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18

Claira

“T hanks for taking me to the airport, Gram,” I said, sinking back into the passenger seat of her Buick. The windows were halfway down, letting in a chilly breeze that ruffled my hair and brought the unfamiliar smells of the city with it. Behind us, my suitcase and carry-on balanced atop her golf clubs and caddy.

Although the ride was cramped and Gram had been pushing the speed limit by a good fifteen miles per hour, I was grateful that the guys had agreed to let her drive me.

Okay—maybe ‘agreed to’ was a stretch. Gram hadn’t given them much say in the matter. So when Barren asked later if he could send a car full of his kingdom’s agents to follow us and make sure we arrived at the airport safely, I couldn’t find it in my heart to say no.

It wasn’t that I’d have minded taking the rental car Barren had called back to the house, but I was enjoying this time alone with Gram. As soon as she’d heard which airport we were headed for, she’d used the trip as an excellent excuse to visit her cousin nearby.

“Of course, dear,” Gram said, leaning into the dashboard as she deftly weaved through the thick traffic. Her nose was perilously close to the wheel, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it would survive the ride unscathed.

“I never make trips out this way as much as I mean to. Though it’s a shame John couldn’t come along,” she said, stealing a glance at the rearview mirror. My heart raced as she pressed down on the accelerator to whip around a car that wasn’t quite up to her speed. “But you know how he is. Can’t stand the hustle and bustle of the big city.”

Despite my white-knuckled grip on my armrest, I managed a strangled laugh. Gram wasn’t the worst driver, but she was fearless, and I could never quite guess what maneuver she would pull next.

I chanced a look back at the endless stream of cars behind us. The closer we got to the airport, the more people seemed to be headed in the same direction. “I don’t blame him. The traffic here is insane.” Plus, Dad coming along with us would have meant he’d miss even more time out on the boat, and I didn’t want that. “It’s not like we have enough room in here for all the tissues Dad would have needed, anyway.”

That got a good laugh out of Gram.

“And the flight was last minute,” I added, trying to sound nonchalant. If Dad were here, he would have sensed how nervous I was, and that would have made him nervous, too. This was a big step for me—leaving my hometown and venturing to an unknown island… somewhere . Damn, I really needed to figure out where we were going.

I gestured to her golf clubs in the backseat. “And this way, you get to see Auntie Glenda. But isn’t it a little cold for golf?”

“It’s never too cold for golf,” Gram said more adamantly than when she’d bullied three guys double and triple her size into letting her drive me to the airport. “Besides, your auntie and I have a tradition. We always play a round before we settle in for a visit. If we don’t, we end up arguing the entire time and forget to enjoy ourselves.” She sighed like she was reliving the memories. “Trust me, a little physical exercise is a great way to bond. Especially when you butt heads like two old billy goats otherwise.”

I snorted. If that were true, perhaps the guys ought to take up golfing together.

I hunkered back in my seat, crossing my arms over my chest as I pictured Kai and Leander struggling to make heads or tails of the array of clubs Gram kept in her bag. “Well, I can’t wait to hear who wins,” I said, then added, “Assuming they can find the scorecard on one of your frozen bodies.”

Gram threw her head back and laughed, the sound a comfort to my nerves. “Oh, don’t worry about us.” Although she kept her gaze on the road, her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Glenda tops off our golf flasks with Bourbon. We’ll be warm enough to play through a blizzard.”

I shook my head. Goodness, those two were a disaster together. A fun disaster, sure, but still a disaster. “Isn’t it illegal to drive a golf cart under the influence?” I asked, mostly teasing. It was a miracle they managed to hit the ball straight, given how much they drank.

“Only if they catch you,” Gram said, nodding sagely. Now that would be a police chase I’d pay money to see.

When we pulled up to the drop-off zone at the airport, Gram threw the car in park and turned to me, her lips pulling into a stern line. “You better behave yourself, you hear me? With whatever this nonsense is that you’ve gotten yourself into,” she said, wagging a finger.

“You better behave, too,” I said with a chuckle. “So Dad doesn’t have to drive up here with bail money.”

“You’ve been getting into more mischief than I have here lately,” she said, leaning in for a hug, which I gratefully accepted. When she pulled back, her eyes narrowed on me expectantly, giving me one last opportunity to explain what exactly this nonsense was that had me rushing off to an airport in the night.

