine. The one she’d insisted on taking along during our plane ride because I’d had one, too, even though hers was empty.

As far as I knew, Laverne hadn’t found anything to fill it with since we’d come to the Atlantic. So why was she struggling to drag her bag across the room now?

With a flip of Laverne’s neck and an exasperated huff, she swung the bag to Claira’s feet. Then her head curled back in perfect sea lion posture, her teeth and tongue neatly concealed in her snout. “Since you’re offering.”

Claira blinked, and her hand came up to her temple like Laverne’s words had finally reached her.

My spine ached as I leaned down, snapping up the bag’s strap before Claira could make a move for it. “Not nice, Laverne,” I scolded, wagging a finger at her nose. I lifted the bag and nearly lost my footing when a stench slapped me in the face.

Though I couldn’t be sure what was in it, I had a feeling it held about a dozen regurgitated fish Laverne had originally scarfed down for lunch.

“No, no, I can carry it.” Although Claira’s nose scrunched at the smell, she still moved to take the fish bag away from me. But Laverne was practically my family—not Claira’s. My mate didn’t need to deal with the smelly outcome of Laverne’s little temper tantrum. I hoisted my bag over my other shoulder and headed for the door before either of them could stop me.

“Not you, Kai-Kai! You don’t need to carry it,” Laverne shrieked, crowding under my feet as soon as I stopped to open the door. “She’s right there. Let her do it.”

If Claira thought my face was hot earlier, she would be burnt if she tried touching it now. “Playing these childish games is getting old, Laverne.” Pain and exhaustion gave my voice a harsher edge than I’d ever used with her.

“But—” Laverne’s moon eyes rounded, her ears drooping. “Big Brother…”

I propped the door open with my shoulder to let Claira through before starting down the hallway, gritting my teeth in anticipation of more pain. Strangely enough, the bags balanced me in a way that alleviated the ache.

“Grab the keys before you leave, Laverne, since you’re the one who tossed them on the floor. Barren said we need to return them to the humans at the counter downstairs.” I watched as her head sank, her tail sulking lifelessly behind her as she collected the keys in her mouth.

Even the elevator couldn’t lift Laverne’s spirits. It was her favorite part of the entire hotel. I loved watching her enjoy the rides, but I needed to remain firm. Our relationship didn’t have many boundaries, but she needed to know my stance on Claira and that I wouldn’t tolerate her disrespecting her. I’d hoped she would warm up to Claira without my interfering, but it was clear that Laverne might never stop trying to drive a wedge between us.

When we made it to the counter, I gently took the keys from Laverne’s mouth and set them on top of it. Then I gave the man standing behind it my best smile. “I was told to return these.”

His attention dropped to the keys and the shiny ring of drool forming on the counter around them, though he made no attempt to retrieve them. “Thank you—er, sir.”

“You’re very welcome.” I beamed, then a burst of thunder cracked in the distance, making every one of us jump.

“What the—?” Claira swung around me, looking out the transparent doors. There was another thunderclap, a bright flash quickly replaced by darkness.

“The weather forecast for today didn’t mention storms,” the man behind the counter mumbled, moving to a small window to inspect the dark clouds forming outside.

“A storm…” Claira let out a loud gasp and bolted for the doors. They parted for her immediately, and when she was through them, the wind whipped her hair as she ran out into the swirling darkness.

“Claira, wait!” I slapped a hand on the counter to turn the man’s attention back to the keys, then threw him a thumbs up. “We good here?”

“Uh, yes, sir,” he stuttered, moving back to the counter. He slid the keys closer with the edge of a colorful rectangular document he’d pulled from a display beside him. “You’re all checked out.”

“Thanks, man!” Holding tight to the straps of the bags, I chased after Claira into the storm.

Outside, Claira had stopped short of the car, her body facing the shoreline where a dense, turbulent mass of storm clouds formed over the water. Through the dark haze, white-tipped waves churned, falling over each other in great, angry claps that rivaled the sound of thunder in the air.

Barren was at the trunk of the car, his hand on the open lid, his gaze on the storm.

“Look at those waves!” Laverne’s head perked along with her spirits. I opened my mouth to stop her from going out to surf when Claira called over to Barren.

“Is it Leander?” There was an evident crack of panic in her voice.

Barren nodded, turning toward us with a swing of his strong shoulders. “He’s chasing after a seabird.”

Claira’s hair blew over her face as her mouth hung open. “He’s what? ”

My head tilted. “Chasing a seabird?” I hoped that repeating the words would give them some clarity, but… it did not. I glanced up at the sky soaked with dark clouds and turbulent winds. “Why would a seabird be out in a storm like this?”

