“No.” I answer simply.
My stomach fills with anxious butterflies as TJ instructs me to tie on my surfboard leash. I venture slowly into the water, keeping well within my depths.
As the surf lesson progresses, it’s apparent who the better teachers are. Beau, Dean and Marlowe are gentle and patient, while TJ is more interested in tipping Casey off her board than actually teaching her anything. His approving eyes roam over her slim body, svelte in a black bikini. Not that Casey is any better — she’s shamelessly checking out his abs.
I roll my eyes at them and a wave hits me in the face. I come to the surface, laughing and enjoying myself more than I ever would’ve imagined. There’s something incredible about being in the ocean — at least at this depth, where I can stand.
And then, a thought comes to mind. “Marlowe, what happens when you surf, you know, after…” I trail off, unsure how to finish my question. It sounds ridiculous, even in my head.
“You mean, can we surf after we transform?” Marlowe laughs, his eyes twinkling.
“Yeah.” I smile sheepishly. “How’s that gonna work?”
I can’t imagine surfing with a tail. And, on that, how on earth will I ever go to a human beach again? Or a swimming pool? Will I magically transform every time I touch water?
“It’s simple.” Marlowe shrugs. “We just won’t start the process. As long as we’re breathing through our lungs, we surf on two legs.”
Relief flows through me and I dismiss the horrifying thought of spontaneously growing a tail on a public beach somewhere. The thought of having a tail to begin with is strange enough. I squeeze my thighs together and try to imagine it. I can’t.
After a couple of hours of being battered around in the water, I finally catch a small wave. I ride it on my stomach all the way to the shallows, clinging onto my board for dear life.
“Yessss!” I roll off my board in triumph, my body buzzing.
The waves bash against me and I struggle to get to my feet. Eventually, I stagger out of the water and there’s a soundtrack of laughter. Reef is on the shoreline, having exited the ocean more gracefully than I did. I instinctively flinch before meeting his eyes, but today they’re twinkling, not as cold as usual.
I don’t blame him for laughing — I’m sure I looked ridiculous.
“Leave me alone,” I say, but a smile tugs at my mouth.
Reef smiles back. “I can’t.”
My heart jumps. I look at him and get caught in how beautiful he is. My voice cracks. “You can’t leave me alone?”
He pauses.
Smiles again.
“No.” His voice is silky. “We have Transformation homework to do, remember?”
Homework. Of course that’s what he meant. We have a project due with our Transformation buddy. My cheeks flare scarlet.
“I remember. Common room. Sunday. 5pm.” I do everything in my power to keep my voice brusque.
“Whatever you say, boss.” He laughs.
I glance at him again, unable to gauge his tone, but he’s turned to watch Casey catch a wave. His handsome face is arranged in a calm, impassive expression.
Meanwhile I’m a blushing, stuttering mess. And worse, I think he knows the effect he has on me. I hope I can keep it together on Sunday.
23
I take a sip of coffee, then lean back and rub my eyes. I’m sitting on the floor of the common room, surrounded by a pile of books.
Our Transformation homework is pretty much complete. I spent the past couple of hours on this project, hoping that if I do all of the work ahead of meeting Reef, I can keep our meeting short and businesslike. I want to avoid having a repeat of yesterday.
I cringe at the memory. That boy and his nightmare stare make my head spin. I can’t think straight when he’s around. I can’t believe I have to partner with him all semester.
“And I thought I was early.” His voice startles me. Speak of the devil.
“Hey, Reef.” I shoot him a pinched smile.
He flops down on the couch opposite me. His hair is wet and tousled and he’s wearing a hoodie and board shorts. He smells like the ocean.
Not wanting to get distracted again, I jump in. “I did some research today for our project and I found an interesting article on the relation between gills and lung function. I think it’s perfect for our presentation tomorrow. I’ve done my part already, so this is all that’s left.”
I stack together a couple of papers and hand them to him.
“All you need to do is add a bit of text speaking to the benefits of gill function,” I say shortly, my tone formal. “You can pretty much take that part from the textbook though.”
Reef looks up from the papers, bemused. “You’ve already done all the work? This was meant to be a joint project.”
“Please, you don’t pay any attention in class.” I shrug. “I thought you’d be grateful.”
“Grateful?” Reef laughs humorlessly.
Goosebumps erupt on my skin. I match his disdainful gaze, not wanting to be the first to break. I don’t understand why he’s so upset. He’s literally impossible to read.
Kendra appears in the common room, and I lower my eyes. The last thing I need is for her to misinterpret our eye contact and hate me even more. She makes a beeline for us. Her hair is coiled in a perfect messy bun, and her tight leggings show off her curves. I consider my own crumpled presence. My hoodie and sweats are nowhere near as effortlessly fashionable as her loungewear.
“Maya,” she twinkles. “So good to see you here. I would’ve thought you’d be working hard in the library, given how your Transformation is going.”
