Page 77 of Cruel Tides

“You’ve been getting into more mischief than I have here lately,” she said, leaning in for a hug, which I gratefully accepted. When she pulled back, her eyes narrowed on me expectantly, giving me one last opportunity to explain what exactly this nonsense was that had me rushing off to an airport in the night.

But as much as I wanted to tell her, I couldn’t. So instead, I cleared my throat and unbuckled my seatbelt, shrugging the strap off. “I’ll be good,” I promised, because I’d planned on trying not to get into any trouble overseas. You know, except for the not-so-legal passport I had a feeling Barren was about to hand me. And the magical seashell switchblade I had rolled up into my clothes and stashed in the middle of my suitcase. Other than those things, I expected to be on my best behavior.

With a grunt, I gave the door the extra nudge it needed to open. “Tell Auntie Glenda I said hi, okay?” I said, biting at my lip as I got out of the car. “Wish I had time to see her, but we’re already cutting things close.”

We’d cut itveryclose, actually. Despite Gram’s lead foot, she had a bladder the size of a cherry pit, and we’d stopped at least ten times over the course of the five-hour drive.

After wrestling my luggage free from the chaotic pile in the back seat, Gram rolled the passenger window the rest of the way down to blow me a kiss.

“Have a safe flight, groupie!” she said so loud that I was certain everyone walking to or from the hectic airport doors had turned a curious eye in our direction. “And if that drummer friend of yours offers to teach you a beat,” she called out with a smirk, “you make sure he wraps his drumstick! No excuses.”

Completely speechless, all I could do was gawk at her. Cackling, Gram turned her attention back to the windshield and sped off. The black car that had followed us from Dad’s house zoomed off after her, and I managed to pull myself together enough to give them an awkward wave as they passed.

“Claira!” a voice called from behind me, and I spun around to a frenzied Kai hastening through the glass doors, his delight unmistakable. A wide grin spread across his face as he came right up to my side, grabbing my luggage from the curb. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry. Gram makes a lot of pit stops,” I said, heading for the entrance. As soon as we stepped through the doors, a gust of heat hit me. I looked over the crowds of people bustling around, and anxiety crept in as my nerves returned. The airport was busier than I’d imagined.

“Really?” Kai’s voice was heavy with disappointment as he led me into the stream of people. “Barren only let us stop once.” After a moment’s thought, his voice brightened. “Oh! But he let Laverne and me pick out a snack when we did. Anything we wanted. Did you know they make frozen treats that are made to look like things you wouldn’t normally eat?” He shook his head like he found it a hard concept to grasp. “Mine was of a man who was also a spider. I ate his entire face, and—get this—his eyes werechewy.”

“Chewy, huh?” I suppressed a laugh, deciding not to inform him he’d likely selected ice cream intended for children. “Did it taste good, at least?” I asked, my nerves easing. It was remarkable how, even though we had a crowd around us, it was easy to tune out everything else when I was with Kai.

“It was so good! Though I might not get a human-hybrid shaped one next time,” he said, winding through people and bringing me along with him like the crowd hadn’t bothered him one bit. “Laverne ate the face of a man who is apparently also abat. Humans are so fascinating, aren’t they? I didn’t know that they had spiderfolk and batfolk here on land. Do you think they make frozen treats in the shape of merfolk, too?”

Before I could answer, a tall figure standing out from the crowd caught my attention—Barren. Towering over the normal-sized humans, he looked more threatening than ever. Everyone else must have thought so too, because the crowd kept a generous distance. Everyone except Leander, who was leaning against the counter beside him, half-heartedly thumbing through a display of brochures.

And Kai dragged me right past them.

I tugged on his arm to get his attention. “Barren and Lee are back there,” I said, throwing a thumb back, although they hadn’t seemed to notice us yet.

“Oh, um,” he muttered, his free hand drumming an erratic beat on his thigh as he walked. Wait—was that sweat beading the back of Kai’s neck? It was warmer here than outside, sure, but it wasn’tthatwarm.

Kai’s fingers tightened over mine, solidifying his grip.

“Are we going to see Laverne?” I asked, letting him continue to pull me along. He glanced around, his movements jerky, then yanked me out of the river of people and into a nearby alcove.

Within the span of one breath, we were both tucked away in the cramped space, something hard and flat against my back. Kai was in front of me, chest heaving, his gaze intense and focused on mine.

Not quite understanding what this was about, I looked around, my eyes drawn to the colorful array of snacks and beverages in the vending machines tucked in here with us. “You, uh, wanted a snack before the flight?” I asked, confused at why he was behaving so oddly. Well—more odd than usual, at least.

“No, I…” He hesitated, his eyes jumping up and down my face, then he leaned in, dropping my luggage next to our feet. Before my brain could even process what was happening, his lips landed on mine, kissing me with a mix of shyness and boldness that nearly took me off my feet.

I’d almost forgotten how gentle Kai’s kisses could be. His mouth was warm against mine, a slow simmer lurking underneath the surface of his lips that told me he’d been contemplating how and when to do this for some time. Kissing might have been new to him, but he was an eager learner, and now he seemed to be desperate for another taste.

A tentative touch explored my back, and when my spine arched under his palms, he pulled me away from the vending machines and into his arms. My lips parted on a groan as he wrapped around me, and his tongue flicked out to sweep across my mouth. He tasted sugary sweet and addicting like the ice cream he’d described earlier. One taste wasn’t enough. My tongue joined his eagerly, and my hands fisted the front of his shirt, grateful for his arms holding me up.

When we finally pulled apart, I groaned, not yet ready for it to be over. Breathing ragged, his eyes sparkled like sapphires as he leaned back in, and the next thing I felt was the soft tickle of his breath on my neck.

“Sorry, Claira,” he murmured, then nipped at my ear. It was a quick, teasing bite that sent a thrill running up and down my neck. The gentle caress of his voice against my ear seemed to drown out everything else. “We haven’t had much time together, and I wasn’t ready to give you up.”

“I miss spending time with you, too.” My pulse kicked up to a gallop. “Especially last night. I—I wanted to crawl in between you and Leander, but I was afraid you wouldn’t want to share me.”

Share me?It was a good thing Kai knew little about relationships, becausewhy the heck had I worded it like that?

His chuckle was warm as he pulled away to look at me, and although his lips curled into his usual smile, exhaustion weighed down his eyes. He looked so tired—how had I not noticed before?

“I would have loved that.” His whisper was full of longing, as if he was voicing a wish that was just beyond his grasp. His hand quivered as he softly touched my cheek. “Wewould have loved it,” he corrected, swallowing hard. Although I wasn’t convinced Leander would agree. “If we hadn’t been out training all night.”

Of course, that was why Kai looked so exhausted. I pursed my lips, remembering standing at the window to watch them train on and off until well into the afternoon. “I don’t understand why you guys stayed up like that,” I said, letting go of his shirt. “Especially since we have a busy night. But I guess you can get some sleep on the plane, right?”

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