“This isn’t a storm,” Claira deadpanned, dread forming over her face. “This is Leander.” With that, she sprung forward, heading for the shore. I didn’t even think before throwing down the bags I was carrying to chase after her.

I wasn’t sure what she meant at first, but it took about thirty paces to find out she was right. Leander was on the shore at the center of the ominous storm. With every movement he made, sand whipped up around him, collecting in the wind and circling him in a gritty fog. Smaller twists of sand formed at his flanks, scattering like fish in a feeding frenzy as he took predatory steps forward, the rumble of his deep voice carrying on the wind.

“Whaleshit you ‘didn’t do it on purpose!’ ”

He was yelling at the sand twists—no, wait—he was screaming at something trapped inside one of them. A flash of gray and white feathers flew in a tight circle, trapped in a sandy spiral in front of him. Leander roared at it again, but the only answer he got was a pitiful squawk.

Whoa. He really was chasing a seabird.

“Leander!” Claira yelled, but he must have been too caught up in his rage to hear her. He pressed forward, closing in on his unfortunate prey.

Thunder crackled in the air as his voice boomed again. “It’s your fault she suffered—your fault they put her in danger!”

There was enough anger in Leander’s voice to stop Claira in her tracks.

I stalled the moment I came up beside her, both of us taking Leander in. He was all fury and power, his arms held wide, fingers bowed like he might rip the seabird in half if given the chance.

Dude . The bird must have really upset him.

Maybe he was going to kill it, but for Claira’s sake, I hoped he wouldn’t.

Claira shook where she stood. Then after a deep breath, she took a step forward, grounding a foot in the sand. “LEANDER!”

All the taut, overexerted muscles across Leander’s back and shoulders rippled at once. Although he hadn’t turned to look at us, he had halted.

Now that Claira had his attention, she took another step.

“What the heck do you think you’re doing?” she screamed across the shore, and even with all his power and his rage and his muscles, the Atlantic’s Crown Prince flinched.

The wind whipping through his hair became erratic, but still, he didn’t turn back. The edge of his jaw moved as he answered, “Avenging you.”

Claira let out an exasperated sound. “It’s just a seagull, Lee! How can you get so worked up over a damned bird?” She wrung her hands together, kicking up more sand for the wind to take. “Look at this! Look around you! You promised me you wouldn’t use your magic . ”

Another flinch. “I’m not—” His neck snapped around, taking in his surroundings, before whipping back to look at her. His eyes widened as he did, and even the surrounding storm seemed to sag as he realized what was going on. “Fuck, I—I didn’t know.”

Although the wind in the swirls had slowed, the seabird was still caught in a whirlwind, slapped in the face by its own wing with every pass.

“This town is a bird sanctuary , Leander,” Claira shrilled, thrusting a finger out to point at the poor thing. “Why would you attack something as defenseless as a seagull ? Let. It. Go!”

Leander startled back a step, and the spiral followed. It stuttered over the sand, causing the gull to pop free.

The wind drained from the air. Suddenly, I could hear Claira’s breathing, heavy with irritation. “Give us a moment,” she said, and although her eyes were stuck on Leander, I knew she’d spoken to me. “Please,” she added in a softer tone.

I tossed a quick look at the retreating storm before nodding. “Of course. Yell if you need me.” I gave her hand a quick squeeze. “I’ll come running.”

When I turned back for the parking lot, Laverne was there behind us. “Let’s go,” I said, and although she seemed curious about the waves, she followed without protest.

By the time we made it back to the car, the clouds had dissipated enough for bright beams of sunlight to spear through them. Barren had finished packing my things into the trunk and was holding Laverne’s floppy bag up in concern, his nostrils flaring.

“No.” He passed the bag into my chest the moment we walked up. Before I had my mouth open, his look turned severe. “No,” he repeated, firmer this time.

Oh great, now Laverne had gotten both of us in trouble.

“If you hadn’t been so childish, maybe you would have been able to keep your bag,” I mumbled to her, passing her the fish bag. I set the strap around her neck and motioned to the side of the hotel. “There’s a place around back where the humans put their trash. Since you made this mess, it’s only right that you clean it up.”

Whiskers twitching, her teeth grated. “Fine,” she hissed, her big attitude not the least bit cowed as she stalked off, head held high. What was I going to do with her?

Sighing, I watched to make sure Laverne was heading in the right direction before turning my attention back to Barren.

“Hey, big dude. How’ve you been?” I put a hand on his shoulder in a proper greeting, hoping he would return the gesture. After a moment’s hesitation, Barren set his heavy palm against my shoulder. Although he didn’t keep it there long, it still made me grin. It was a start. “I turned in the keys like you asked me to.”

Barren nodded, then looked back out at the shoreline.

