Page 26 of A Dream of Stars and Curses

Sunitha wrinkles her nose a little when she steps over the threshold. Huh. I make a mental note of that, too, because our interior decor isn’t why we’re here. Her face relaxes back into her smile a second later, and she follows us into the living room.

Lady trots over. I’m about to ask her to take it easy, but Sunitha is already on her knees and fawning all over our dog.

‘You must be Lady!’

Our puppy barks and hops up and down on her front legs. Her tail is going wild. I knew Bonnie liked Sunitha, obviously, but it’s reassuring that she gets Lady’s seal of approval, too.

I give Bonnie a glance that says I like her, and my sister blushes.

Not sure where to go from here, I ask, ‘Can I make you a tea or get you anything else to drink?’

Sunitha gives me a shy look. ‘A tea would be lovely, if it’s not too much trouble?’

‘Not at all.’ Honestly, I’m glad to leave the room a moment and let Bonnie start this one.

That doesn’t mean I don’t try to listen in over the kettle, though. I don’t hear much since I do need to make the teas, but I hear Bonnie apologising and Sunitha saying that it’s okay. When I walk back in with the teas, though, I don’t know how far she got. Has anyone said the m-word yet? Or the V-word?

‘Here you go.’ I give Sunitha her cup first, then Bonnie, and I go back for my own. ‘I can come back later or just leave,’ I say. ‘It’s not really my—’

‘No, stay,’ Bonnie says. ‘I think this’ll be easier with you here.’

Sunitha understandably looks somewhat confused.

‘It will?’ She raises an eyebrow, then what she probably thinks is realisation dawns on her. ‘Oh. Are you— I know you said you’re sisters, but you’re not actually related, right?’

It takes me a moment longer. ‘No, we just grew up together.’ Next to me, Bonnie looks just as confused, but then it dawns on me, too. ‘Oh. No. No no no no no. We’re not— That’s not why she’s asking me to stay.’

Sunitha smiles and cocks her head, like this was all just a ploy to get the conversation started. Crafty woman.

‘You mean, she’s not about to tell me you two are dating? Phew! That’s a relief.’

I laugh, but Bonnie looks mortified under her nervous giggle.

‘I think you’d better tell her why we’re all gathered here today.’ I can’t help the wedding pun and burst out laughing again when Sunitha laughs, too.

Bonnie, on the other hand, awkwardly clears her throat. ‘Oh, erm... When we went into the water...’

I want to help her so badly, but she needs to be able to talk to Sunitha if they’re to have any chance of working out. Clear communication is key to any successful relationship.

Awesome. Now go talk to Leverett, a voice at the back of my mind says. I probably imagined Mischief’s purr.

I give Bonnie an encouraging nudge. And here I was worried we’d accidentally out the Veiled. Turns out, Bonnie at least is perfectly tongue-tied.

Sunitha is starting to look worried herself now, so I nudge Bonnie again. Just say it, I will her.

Bonnie takes a deep breath. ‘When we went into the water, I saw your scales and tail.’

Her voice trails off towards the end, but the important bit is out now, so I jump in.

‘We know you’re a mermaid. And Bonnie has been beside herself trying to figure out a good, personal gift to, erm, give you, to show you that your secret is safe with us, but she didn’t want to get it wrong and we didn’t know who to ask and—’ My turn to take a deep breath. Bonnie may get tongue-tied, but I ramble when I’m nervous. I over-explain. No miracle the Dreamcatcher was completely focussed on me and not even a little bothered about her.

Sunitha pales. ‘How do you—’ She catches herself. ‘I mean, I don’t know what—’

‘It’s my fault. Probably,’ I say. ‘I unlocked something in my unconscious that lets me see through your magic. Bonnie didn’t, but then she entered my dreams to help me talk down the Dreamcatcher and the Mara and—’ I throw up my hands to make myself shut up. ‘The point is, it was a whole thing, and now we can both see the Veiled.’

Yeah. My rambling is definitely the greater threat. So much for clear communication.

Sunitha sits back. ‘Wait, that was you?’

---