But as much as I wanted to tell her, I couldn’t. So instead, I cleared my throat and unbuckled my seatbelt, shrugging the strap off. “I’ll be good,” I promised, because I’d planned on trying not to get into any trouble overseas. You know, except for the not-so-legal passport I had a feeling Barren was about to hand me. And the magical seashell switchblade I had rolled up into my clothes and stashed in the middle of my suitcase. Other than those things, I expected to be on my best behavior.

With a grunt, I gave the door the extra nudge it needed to open. “Tell Auntie Glenda I said hi, okay?” I said, biting at my lip as I got out of the car. “Wish I had time to see her, but we’re already cutting things close.”

We’d cut it very close, actually. Despite Gram’s lead foot, she had a bladder the size of a cherry pit, and we’d stopped at least ten times over the course of the five-hour drive.

After wrestling my luggage free from the chaotic pile in the back seat, Gram rolled the passenger window the rest of the way down to blow me a kiss.

“Have a safe flight, groupie!” she said so loud that I was certain everyone walking to or from the hectic airport doors had turned a curious eye in our direction. “And if that drummer friend of yours offers to teach you a beat,” she called out with a smirk, “you make sure he wraps his drumstick! No excuses.”

Completely speechless, all I could do was gawk at her. Cackling, Gram turned her attention back to the windshield and sped off. The black car that had followed us from Dad’s house zoomed off after her, and I managed to pull myself together enough to give them an awkward wave as they passed.

“Claira!” a voice called from behind me, and I spun around to a frenzied Kai hastening through the glass doors, his delight unmistakable. A wide grin spread across his face as he came right up to my side, grabbing my luggage from the curb. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry. Gram makes a lot of pit stops,” I said, heading for the entrance. As soon as we stepped through the doors, a gust of heat hit me. I looked over the crowds of people bustling around, and anxiety crept in as my nerves returned. The airport was busier than I’d imagined.

“Really?” Kai’s voice was heavy with disappointment as he led me into the stream of people. “Barren only let us stop once.” After a moment’s thought, his voice brightened. “Oh! But he let Laverne and me pick out a snack when we did. Anything we wanted. Did you know they make frozen treats that are made to look like things you wouldn’t normally eat?” He shook his head like he found it a hard concept to grasp. “Mine was of a man who was also a spider. I ate his entire face, and—get this—his eyes were chewy .”

“Chewy, huh?” I suppressed a laugh, deciding not to inform him he’d likely selected ice cream intended for children. “Did it taste good, at least?” I asked, my nerves easing. It was remarkable how, even though we had a crowd around us, it was easy to tune out everything else when I was with Kai.

“It was so good! Though I might not get a human-hybrid shaped one next time,” he said, winding through people and bringing me along with him like the crowd hadn’t bothered him one bit. “Laverne ate the face of a man who is apparently also a bat . Humans are so fascinating, aren’t they? I didn’t know that they had spiderfolk and batfolk here on land. Do you think they make frozen treats in the shape of merfolk, too?”

Before I could answer, a tall figure standing out from the crowd caught my attention—Barren. Towering over the normal-sized humans, he looked more threatening than ever. Everyone else must have thought so too, because the crowd kept a generous distance. Everyone except Leander, who was leaning against the counter beside him, half-heartedly thumbing through a display of brochures.

And Kai dragged me right past them.

I tugged on his arm to get his attention. “Barren and Lee are back there,” I said, throwing a thumb back, although they hadn’t seemed to notice us yet.

“Oh, um,” he muttered, his free hand drumming an erratic beat on his thigh as he walked. Wait—was that sweat beading the back of Kai’s neck? It was warmer here than outside, sure, but it wasn’t that warm.

Kai’s fingers tightened over mine, solidifying his grip.

“Are we going to see Laverne?” I asked, letting him continue to pull me along. He glanced around, his movements jerky, then yanked me out of the river of people and into a nearby alcove.

Within the span of one breath, we were both tucked away in the cramped space, something hard and flat against my back. Kai was in front of me, chest heaving, his gaze intense and focused on mine.

