Page 41 of Make Out With A Merman

My fingers close around something smooth. Cold. Etched.

I pull.

And when it breaks the surface, my knees nearly buckle.

A shard of dark coral. Twisted, braided through with silver. My tribe’s binding pattern. A sigil I haven’t seen since the collapse. Since theloss.

It shouldn’t be here.

It was buried swallowed whole by the rift’s maw.

But now…

It’s surfaced.

Thrownup.

I grip it tightly in one fist, heart hammering.

This isn’t random.

It’s a message.

The lake remembers me.

And it’s calling me back.

CHAPTER 15

CALLIE

Ryder’s avoiding me again.

And this time, it’s worse.

Because now I know what his hands feel like on my skin. I know what his voice sounds like when it isn’t armored in protocol and silence. I know what it’s like when helets go.

And now he’s walking around like it didn’t happen.

No glances. No banter. Just clipped commands and tight jawlines.

So I follow him.

Out past the cabins, down the slope to where the lake’s starting to turn purple with the setting sun. He’s pretending to do an inventory check on the gear shed like it requires military-grade focus.

“Hey,” I say.

Nothing.

“Ryder,” I repeat, louder. “Talk to me.”

Still nothing.

So I do what any emotionally repressed camp counselor with a rage kink does.

I kick over the nearest paddleboard.

He turns fast, like he’s ready to fight, but stops when he sees me. Really sees me.

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