Page 134 of Cruel Tides

A blush spread across Kai’s face. He turned down to his lap as if suddenly embarrassed. “Sorry, I—well, I’ve heard a lot about them.”

“We don’t deal with them much in the Atlantic.” Leander flexed his jaw. “Thank Poseidon for that. That’s one good thing about this fucking curse. They’re downthere, and we’re uphere.”

Before I even thought about opening my mouth, magic choked up the back of my throat. I turned abruptly, hoping to hide my gagging, but my attempt only alerted Kai.

“Claira? Where are you going?” he asked, his voice low with worry.

“Cat,” I croaked, half expecting smoke to billow out of my mouth. I headed back to the bathroom before either of them could protest, but when I got to the door, both Sprout and Laverne were gone.

I spun around. “Did you see…?”

Leander pointed down to Barren’s bedroom. “That way, beautiful.” The heart-melting smirk he gave was almost bright enough to distract from how drained he looked.

“Thanks,” I said, his endearment making my face heat. Sure, they hadn’t figured out what I was trying to tell them yet, but even with them knowing I was hiding something from them, they still cared for me. Enough to discuss where all of us would live one day.The three of us, together.

In the deepest part of my heart, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if allfourof us were together.

Now my cheeks were really on fire, and I felt them with the back of my hand as I went into Barren’s room. “Get ahold of yourself,” I mumbled. “He’s not even talking to—Laverne?” I gasped, not believing what I was seeing.

Laverne’s head was stuck in the cat flap. Her body bulged around its opening as if she’d been delusional enough to think she was small enough to fit through it.

Her tail sulked, her whole body drooped and listless.“It ran away,”she said with a dramatic snuffle.“And it is all your fault.”

Myfault? Yeah, that tracked. I seemed to be getting the blame for everything today.

Sighing, I came around the bed to get to her. “It’s no one’s fault, Laverne. Running away is just something cats do.”

She sniffled loud enough to give me some idea of the size of the snot bubbles she must have been blowing out on the patio. Carefully, I gripped around her shoulders. “Come on. Let’s get you out of there.”

But with a wiggle of her neck, her body slid right through my arms, and she was free.“I suppose you’re an expert on running,”she said with a glare, tears and strings of snot caught all over her whiskers.Then she threw her head high, and with a snort and an unusual bend in her neck, she strutted away.“Like when Ren ran from you earlier. I bet that stung.”

By the time her tail was through the door, my jaw had set.

She was right, of course. It had stung. It more than stung. And suddenly, that blush I’d felt only moments ago felt so naïve, so foolish.

Because what future did we have when Barren could barely look at me and a trident was destroying Leander from the inside out?

As things stood now, there was no future for us.

Not unless I started fighting for it.

Laverne was right—I was an expert on running, but now was a time to take a risk. To grab Barren by the shoulders and tell him how I felt. To fight for the knowledge that could save Leander.

My gaze landed on where I hung my bag out to dry, a delicate abalone shell tucked safely inside it, and I let out a slow, shaky breath.

What were the odds of the sea wizard being the one to greet me if I broke it?

While I waited for Barren to come around, I’d have to find the right moment to slip away unnoticed and?—

What the heck was I thinking? Run away and use the shell? Clearly, not being able to tell the guys what was happening was getting to me. I was starting to crack. Frustrated, I sank to the bed to bury my head in a pillow.

How could I possibly hope to fix this mess all on my own?

Things won’t always be like this, I reminded myself. Plus, magic couldn’t last forever… right?

32

Barren

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