Page 58 of Cam's Treasure

They both sounded young, and while I could sense a faint trace of magic from at least one of them, I couldn't tell what they were. Without my skin, my senses—and my swimming skills, apparently—were highly muted, and I wasn't any better than a human.

"We should wait until they wake up." The third voice was deeper, though still warm and concerned.

Huh. Maybe I'd died and gone to heaven, and they were angels. Wouldn't that be something?

After all the shit I'd done, was I really going to die by cracking my skull open on a rockwhile swimming? Hell no!

I opened my eyes, blinking up at the crisscrossing branches. It was still light out, and the sun didn't seem to have moved much, so I assumed I hadn't been out for long.

"Oh! You're awake!"

Suddenly, there was a face hovering above mine, and my eyes widened as I tried to scramble away.

He was the one I sensed magic from, and if I could sense it in this condition, he must be really powerful.

"Cam! You're scaring them!" the other younger voice called, and the person hovering over me—Cam—blinked, then took a few quick steps back.

"Shit. Sorry, I got excited."

My brows furrowed as I tried to gather my thoughts, but the pounding in my head was getting worse. I'd really done a number on myself, hadn't I?

Slowly, I tested my limbs, exhaling softly when I realized I didn't have any broken bones to worry about.

Struggling to sit up, I stiffened when Cam reached for me, but his hands stopped just shy of touching me.

Once I was upright, I glared at Cam. I couldn't deny he was a handsome man. His green eyes glittered as he gazed down at me, unfazed by my expression, and his dark hair looked messy in a way that didn't look styled.

"Okay, quick introduction. I'm Cam, pronouns he/him. The lovely big guy there is Ember, also he/him." I followed his pointed finger to a tall, broad man with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair that hung to his shoulders. He smiled at me, and I found my lips curving up without input from my brain.

Forcefully, I pressed my lips into a thin line as Cam introduced the last person who had a similar build as Cam but was dressed in femme clothes. "That's Micah, though he also answers to princess to a select few people. He/him for him as well."

My eyes slid back to Cam, and he tilted his head at me. "You're not human, are you?"

I blinked at the question, surprised. I'd known being without my skin dulled my senses, but did it make me appear human to others too? This could be useful.

Since I wasn't sure if I could trust these people yet—I didn't get any danger signs from them, but that didn't mean much when my senses were shot to hell—I decided to go with the safer answer. "What else would I be?"

Cam blinked, appearing stumped, but then one of the other guys, the one called Micah, stepped closer.

"You don't have to lie to us. We won't hurt you."

Cam and I both glanced up at him as fear filled me. How did he know, if the one with the magic couldn't tell?

The two shared a glance as the third guy, Ember, stayed behind. I got the feeling he didn't want to crowd me, and considering how big he was, I was glad.

Micah stepped forward before kneeling on the ground in front of me. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Then, he tried it again. "What's your name?"

I hesitated before answering, but they couldn't harm me with my name, so what the hell? "Kai. He/him or they/them works too. I don't have a preference between them," I added since they seemed to be open-minded like that.

Micah smiled. "Okay. Kai. First of all, you're in Mistvale. All supes are welcome as long as they don't plan on hurting anyone, and you'll be safe here. Cam's dad is a dragon, and he watches over this town. No one will hurt you."

But what if Cam was the one to hurt me? Would his dad still protect me?

Micah blinked, then shook his head. "Kai, whatever the reason you were in the water, whoever you're running from, know that no one,no onewill hurt you."

The way he stressed that phrase made me feel like he'd read my mind, but obviously, that couldn't be right. I knew psychic mages existed, but I also knew they were extremely rare and generally manipulative and wicked. No way was I stumbling upon one like this.

Micah blinked at me, then drew back, his movements stiff. He glanced over at Cam as he stood, and some type of silent conversation took place between them.

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