Page 80 of Captured in Love
We settle in, and when the plane speeds down the runway, I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to stamp out the feeling that Levi was right, that we should have stayed in Iceland. But for what, I have no idea, and we have no way of finding Nora here. There’s one location she’s sure to go to, and it’s on a sunny island in the middle of the Mediterranean.
I just hope we find her before she tackles the third task alone.
Thirty-One
Isak
Wind sendsanother spatter of rain against the large bay windows of my house. The open shutters rattle, and something creaks in the rafters. A midsummer storm lashes our seaside village, and I stare at my sister who seems none too pleased to be here.
“You want to leave the girls here overnight.” I repeat her statement just to be sure. “Even though I told you I needed to leave immediately?”
Tinna puts her hands on her hips in a very mother-like pose. “Jón’s visiting his parents. His father isn’t doing so well. And the fucking Húsavik clan is having an exposure issue. Some kid who couldn’t control their shift was seen by a couple of humans. I need to go and make sure they took care of things properly.”
It’s the worst thing that can happen to a sea dragon clan. Exposure to humans is almost as dangerous as exposure to witches—yes, witches view us as their mortal enemies, but humans have a deep-rooted distrust of the supernatural, and they tend to kill what they fear. We don’t need a dead kid. We’re on the verge of extinction as it is.
“Okay, I get that,” I say, “but why bring them tome? Isn’t Kiran here to watch them? Or literally anyone else?”
I love my nieces, and at any other moment, I’d be more than happy to watch them. We usually make pancakes and watch Disney movies, and when I still had all my hair, I’d let them put clips and bows in it. I’m pretty sure I’m their favorite uncle. But right now, I can’t have another delay. I only came home to grab clothes and shave the rest of my hair and beard—the few strands that the witches’ curse hadn’t managed to burn off. I haven’t shown Tinna the damage yet. I’d grabbed a knit hat the moment I saw her car stop in the driveway, and I tug it lower now, mindful of my nonexistent eyebrows.
She sends me a flat look. “You know Kiran. Can’t trust him to wipe his own ass, let alone watch my kids.”
Frustration boils over, fast and vicious. “Then why isheyour right hand? Why give him responsibilities he can’t possibly fulfill when I’ve been bending over backward to prove that you can rely on me?”
My sister blinks in surprise. “Isak…”
But I’m not done. “No, I’ve had it with this clan. I’ll watch your kids tonight, Tinna. I’ll get the crown and bring it back to the clan. But after that, I’m done. There’s nothing I can do to prove to you that I’m the one you should be relying on, so I’m going to stop trying.”
There comes a point in a man’s life when he has to admit the futility of his actions. And as the cliché goes, repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. I’ve had enough. It’s time for me to leave this clan and find my own way. Either with Nora, complicated as that would be, or with someone else, somewhere else.
Tinna stares at me like I’ve grown tentacles. “You— No. Isak, come on. Don’t do this now.”
I blow out a weary sigh. “Why? When would be a good time for you? Will you tell Kiran to fuck off the next time he misses a clan meeting?”
Her gaze goes to her feet, and a red flush climbs up her pale neck. “You know it’s not that easy. He’s—”
“Blood,” I fill in. “Yeah. I know. Unlike me. But I call bullshit on that. I’m your family, too. And you didn’t care about bloodlines and ancestry when you married Jón, did you?”
Tinna snaps her head up at that. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Jón’s grandfather was human, and the family can’t trace their roots back three generations, much less thirty like ours can. I like him all the better for it, because he never once gave a damn about clan politics or gossip. He’s a good man who loves his wife and children, and I respect that above any bloodline.
“It means,” I say, leaning closer to my sister, “that you only care about blood when it’s convenient for you. The fact is that you don’twantto deal with Kiran. You’re afraid of the shit he’ll kick up if you take the title away from him and give it to me.”
“That’s a lie,” she snaps and throws back her shoulders. “I’m not afraid of Kiran.”
“Okay.” I shrug. “Fine. I said what I wanted to say.”
A gleeful shriek sounds from the guest bedroom, followed by the patter of bare feet on my hardwood floor. Seconds later, a small pink tornado launches itself at me, and I’m hit with the strawberry scent of Dana. Her sister, Klara, chases her and skids to a stop when she takes in her mother’s furious expression.
“Mama?” she says, her pale-gray eyes going wide.
She’s so like her mother, it’s funny sometimes. She’ll be queen one day. I just hope she and Dana will have a better relationship than Tinna, Kiran, and I.
“Everything’s fine,sæta,” Tinna says. “I was just leaving. You be good for Uncle Isak, okay?”
Klara nods. She’s just old enough to sense that something’s going on but still too young to fully grasp the complicated dynamics of this family.
Dana doesn’t care about any of this, though. She climbs on my shoulders like a monkey, lets out a happy giggle, and pulls off my hat.
