Page 55 of Cruel Tides

Leander drew a hand up to his head, but instead of running it through his hair like usual, his face pinched as he massaged his thumb between his eyes. “I fell in,” he mumbled, looking abashed.

What?

“You fell in?” Barren asked before I could. His tail slowly released its grip on me, as if he was reluctantly ready to share me with the other two.

“Kai said you jumped.” I turned to Kai, who immediately averted his gaze.

“It was awkward for a jump, but I thought he might just be terrible at it.” Kai cringed. “Sorry, man.”

Dread filled me—did this have something to do with the trident, or had he merely slipped overboard?

Leander’s expression hardened. “I’m fine.”

A half-heartedI’m finewasn’t what I wanted to hear. “Lee, seriously, what happened?”

“I’m fine,” he repeated, shrugging the question right off. He drifted closer, and his arm coiled around mine like he might try to take more of me from Barren. Only his eyes were sunken, weary, and he didn’t try to steal more of me away at all.

Leander was fine? I didn’t believe it. No, not one bit.

14

Leander

Something was happening inside of me—a searing pain that twisted my insides, causing my vision to blur and my equilibrium to shift.

One moment I’d been laughing, watching Claira’s panicked expression as she scrambled to hide us from her dad, when an ache began slithering up my arm. Then a terrifying tightness seized my chest and my lungs constricted. The air had turned so thin it was like I was inhaling nothing at all. Next thing I knew,bam. Fucking fish gills.

And although Claira’s touch had brought me back to a merman, that intense pain that sent me tumbling off the damn boat hadn’t let up. All eyes were on me as my arm burned and my temple throbbed, not from oxygen loss or from Kai’s pet scooping me into her jaws, but from something I couldn’t explain.

Not that I wasn’t grateful Laverne had caught me—I was. Better snatched up by her than a predator who wouldn’t be so keen to spit me back out. But whatever had happened to me was still happening. And that fucking terrified me.

“Enough floating around,” I snapped, sharper than I meant to, and drew closer to Claira and the others.

Now that I’d joined them, our bodies formed a ring around her slender form. Barren’s arm was firmly around her waist, helping her stay afloat. He stared right at me, his usually emotionless eyes filled with a challenge that I could feel even in the water. One that dared me to take her from him. Totryto take her.

I’d noticed his possessive hand on her as soon as I transformed. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t worry about that now. Not with the mystery pain I was battling and the possibility of cecaelia looming close by. “Let’s get moving,” I said.

“Hold on.” Claira looked up, right at the underside of the boat. “I want to talk to Dad first.” Her eyes softened as she looked over to Barren next. “Please?”

Barren reacted with the swiftness of a captain following his queen’s command. His broad tail cut through the water, and Kai and I were forced to hold tight to Claira’s arms or be left behind.

I’d always admired Barren. His strength, his unique position within his kingdom. They kept him at a distance for reasons I would never fully understand, and whenever Barren had spoken of his solitude, it sounded like welcomed freedom to me.

Freedom that I’d always wished for, away from my father’s watchful eyes and expectations.

During my darkest nights, when I shook with a rage that I knew I had to keep hidden, I’d imagined being someone other than myself. I’d wished that someone was Barren. I couldn’t imagine a time when I hadn’t admired him.

But now, I was irritated by his unshakable strength as he supported my mate through the water. It was more irritating, more grating than any mysterious pain or unrelenting headache could be.

As soon as we emerged, Claira gasped in a big breath of air. “Dad!” she called, but he was already leaning over the edge of the boat as if he’d been searching for signs of us in the water.

“Y’all sure took off in a hurry.” He frowned, and there was deep worry apparent in his eyes. The sort of worry I imagined a parent should feel for their child. “I thought I might set anchor here and wait.” His face tensed with fear. “Then I wondered about the whereabouts of where that anchor might land. Wouldn’t want it dropping on your heads… Or tails.”

Claira’s arm trembled underneath mine. “No, don’t anchor. You’ve got to get the boat out of here in case…” Her voice trailed, and when she started gnawing at her lower lip, I realized she didn’t want him to know of the dangers we might face in the water. She gave me a desperate look.

“We don’t know how long this will take,” I said. Despite the skull-splitting pain, I managed to work up a reassuring smirk. “Claira will worry about you wasting your day here. Won’t you?”

Relief softened her shoulders. “Yes. Exactly.”

---