Page 57 of Rise of the Melody
“Yes.” My response came out so fast that both of them laughed and I felt myself blush. “But in a scary kind of way. Like a hot villain with anger issues.”
“Oh, I love a sexy bad guy.” Clare lay back and stretched out her arms. “But it’s weird because he’s not fictional. He’s real. So, itisa little scary.”
“Yeah.” I shivered. “I’m sure I’ll never see him again, though, so it’s whatever.” Guilt of that fib slithered through me.
Shani got a text, and then mine and Clare’s went off. My heart always went into my throat when a text came through, even though this was obviously a group one.
“Guys,” Shani said with a grin. “The boys are on their way over. They’re grabbing Nora from her shift at the coffee shop.” She looked at me. “Is that okay? Mairi’s not with them.”
I nodded, trying not to seem too eager. “Yeah, of course.” We had all this land. I was sure my aunt wouldn’t care as long as everyone was being careful. I think she had come to terms with the fact that I was not going to avoid the mayor’s nephew. The thought of seeing Teague sent a flare of excitement through me, which was quickly extinguished by the memory of Teague’s cousin out there, somewhere, waiting to use me.
Chapter15
Wicked Games
They rolled up in Teague’s truck with Nora in the front seat. Chrystamos and Declan, plus a girl I didn’t know were in the back of the truck. Was riding in the bed of a truck allowed out here? I had no idea, but they looked like they were having fun. I’d given my aunt a heads-up about company, and she told me she’d been planning to go out with Ron, Motifa, and Leon.
“A double-date?” I’d asked, waggling my eyebrows.
My over-one-hundred-year-old aunt blushed and tilted her head around noncommittally.
“I can cancel,” she’d offered, saying she could make more snacks, but I’d told her no way. We’d be fine.
And we would be. Because between Nora and Teague in the front seat were three pizzas.
When Declan walked up to Clare and me, holding out his hand, I took it. “I didn’t get to officially meet you,” he said. His face was super cute. A baby face with light, cropped hair. “I’m Declan.”
I shook his hand. “Hi, nice to meet you.”Don’t look down.
I let out a breath as he walked away and peeked at Clare, whose lips were pressed hard together. When we made eye-contact we burst into immature giggles, falling over each other.
“Okay, stop,” Clare said, wheezing. “People are staring at us.”
“I was trying so hard not to look,” I whispered, and we died all over again.
Shani and Nora walked over hand-in-hand.
“What are you two witches cackling about now?” Shani asked, but all we could do was shake our heads. I hugged Nora, who smelled like coffee. She’d pulled off her collared work shirt and wore a sports bra with a cutoff tank underneath. Another girl was with them, a tall, curvy brunette with a narrow chin. Shani said, “This is Erin.”
“Hi,” Erin said. “I’m a nix.”
“Me too,” I said back, finally pulling myself together. “Nice to meet you.” She gave off nice energy, so I felt at ease.
It was just starting to get dark, and despite the horrors of last night, I felt on a high after having one of the best days of my life. We crammed together on the big sheet overlooking the ocean and ate pizza.
We told them about how we thought we’d seen a selkie and spent half an hour talking animatedly about selkie lore. Then Shani bounced and said, “Letty! Tell them about the druid in New York!”
Nervousness hit me and I felt strange about telling the whole group, but I did. They were all impressed by his hair trick and pondered the strangeness of our meeting, just like we had today.
“What was a Scot druid doing in New York City?” asked Teague. “That can’t be a coincidence. It’s like he was looking for you.”
Um, yep.
“Ew,” Clare said. “It really is creepy. Do you think he heard the rumor about your mom? Oh, gods, I’m so sorry. I’ll shut up now.” She covered her face for a second and then dropped her hands. “I just meant…be careful. I know there used to be siren hunters.”
“Siren hunters?” My skin prickled with repulsive apprehension.
Teague placed a hand on my forearm. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ve disbanded by now. Besides, all of us will protect you. And everyone knows you’re normal. Not dangerous.”