Not quite understanding what this was about, I looked around, my eyes drawn to the colorful array of snacks and beverages in the vending machines tucked in here with us. “You, uh, wanted a snack before the flight?” I asked, confused at why he was behaving so oddly. Well—more odd than usual, at least.

“No, I…” He hesitated, his eyes jumping up and down my face, then he leaned in, dropping my luggage next to our feet. Before my brain could even process what was happening, his lips landed on mine, kissing me with a mix of shyness and boldness that nearly took me off my feet.

I’d almost forgotten how gentle Kai’s kisses could be. His mouth was warm against mine, a slow simmer lurking underneath the surface of his lips that told me he’d been contemplating how and when to do this for some time. Kissing might have been new to him, but he was an eager learner, and now he seemed to be desperate for another taste.

A tentative touch explored my back, and when my spine arched under his palms, he pulled me away from the vending machines and into his arms. My lips parted on a groan as he wrapped around me, and his tongue flicked out to sweep across my mouth. He tasted sugary sweet and addicting like the ice cream he’d described earlier. One taste wasn’t enough. My tongue joined his eagerly, and my hands fisted the front of his shirt, grateful for his arms holding me up.

When we finally pulled apart, I groaned, not yet ready for it to be over. Breathing ragged, his eyes sparkled like sapphires as he leaned back in, and the next thing I felt was the soft tickle of his breath on my neck.

“Sorry, Claira,” he murmured, then nipped at my ear. It was a quick, teasing bite that sent a thrill running up and down my neck. The gentle caress of his voice against my ear seemed to drown out everything else. “We haven’t had much time together, and I wasn’t ready to give you up.”

“I miss spending time with you, too.” My pulse kicked up to a gallop. “Especially last night. I—I wanted to crawl in between you and Leander, but I was afraid you wouldn’t want to share me.”

Share me? It was a good thing Kai knew little about relationships, because why the heck had I worded it like that?

His chuckle was warm as he pulled away to look at me, and although his lips curled into his usual smile, exhaustion weighed down his eyes. He looked so tired—how had I not noticed before?

“I would have loved that.” His whisper was full of longing, as if he was voicing a wish that was just beyond his grasp. His hand quivered as he softly touched my cheek. “ We would have loved it,” he corrected, swallowing hard. Although I wasn’t convinced Leander would agree. “If we hadn’t been out training all night.”

Of course, that was why Kai looked so exhausted. I pursed my lips, remembering standing at the window to watch them train on and off until well into the afternoon. “I don’t understand why you guys stayed up like that,” I said, letting go of his shirt. “Especially since we have a busy night. But I guess you can get some sleep on the plane, right?”

Kai’s smile turned playful, though his gaze seemed to be stuck on my lips. “Doubt it. I had a great time on my last airplane ride. It’s exciting, isn’t it? A thousand times better than swimming.”

“I guess,” I said, shrugging. While part of me was eager to try something new, most of me was nervous. Merfolk weren’t meant to fly, were they? Well, they weren’t meant to be on land for long, either, and I seemed to do that okay.

“This will be my first time on a plane, but I think we might miss it if we don’t hurry.” As I attempted to leave our cozy enclave, Kai intercepted me, deftly pulling me back toward him.

“Wait,” he murmured, his hand delicately cradling the nape of my neck as he leaned in for a final embrace. “One more.” With a gentle urgency, he pressed his lips back to mine.

This time, when he pulled away, I could barely remember what it was we were doing until Kai reached down to pick up my luggage. “Better hurry back,” he said, a light pink cresting over his face. “Barren says we were supposed to get here three hours early.”

“Yeah,” I muttered back, sure that my face was just as pink as his. I let him lead me out of our nook and back into the fray, and my brain was still catching up by the time we made it to the counter where Barren and Leander were waiting.

“Made it,” I said, giving them a smile and wondering if it was apparent what Kai and I had just done. Barren was as untelling as a stone statue, but a grin spread over Leander’s face.

“Finally.” Leander stole my luggage from Kai to hand off to Barren. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”

I had to take my carry-on bag away from Barren before he lined us up at the check-in counter. “Of course I’m coming.” I huffed, throwing my bag over my shoulder. Glancing around, I sensed someone was missing. “Where’s Laverne?”