I roll my eyes. “What do you want, Kendra?”
She pouts her lower lip, sucking in her cheeks so she looks like a sad angel. “I was just trying to help.”
She sits next to Reef, her leg touching his. Then, she leans back and stretches, giving us a not-so-subtle glimpse of her flat, tan stomach.
“It’s so nice of you to be doing Reef’s homework for him.” She laughs lightly. “But, I guess you owe him for jumping after you when you took the upper year entrance.”
She touches Reef’s shoulder as she talks. My face burns bright red and I stare down at my books, my papers and all my hard work.
“Kendra, we’re trying to work. Can you give us some space?” Reef’s voice is calm, but firm. It’s a statement, not a question.
Her violet eyes widen and she freezes, taken aback. A second later, she recovers and flips her hair over her shoulder. “Whatever. I’ll see you later, Reef.”
Kendra rises from the table and gives me a pointed glare before turning away. She sashays out of the room, her hips swinging. I notice that Reef stares at the papers in front of him, and not at her retreating backside.
“She’s a real treat, as usual.” I roll my eyes.
Reef chuckles and shuffles the papers. “Kendra is all bark and no bite. Now, what were you saying before about being grateful?”
He looks at me and his lips form the funniest little half-smile. A warm feeling spreads throughout my body. I’ve seen him give that smile to other people, but never me.
“Sorry,” I mutter.
“Apology accepted.” His smile is triumphant, like he’s scored a victory.
I refrain from rolling my eyes yet again. “Shall we find a topic to work on together?”
He nods, his half-smile turning into a full smile. “I was thinking of doing the project on how the gill formation process works when surfing—”
“Of course you want to involve surfing.” I interrupt, laughing.
He’s unfazed by my sarcasm. “Anyway, my dad gave me this book about being in the water, but unsubmerged, and what it does to your gills. I think we can easily use the work you did as well. Just let me find the book...”
He digs through his backpack and throws books onto the coffee table. One in particular catches my eye. The crest of the siren is on the cover in an intriguing shimmering silver. I’ve never seen it
before.
I pick it up and take a better look. The Fates and Modern Sirenity. “What's this?”
Reef glances at the cover. “Halloran gave it to me. It’s about the time before Destinies or something.”
I frown. “Why would Halloran give you a book that’s not on our required reading list?”
“I dunno, he thought I’d like it.” Reef shrugs and continues rooting around in his backpack.
My frown deepens as I skim through the pages. I don’t trust Halloran one bit — his cold, dark eyes look like they’re hiding secrets.
Since the misunderstanding last week when I jumped through the hole in the floor, something has been nagging at me. After our jump, Halloran took Casey’s map from her, and I wish he hadn’t. I’m sure the one that we used didn’t have the Transformation 1 entrance noted on it. There’s no way we would’ve all missed it.
“I didn’t know that there was a time before Destinies.” I can’t keep the note of suspicion out of my voice.
Reef fixes his eyes on mine, his expression unreadable. “Did you not?”
His voice is low and his gaze is intense. Chills run down my spine and I get the feeling that he knows something. Is it possible that he knows about my failed trial? No, he can’t know that my Destiny didn’t find me.
It’s not possible.
Right?
24
Late September rain transforms Deep Cove’s campus into a mist-filled wonderland. Fog hangs low over the campus and the sound of waves crashing onto the shore is entrancing. The castle looks particularly moody and idyllic.
The rain soaks Flo, Casey and I as we run to Professor Ayers’ Siren Mythology class. We slide into seats at one of the round discussion tables.
Casey shakes out her wet curls. “Being a siren has not made the rain any more pleasant.”
I smile and shake off my jacket. “I like it, it’s romantic.”
“What's romantic?” Dennis sits at our table with James close behind.
“The rain, according to Maya, but she’s obviously insane.” Casey laughs and I roll my eyes.
My gaze turns to what's happening across the classroom. Kendra, Rayne and Brooke stalk towards a table occupied by Reef, TJ and Marlowe. Kendra says something to Reef and he shrugs. The girls sit down, and Kendra sits next to Reef. She inches her chair closer to his.
I turn away and try not to be bothered by Kendra’s flirting. Though I’ve successfully managed to avoid Reef since our Transformation homework, with every day that goes by, I’m more and more aware of his presence. My eyes are automatically drawn to him, even in a crowded room. It’s like a reflex.
Suddenly, Reef looks right at me. His face creases into a frown and I quickly look away, blushing under the heat of his stare. I try to calm my beating heart. How does he have this effect on me?
“Maya.” James jolts me back to my table. “What’s your most romantic date?”
My mouth goes dry. I have precisely zero dating experience. It never bothered me before — I never had much interest in dating. But then again, no boy has ever made me feel the way I do when I think about Reef.
