Page 128 of The Sea Witch's Son

It’s the quiet before the storm and everyone seems to be bracing for whatever lies ahead.

Calista and Gus have been suspiciously absent for the last three days. Marlin disappears every evening to partake in God knows what activities, but he always crawls back into bed with me before sunrise.

I’ve tried to get information out of him, but he manages to evade every question with a quick remark and a sly smile.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Calista lately.” Closing my textbook, I look at him from across the study table, “Has something happened?”

“Are you jealous, little saint?”

“Are you avoiding the question?”

Marlin doesn’t look up from his spreadsheets, “Sounds like you’re avoiding mine.”

I grit my teeth, glaring at the navy blue dress shirt he’s got on today. The top two buttons are undone, the sleeves rolled up to his elbow to show off the intricate details of his tattoo. He looks as untouchable as always, the perfect illusion of a man who has every piece of his life under control.

“Then yes. I am jealous.”

That gets his attention.

An infuriating smirk snakes across his handsome face as his eyes drop to peruse my seated body.

“Possessive little thing, aren’t you?” He grins, placing muscular forearms on the table, “Can’t stand seeing me around other women.”

“Says the man who bites me.” Tugging down the collar of my shirt, I give him a pointed look, “You need to stop. I only have so many turtlenecks.”

“But my teeth marks look so good on you.”

I glare at him, “That’s not the point. I’ve answered your question so its time you answered mine.”

Amusement lights up his eyes, “Are you giving me orders, little saint?”

“No. I’m asking you a simple question.”

I’ve learned the hard way that the only time Marlin offers up information is if I offer something in return. Sometimes it’s a song before bed, other times its tidbits of personal information no one else has access too.

He likes hearing about my mother. The good, the bad and the ugly. I’ve lost count of the number of memories I’ve shared in hopes he’ll share something in return.

He never talks about his family, but sometimes I get a glimpse of someone else. A softer version of Marlin that no one else gets to see.

I’m aware of how one-sided this relationship is, but the strange thing is, I like sharing stories of my life with him. I like talking about my mom without sugar coating the bad parts and I like singing for an audience of one.

Somewhere along the way, Marlin stopped being an obstacle and became a building block for my life here.

And that fact alone scares me more than any shadow ever could.

“We are tying up loose ends.” He puts his pencil down with a sigh, “Reviewing numbers and suspects to make sure the correct culprit is found.”

I blink in surprise, “I didn’t know you have a justice system here.”

“Our methods are far from justified, although compared to the Dragon, they are quite tame.” Marlin frowns, looking back down at the spreadsheet, “She has begun to make her displeasure known.”

My palms suddenly feel a tad too sweaty.

“Is she that bad?”

“It takes a powerful woman to control a town. And for a town such as this one…"

He trails off, leaving me to finish the sentence.

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