“We already checked her in,” Kai chimed in. “She was not happy. They put down a bowl for her, and boy, did she let them have it. Water everywhere, all over their faces.”

“I’m sorry I missed that,” I said, remembering how upset Kai had said she’d been during her last plane ride. It was a wonder they’d agreed to let a sea lion ride on a plane, even if it was in the cargo hold. “Poor girl.”

When it was our group’s turn to check in, I let Barren and Kai go first. “You’re not bringing anything?” I asked, looking over at Leander. He was still wearing the clothes he’d practiced in earlier, and grass stains streaked the front and sides of it where the side of Kai’s harpoon had grazed him. Had he not brought anything else from the warehouse with him?

“Stuffed it in with Kai’s,” he said coolly, moving off to the side of the counter.

“Oh? You’re sharing luggage now?” That was unexpected. I gave Kai a nudge, but he was busy trying to locate his identification for the gentleman behind the counter.

Wait—identification. My stomach lurched. I definitely wasn’t carrying anything that could be considered valid identification on me.

The gentleman wrapped a tag around Kai’s duffle bag and put it on the conveyor belt behind him. “Next.”

That was my cue. I opened my mouth to say something, but all that came out was a shaky, “Uh, Barren?”

I looked at him, my pulse pounding as I waited, hoping he would swoop in. My heart soared when he handed over the stack of documents he was holding to me. Hands trembling, I shuffled through the pictures—Leander’s, Kai’s, Barren’s—then got to mine, recognizing the picture Barren had taken of me earlier. “Here,” I said, but before I could hand it over, my eye caught on something that had me pulling it right back up to my face.

Specifically, the name that was printed on it.

Claira Arwa .

I read it over again, this time saying it out loud. It was my face, all right, but that was not my name. Arwa sounded familiar though, didn’t it? I knew that name, but whose was it?

Kai must have been curious as to why I was stuck standing there like an idiot, because his face closed in over my shoulder to see what I was staring at. “Dude, you gave her your name?” His head tilted as he looked up at Barren.

Barren gave me his name? Of course—Barren Arwa. How could I have forgotten where I’d heard it?

“There must be a mistake,” I whispered. When I looked up at him, his face was a mask, unreadable. It had to be a mistake, right? An error in my passport due to the hurried way it was made?

Well, the only thing I could do now was roll with it.

“S-sorry. Here you go,” I said, handing my passport over to the gentleman. His eyebrows were scrunched together as he examined it with doubt, making me question if I’d already ruined everything. “We haven’t been married long. Newlyweds. I, uh, sometimes forget.” A laugh, as dry as the desert, tore from my throat as I took a side-step closer to Barren.

Newlyweds? What the heck was I even saying? It was a terrible lie, but what else could I have said, considering he’d already looked over Barren’s identification?

“I see,” the man said, turning his gaze down to his computer monitor.

Married to Barren . I wasn’t—obviously—but my not-so-legal identity was, apparently. My mind buzzed, unable to wrap around the lie. I didn’t take another breath until the man’s printer spit out the sticker for my luggage. He handed my passport back without another word to me, then dropped my luggage onto the conveyor belt. “Next.”

As soon as we were clear of the counter, Leander took the passport from my hand and squared in front of Barren. “The fuck is this?” Ice sharpened in his eyes as he opened the booklet. “Claira Arwa?”

Barren shrugged, his jaw rigid as he said, “She didn’t tell me her last name.”

Leander planted a foot as he took a step forward. “So you gave her yours?” He growled, and I had to wonder if we were about to get kicked out of this airport.

“Hey, hey, it’s fine,” I said, cutting in between them. “I probably never said my full name.” I glanced up at Barren, and I could see the muscles in his shoulders and back tightening. “Although you could have asked my last name,” I added. “Or warned me.” My face was so hot.

I wasn’t sure if I could pull off being his fake wife for the duration of this trip. Did I even look mature enough to be settled down and married?

“Let’s forget about it, and just go,” I said, trying to drag them all away. Kai came up beside me, pointing at the signs.

“I think we’re supposed to go that way,” he said, nodding toward security.

Security, right—the final barrier between us and our boarding gate.

At least things would calm down once we got on the plane, right?