Dawn’s crimson glow had already begun streaking across the sky before Kona decided that I knew as much as he did about what was going on. Without the history behind the clans and monsters, of course, which left me feeling at a huge disadvantage, especially when Kenji came stumbling across the rocks to us. I’d met him the night before and he’d seemed nice enough, but there was just something about him that made me nervous. It wasn’t the blue hair or the facial piercings that made him look more like the lead singer of a boy-band than a selkie king, wasn’t even the bright blue tattoos that looked so garish compared to Kona’s black tribal bands, though I admit they didn’t help the overall image either.
It was something about the way he held himself, and the way he looked at me, that freaked me out. It reminded me of the way Sabyn looked right before he hurt me. A little angry, a little smirky, it left me with a sinking feeling in my stomach and a desperate need to put myself just out of his reach.
Which was ridiculous. I had nothing to fear from him—we were on the same side. And even if we hadn’t been, I knew Kona wouldn’t let him near me if he thought he was any kind of threat.
Still, sitting with him was awkward, and I found myself scooting farther and farther away from him. Which, unfortunately, meant that I was also scooting closer and closer to Kona. At one point he noticed what I was doing and put a comforting, and proprietary, arm around my shoulders. I didn’t want to shrug him off, to make him look weak in front of the other monarch, but I couldn’t relax into his embrace either. Not when I knew I couldn’t lead him on.
Being friends was one thing, but anything else was out of the question.
What’s wrong? Kona asked, using the private telepathic line between us.
Nothing. I’m just cold. Which wasn’t exactly a lie. But then his arm tightened around me and I pushed away from him. Stood up.
Whether I wanted to go back to my cavern or not, it was past time for me to excuse myself from this little impromptu gathering before my neuroses turned into full-blown PTSD. Ugh. I’d been in lots of difficult, and painful, situations since becoming mermaid. Who would have thought that a few weeks at Sabyn’s mercy would turn me into a scared, whiny little girl who felt better only when hiding behind a big, strong guy?
Everyone stared at me, and I tried to pretend it didn’t bother me. But it did, especially Kenji’s stare. I knew Kona noticed my discomfort because he was suddenly giving the other selkie king the flat, blank stare that usually meant trouble.
You okay, Tempest? he asked, without ever taking his eyes off the other king.
I’m fine. Then I forced a steadiness into my voice that I was far from feeling. “The all-nighter is catching up to me. I think I’ll take a nap.”
“You can’t go yet,” Kenji protested, gesturing behind me. “You haven’t met Vikram and Dimitri.”
I turned just in time to watch two of the largest men I’d ever seen walk out of the sea. I could tell right away who was who by the sealskin pouch tied around the tallest one’s neck. Long and lean, with mocha-colored skin, close-cropped black hair, and a massive chest tattoo of an impressionistic wave, he was clearly Vikram, the selkie king. Which meant the muscled-up redheaded guy standing next to him was Dimitri. Both seemed to be about twenty, but down here, appearances could be deceiving. Kona looked about eighteen and was actually centuries old. While merpeople didn’t age at nearly that slow a rate, Dimitri could still be a lot older than he looked.
“So, this must be that storm I’ve heard so much about,” Dimitri said as he approached, a huge smile on his face. He had a slight accent, but I couldn’t quite place it. Wondered if it was from a merlanguage instead of a human one.
“Tempest,” Kenji corrected with an eye roll. “Not storm.”
“They’re the same thing, no?” He wrapped me in a huge bear hug that somehow didn’t make me anywhere near as uncomfortable as Kenji’s flat, black stare had.
“Pretty much,” I told him.
“I am Dimitri.” He lowered me back to the sand. “And this sour face is Vikram.”
“Hello, Tempest.” Vikram held his hand out, and when I placed my palm to his, we shook very circumspectly. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
I smiled. “You too.”
“Have you eaten?” Vikram asked.“Um, no, I haven’t.”
“Perhaps you would be so kind as to attend breakfast with me? I would love the chance to speak with the mermaid who vanquished Tiamat.”
“I think you’ve got me confused with my mother.”
He cocked his head to the side, studied me. “I don’t think so.”
“If I’d actually vanquished her, do you think any of us would be in this situation now?”
“That is the question, isn’t it?” The way he said it made it sound like there was more to the story than I knew.
I had just started to ask what he meant when Kona cleared his throat. “I ordered breakfast sent down so we could continue working.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and slowly inched me away from Vikram.
I shot him a what the hell look and almost shrugged his arm off from around my shoulder. But something in his face—in his eyes—stopped me, and I allowed him to drag me close. I didn’t know these guys, nor did I understand all the politics at work here. If Kona thought it necessary for us to present a united front, then I would go with it. At least for now.
Kona sat at one of the hand-carved benches pulled close to the table and kept a firm grip on me so that I had no choice but to do the same. I waited for the others to join us, and when they didn’t, I glanced up to find them all staring at Kona and me—eyes narrowed in calculation.
Neither Vikram nor Kenji looked happy, while Dimitri simply looked speculative. At least until he caught me watching him watch me.
“Breakfast sounds great!” he boomed with a wink and a smile. “We’ve been waiting for you two to get back to discuss the plan.”
“There’s already a plan?” I asked.
“Yes—” Vikram started.
“Not yet,” Kona interrupted. “There are a couple of different ideas going around, but nothing’s been decided on.”
“Because you won’t decide,” Kenji said furiously. “You know there’s only one way to win this thing, but you’re too stubborn to acknowledge it.”
“Wanting to keep our people alive isn’t stubbornness. It’s my top priority and it should be yours.”
“My top priority is regaining my throne!”
“At the expense of your people,” Kona countered. “And if that’s what you really want to do, I can’t do anything to stop you. But I’ll be damned if I’ll sacrifice my own people so that you can call yourself king again.”
“You make it sound so frivolous. Do you know what Tiamat is doing to my people right now?”
“No, and neither do you.” Kona ran a hand through his hair in what I had come to recognize as his major tell. He did it only when his frustration level was at a boiling point. “But no matter what is going on, leading more people into the slaughter is a stupid idea.”
Kenji lunged at him, fist raised. “Who are you to call me stupid?”