Page 29 of Cruel Tides

“Yeah, so I always like to keep some sunglasses with me when I go out on my boat.” I pushed the sunglasses back up my nose and sat back, sinking into the seat. My belly might have been full of a buttery croissant sandwich, but now that we were actually leaving, painful knots were cramping around my breakfast.

The car idled as Barren’s hand lingered on the gearshift. He hadn’t seemed ready to leave the kitchen after we’d both finished breakfast, either.

Then his phone hummed in his pocket and he released a breath, backing out of the parking spot.

The question I was still mulling over jumped to mind: if he took me to the airport, would I run?

I always wanted to travel overseas, but not like this. I tapped my seatbelt, nervously playing with the strap as we pulled out of the parking lot. When we got to the main road, the direction he turned would tell me all I needed to know, and then fight or flight would kick in, and I would have my answer to that question.

“Where are we going?” I’d tried to keep my tone light, unaffected. Unfortunately, it sounded more like I was a second away from a breakdown.

He threw on the turn signal and arched an eyebrow. “Would you rather not go back?”

The right blinker flashed.Right. He was taking me back to Longshore Bay. Back to the warehouse.

My gut twisted in confusion. “You’re taking me to Leander? But he said you’d drive him back to the hotel today.”

Barren’s shoulders stiffened. Although the main road was clear, we sat at the stop sign while his teeth ground together. “I couldn’t leave—” He paused, mouth open wide like he was rearranging all of his words. The leather steering wheel creaked as his fist clenched around it. “I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

Nowhe was worried about leaving me alone? Crossing my arms, I sank back in my seat. “Yeah, well, you left me alone for over an hour while you went to get me clothes.”

He mumbled something deep and incoherent as he took the right turn. My heart raced. He actually took the turn—we were really going to Longshore Bay.

I huffed, though secretly my insides were screaming with relief. Rocci had been wrong, and although Barren was totally acting weird, he wasn’t actually stealing me away.

“Well, you did leave me alone.” I waved my wrist, trying to hide how glad I was that he hadn’t betrayed me. “I had to entertain myself by going through your luggage and moving all your socks around.”

His spine shifted upright as he leaned forward, bearing down on the steering wheel. “You didn’t,” he said evenly, but a mist of sweat broke out over his forehead. I could practically see the veins in his temple bulge. “You didn’t touch my socks.”

“I sure did.” My lips pursed together as I fought to keep up my poker face. “Switched all the pairs around. The gray are now matched with the black, and each white is matched up with a tan. And when I put them back, I lined every pair up perpendicular to your underwear butone. That one I left slightly askew, because I knew it would be the perfect revenge.”

That did it. A smile cracked over the stone titan’s face. His eyes crinkled, but he kept them trained on the road. “I don’t own white socks.”

“No?” I leaned against the door and gave a shrug. “Darn. I almost had you, though. You looked like you were about to turn this car around to go check.”

He shook his head, though he was visibly more relaxed. “So, you looked through my underwear?”

“What?” My face practically lit on fire. “I didn’t touch your luggage—it was a joke, obviously.”

“Obviously,” he repeated, the slightest chuckle vibrating his deep voice.

I turned toward the window and covertly adjusted the air vent so it would blow on my face. Even as my skin cooled, my smile stayed. It was nice, joking around with Barren like this. Just a day ago, I didn’t even know he could joke.

“I didn’t leave you.” The humor faded from his voice. “I was right outside the door.”

I hummed a note in response, watching the buildings roll by.You could have stayed,I wanted to say. But it wasn’t like I’d pushed him out, or even hinted that I wanted him to leave.

We passed the Aquatic Center, and I thought of the last time I’d been there. One of the front windows was still broken from Leander smashing through it. “Do you think Lee is okay?”

When Barren didn’t answer, I turned to look at him. “King Eamon won’t know he has the trident, right? He can’t like… sense its magic, or something, can he?”

Barren’s head tilted thoughtfully, but he kept his eyes on the road. “Can you sense it?”

“No. I guess not.”

Though I couldseeit, even when no one else in our group could. But as long as Leander found a shirt before he went to see his father, he should be able to keep his magical tattoo hidden, even if there were other merfolk like me who could see the marks.

The car slowed as we rolled into the gravel parking lot, and I stretched out my shoulders. The warehouse was open, with a few unfamiliar merfolk hanging just outside of the rolled-up doors.

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