Page 9 of Blood of the Sirens
“You’re pathetic,” he continued. “All those females on your shores year after year, and I hear you don’t even hunt them. You hunt forrocks!”
His lackeys all laughed loudly, the sound grating my ears. I bunched my hands into fists, the gold in my scales gleaming. I didn’t react otherwise.
Your female.
Fear shot through my blood, and suddenly I couldn’t get my female’s face out of my head. If I didn’t find her, then the others would first.Ariscould find her.
Their guffaws faded as I swam away.
“Hey! Stop!”
I paused my tail as I recognized Barrett’s voice.
“They’re assholes. Ignore them,” Barrett sniffed, coming up and laying a heavy hand on my shoulder. He held out a drink with the other, shoving it toward me.
I studied one of my father's preferred fish bone cups. As with all our drinks underwater, it was contained in a gelatin bubble composed of seaweed. To drink, you would puncture the outside sac with your fangs, and draw it into your mouth. The cup was decorative and showed status. Most mers didn’t bother with them at all, and simply carried the sacks, but I made all of my father's cups myself.
I accepted it on reflex and rolled my eyes, shoving him away.
“Like I ignore you? I’ve seen how well that works.”
I pumped my tail twice, putting a good bit of distance between us.
He snorted and propelled himself toward me, arms arching over his head as he blocked my path, hanging upside down in front of me. “Come on, everyone’s just excited. We’ll probably get to hunt in packs this time. That will be fun, won’t it?”
I tried to muster up a weak grin, but I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t excited about the hunt. I didn’t want all these extra males around me consuming my time and energy. I thought of my female at the mercy of Aris, or any of the other brutish males who would have no qualms about taking what they needed from her physically and emotionally. Of leaving her there on the shore, possibly hurt and confused.
The cup in my hand shattered as I squeezed it too hard.
Barrett’s dark eyebrows bunching into a frown above his eyes. “You good?”
The turn of phrase made my blood run cold, reminding me of my female. I spun around to face him, fire in my eyes.
“You go up to the surface much more often than I do. Don’tyou?” I asked intently, my fangs elongating and poking through my lips in my fervor.
Barrett flipped in the water, alarmed by my vehemence. “Well … I don’t know about that. But yeah, I’m up there pretty often. I even walk around and talk to a few. My grasp on the language is probably the best. The pointisto find a female. Gotta talk to them to do that.” He laughed.
I blinked. I hadn’t realized my only friend was so … worldly.
“You seem tense. Something going on you haven’t mentioned?” Barrett inquired, floating so there was a little distance between us. Unlike most of the other males, Barrett knew I’d inherited my father’s temper. Even though I kept it under lock and key most of the time, he was one of the few who’d ever seen it.
“I’m ... fine,” I muttered darkly.
With the sudden attention on the shore and influx of rowdy young males, there was only one solution left I could think of.
I’d have to keep a close eye on my female and make sure none of the others found her.
FOUR
Jesse
“Easy,Nessa. There’s enough for everyone.”
The giant manatee didn’t listen, gobbling up the greens I’d just throw on the top of her water like she’d never get fed again. Never mind she got fed three times a day, every day, for the past decade.
I scowled at her and moved on, dropping the bucket behind me with a crash, and picking up the next two, one in each hand. These contained a congealing mess of fish guts I knew I’d still smell on me tomorrow no matter how hard I scraped my skin when I showered.
I crossed the entryway into the next exhibit, and walked over the metal grates. “Dinner time!”