I had been trying so hard, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t keep holding myself back.

“Thanks for saving me, man,” I blurted, emotion straining my throat as I pulled him into an enormous hug. I meant to clap him on the back of his shoulders, but when my hands couldn’t reach, I settled for clapping on the sides of his back until he returned the gesture.

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled, his movements stiff as his palm tapped my back. With all the rumors swirling around about him, I knew he wasn’t used to contact, but I trusted my gut more than any rumors. I’d always thought Barren was a good dude. The fact that he risked his life for me proved it.

After giving him one last squeeze, I pulled away. “I mean it. I heard how you stayed behind to save me.” I hurried to get the words out before I got too choked up. “I’m honored, Barren. I’m glad to have you as a friend.”

Before I could get a response out of him, Claira and Leander’s bickering came into earshot. As they made their way back from the shore, Leander’s hands clenched and unclenched, and Claira nursed the sides of her temples like the ordeal had given her a colossal headache.

“The gull betrayed me,” Leander mumbled to Barren as he came up to the car.

“Mmh.” Barren didn’t look convinced. He passed Leander over for Claira, and she gave him a small smile of thanks when he reached out to help put her bag into the trunk. When the last of the car was packed, he went to go cram himself into the driver’s seat.

“Err—I’ll just…” Claira hesitated as she came around the car, looking at me, then at Leander, before ducking into the backseat. It took a few moments of Leander staring at me for me to realize why she’d hesitated.

There was only room for one of us beside her, and of course, like usual, it was going to be Leander.

The crazed look he’d had on the beach was mostly gone from his eyes. Still, his jaw flexed, and he took a step toward me in challenge.

“Wait!” a nearly breathless voice barked into my head as Laverne came around from the back of the hotel, her flippers kicking up in a race toward the car. Now that the fish bag wasn’t weighing her down, she moved twice as fast. “You guys weren’t going to leave without me again, were you?”

“You know I wouldn’t leave my best girl behind.” A smile spread across my face as I called back to her, enjoying the familiarity of falling back into our old routine. Then I realized I literally told her I would leave her behind when I suggested she go back to the Pacific alone, and my smile quickly faded.

When Laverne reached the car, she nosed Leander in the legs, urging him toward the front seat. “Come on, come on. I can’t get in until you do.”

“Excuse me?” Leander backed away, causing Laverne to grumble in frustration. She changed tactics, snapping at his feet like she hadn’t just witnessed him eroding half the sand on the beach and using it to black out the sky. “The fuck—? Hey!”

Her teeth got him on the ankle. He jumped, bouncing on one leg to yank his foot out of her mouth. “Kai-Kai can’t sit with me while he’s injured!” she yapped, and part of me was relieved that, for once, she was thinking of my comfort.

“She has a point,” Claira called from inside the car. Leander’s eyebrows pulled tight as he focused on the empty seat beside her. After whatever had happened between them on the beach, I was sure he wanted to use the car ride as a chance to smooth things over.

Then his icy sharp gaze shot to me , like I had suggested this new seating arrangement, glaring with a deadly intent that had me gulping down my next breath. Then he took notice of how I was standing, one hand pressed to my back, and his eyes averted.

He scrubbed a hand over the underside of his jaw and mumbled, “ Fuck, ” before diving into the front seat. “Whatever. Get in.”

Laverne didn’t need any more encouragement than that. She leaped right onto his lap, the car rocking from the impact. He was still grunting from the weight of her when I got into the seat next to Claira.

She scooted over as far as she could to give me more room. But room wasn’t what I wanted. As soon as I had my car leash fastened and had checked to make sure she was leashed as well, I sank against Claira’s side, finding a comfortable place for my head to rest on her shoulder.

My gut told me Leander wouldn’t approve of the contact. Maybe he would come back here and rip me off her, demanding I get my hands off his mate.

But I was willing to risk it.

She was my mate, too, and one way or another, both Leander and Laverne would have to accept that. And honestly, I was too tired from all the movement to care about what anyone else thought.

“I like this new seating arrangement,” I whispered, reaching to take hold of her hand. I stopped when I realized that she was already holding something—Barren’s phone?

“Just a second.” Her fingers glided over the flat side of the phone. “Barren asked me to plug in my address before we leave.” I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I watched a box of letters and numbers pop up over the phone. Whoa. Her fingers moved over them so fast, writing out words even faster than a scribe could. When she stopped pressing the buttons, the picture on the phone changed, and she passed it back up to Barren. “That should do it.”

Barren grunted a thanks before turning on the car.

As soon as Claira leaned back, I took the opportunity to capture her hands before she found something else to hold. I loved that instead of holding hands like clamshells, she threaded her fingers with mine in a way I’d never seen before.

