by JE Hunter
In the morning, I dressed in my tight beige khaki pants and brown and green sweater. I brushed my hair slowly and carefully. My hat had been lost in the fight yesterday, and while I knew I could call it back to me, and have the ocean deliver it to my feet, I no longer wanted it. I let my hair hang down in straight vibrant lengths. I was a sea-witch, and that knowledge was something I held dear now, because I knew that with it I could protect my friends—I could protect the people I loved.
I headed to the York's first. There were things that I couldn't let remain the way they were, and my fight with Colleen was one of them. If she couldn't see that Caesar was a good guy, I was going to force it upon her. She was going to be my friend whether she liked it or hated it.
I steeled myself for a fight when I knocked in the back door.
“Nessa, I'm so glad you're okay.” Colleen threw open the door and hugged me. “That we're all okay.” Colleen pulled back, her dark black eyes glassy with tears. She was wearing her favourite red sweater and jeans, but her hair was messy and all over the place, which either meant she hadn't slept, or she'd just gotten out of bed.
“I want to apologize,” I said. “But I also wanted to say that I really like Caesar, he's a good guy, and you’re going to be friends with him whether you like it or not. I’m not giving you a choice.”
Colleen reached up to grab the back of her neck. She nodded. “Okay.”
“What?” I tucked my hair back behind my ear. I hadn’t thought this would be so easy.
“He saved me. Yesterday, Caesar saved me. That man, he had his hands around my neck and I could feel him squeezing.” Colleen ran a hand up to her collarbone where I could see faint traces of bruising. “But Caesar stopped him. He saved me. You were right, he is a good guy and I should let the past be the past. I should never have stopped being friends with you in the first place.”
“Thanks. That means a lot to me.”
Colleen smiled the small, shy smile that she so often shared.
“Do you want to come over to the dorms with me?” I asked her.
She nodded, “Yes, but first I need to help my brother finish washing the dishes. I'll see you over there in a bit?”
I agreed and said goodbye, anxious to see the rest of my friends at the dorms, and to reassure myself that they were all safe. I needed to quiet the parts of me that worried they wouldn't be there, that somehow the kidnappers had gotten onto the island in the middle of the night and whisked them all away. But I needn't have feared; they were all sharing breakfast in the dormitory kitchen when I arrived. A few were bandaged, more were bruised, but everyone was in one piece.
“Good morning,” Caesar was the first to greet me. He gave me a tight squeeze and a quick kiss on the forehead.
“Where is she?” I asked, my eyes finding Shia before anyone needed to answer my question. She was sitting on a bench by the fridge. Nor and the other mermaids surrounded her protectively. I held Caesar's hand as I walked over to her.
“Hi Shia, how are you?”
She looked up at me, her eyes a reflection of pain, and fear, even though she was safe here. “Mira stitched me up well,” she pointed at her knee, which was clearly displayed because of the short black skirt she wore. There was a large white square bandage on her thigh, held tight by gauzy white wrappings.
“I'm so sorry. I'm sorry about how I acted before. I –”
Shia reached out a hand and silenced me. “I know. I'm sorry too. And I'm glad you're okay.”
“I'm glad you're okay.” I threw myself at her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders, my face buried in her wild, midnight hair.
Shia laughed. “Humans. What is with all this smothering?”
I pulled back and laughed as well. Caesar pulled me tightly to his side and began laughing too, and soon everyone was laughing—except the vodiani who were not prone to showing any emotion. It was the laughter of relief, the laughter of nervousness, the laughter of hope. We were together and we were okay.
“I like it when you leave your hair down,” Caesar whispered in my ear as the laughter slowed.
I smiled as widely as I could. “Thanks. So do I.” I reached up and gingerly brushed a hand over it. This hair was bright, this hair was strong, this hair was me.
The journey continues in
Broken Tide
Available Now
CHAPTER ONE