“So, does this mean Laverne is coming with us?” Claira glanced over to her. She was twisting and turning, her flippers kneading Leander like she was trying to find a comfortable spot on his lap. “She seems different—she let me hear everything she was saying just now.”

“Really?” Maybe my talk had gotten through to her. “I’m not sure?—”

“As much as I trust you not to get murdered without me, Big Brother,” Laverne interjected, her voice laced with sarcasm, “I’m still going with you.”

“Thanks, Laverne,” I said, relieved that she was sticking around. Claira gave my hand a reassuring squeeze when a loud voice came over Barren’s phone, telling him to turn the car left.

Claira shifted restlessly as she peered out the window. “I can’t believe we’re only a little over an hour away from my home.”

Barren’s eyes flicked back in the mirror to look at us. “You can call them when we get on the main road,” he rumbled, his jaw tense. “There’s thirty miles until our next turn.”

“Really?” Claira sat a little taller in her seat. “Thank you, Barren.”

“Mmh.”

For the next few minutes, her eyes didn’t leave the phone. “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” she called back up to him. “How do you know so much about all this land stuff?”

When the only answer Barren supplied was a shrug, I decided to step in.

“He spends half of the year on land.” I paused, trying to remember the things I’d heard about the Indian Ocean. “It is half a year, isn’t it? That’s what my mother says. That the Indian Ocean has a second palace where they spend their time collecting riches on land.”

Barren gave a noncommittal grunt.

“Your island has a palace?” Now Claira was sounding excited.

This time Laverne cut in. “Filled with riches, you say? What kind of riches?”

Barren vented a grunt that had Leander laughing. He gave Barren a playful nudge with his fist. “Guess we’ll see for ourselves soon, won’t we?”

Barren tensed, jerking his shoulder away from Leander, his teeth grinding.

Huh? That was weird. Something was off—Barren and Leander were the best of friends. Had something happened while I was asleep?

“Well, my kingdom isn’t ever allowed on land. We can’t even breach the surface of the water,” I said, hoping to distract from the tension. “Under the penalty of exile—if you’re lucky. And if you’re not lucky? Excruciating death!”

Claira laughed at that, but stopped when she noticed no one else had taken it as a joke. Her eyebrows lifted. “So, the curse was the first time you’ve been on land?”

“Oh, uh—” … Oh no. There was no way I could lie to her face. I closed my eyes, my face pinking all the way up to my ears.

Laverne gave a dramatic sigh. “Of course, it is! Weren’t you listening?”

I released a breath, thankful for her interruption.

Claira nudged me with her shoulder. “Then how did the two of you meet? I’m pretty sure sea lions need to breach the surface at least every twenty minutes if they want to breathe.”

“She found us,” I said, smiling as I thought back on the memory. “Freechia and I were hunting when Laverne popped by, stealing all the fish we were after before we could even get a bite.”

Laverne cackled. “It was the day I taught you both how a real hunter hunts!”

Claira gave me another nudge and whispered, “It’s okay. I bet the teeth give her an unfair advantage.”

My grin widened. I turned my head and gave her shoulder a little nip through her shirt to remind her of this morning.

“Oh!” she yelped, loud enough for both Leander and Barren to glance back. “Oh, uh, it’s nothing guys—sorry,” she said hurriedly, then dropped her voice to a mumble. “You’ve got teeth, too. How could I forget?”

“I’m not sure how you could.” I snapped at her again.

“For real. My neck is covered .” She mouthed the last few words, moving her shirt down to show me the marks on her neck.

“Whoa.” I was half disgusted at myself, and half tempted to close in on her neck again. It took a while for me to swallow down enough saliva to say, “That’s—I’m so sorry.”

She popped the top of her shirt back in place and looked out the window. “It’s all right. At least with this turtleneck on, Dad and Gram won’t see it.” She hummed for a moment, watching the scenery pass. “I can’t believe I’ll see them soon, and you’ll get to meet them.” Her voice rose loud enough for everyone to hear. “All of you will.”

Then she gasped, panic rising in her face like she’d realized that we were in fact all going to meet her land family.

“Oh no.” Dread paled her face. “I don’t think I’m ready.”

Then the voice on the phone chimed in. “Turn right at the next exit.”

As Barren directed the car into a turn, I gave her a reassuring pat. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry. They’ll love us.”

Her eyes scanned over each one of us like she was taking in our every detail for the very first time. “I’m not sure how to say this,” she said a little too cautiously, “but you guys don’t really look… normal.”

“Hmm…” I ran a hand through the spikes of my hair. Light purple wasn’t common among merfolk, and it seemed doubly so for humans.

Maybe she had a point.