“Settle down!” Professor Ayers glides into the room at the perfect time. I smile at the plump, elderly Professor thankfully. “Today, we are returning to our origins. We are talking about the Destinies.”
I lean forward, intrigued. Over the past four weeks, Siren Mythology has become one of my favorite subjects. Professor Ayers’ lectures are constantly interesting, weaving together a story of sirens past and present. She often reveals where siren mythology and folklore collide with facts.
Ayers writes a bunch of words on the board and instructs us to choose the three we feel describe ourselves best. She gives us little cards to write our answers on. I study the words carefully, like it's a test, before finally settling on three.
Professor Ayers erases the words on the board and then collects the cards. She shuffles them before pinning them to the board. “Now, which of these words would you group together?”
Everyone shouts out answers, and as the class groups the words together, distinct categories appear. By the end of the sorting, there are four lists on the board.
Ayers points to the board. “On the first list, we see the following words: Feisty, fiery and goal-oriented. These traits are often used to describe Riptides.”
I glance at Casey and she nods with a smile on her face.
“Here, we often see words like grounded, calm, and self-assured. These terms are usually associated with Anchors.” Ayers writes the term on the board.
“Harmonies tend to be persuasive, logical, charismatic. And, finally, we have Constellations. The rarest of the Destinies.” The Professor’s gaze moves from me to Flo to Reef. “In fact, it’s unusual to have three Constellations in one class. Quite remarkable.”
I remember the laughter at Opening Ceremony, when Muir announced that there were three new Constellations, and Kendra’s interest in Flo and I. It makes sense now. The rarest Destiny.
Even so, it’s not mine. My necklace is a cover-up.
I scan the fourth list. Only two of the words I wrote down are on it. I wrote “dreamy” and “strong-willed,” but I also wrote “fiery”. Could I be a mix of Riptide and Constellation? Is that why my Destiny couldn’t find me?
Or is it because I don’t belong to any of them?
Ayers speaks like she’s reading my mind. “As important as it is to recognize the qualities that people associate with the Destinies, it’s also important to realize that your Destiny does not define you.”
My ears perk up and I notice a release of tension in the room. Clearly, other students didn’t fall into specific categories either.
“For a long time,” Professor Ayers continues. “It was a popular theory that sirens should fit cleanly into one Destiny that would shape their transformation and the rest of their life. Back then, the earth was a very different place and many sirens had to go to battle to protect our species.”
Ayers smiles and leans against her desk. “Today, we live in peaceful times and we draw from our Mythology to understand our Destinies. But, we also recognize that the traits associated with each do not define every individual. Treat other Destinies as you would like to be treated, as you all share similar qualities.”
Goosebumps rise on my skin and I look around, feeling eyes on me. My gaze lingers on Flo, holding her Constellation necklace and looking content. And then, my eyes meet a pair of emerald green ones in the far corner.
Reef is staring at me intently, his expression pained.
25
After lunch, we have Transformation class. I slide reluctantly into my assigned seat next to Reef’s and I immediately take out my books. I bury my head in them so I don’t have to look at him when he saunters in. He’s late, as usual, and it suits me fine.
His pained stare from earlier burns in my mind — what is it about me that bothers him so much?
Reef walks in as Professor Halloran begins his lecture. He’s wearing a burnt orange hoodie and his hair is damp, like he went for a surf over lunch. I do my best to ignore him and pay attention to Halloran instead.
Siren knows I need to. I’ve made no progress in my transformation over the past few weeks and I have zero leads on finding the necklace from my dreams. It may be the key to helping me transform and I can’t afford any more setbacks.
“Okay, class.” Halloran smiles. “Today is the last day that we work on step one of your transformations. To ensure that you have mastered breathing from your gills, I’d like you to spend the remainder of this class with your Transformation buddy, practicing the skill.”
Halloran demonstrates how to cup our hands near each other’s necks. We should feel for long, even breaths running back and forth over our buddy’s gills.
By now, several people in the class can control their breath as it flows through their gills. But not me. My gills are nowhere near fully formed. Plus, my breath doesn’t do anything normal around Reef as it is.
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I raise my hand and ask to go to the bathroom. There’s no way that I’m ready to face Reef in such close proximity. I can’t even look at him without butterflies exploding in my stomach, let alone stand close enough to put my hands on either side of his neck.
I take my time walking to the bathroom, hoping the class moves on to a different exercise. But when I get back, Reef sits still and alone, doodling on his notebook. I slide into my desk and pretend to be preoccupied with something.
“So.” His eyes flash. “Should we practice together?”
I shuffle the books on my desk lamely and stall for time. “We don’t have to.”
“Might as well give it a try.” His voice is like molten chocolate, smooth and sweet.
I steel myself against the butterflies in my stomach and turn towards him. I can’t let him see how nervous I am. I hold up my hands and awkwardly signal for him to move his face closer.
“Let’s go, then.” I say too loudly. My nerves jangle. “Take a deep inhale, and then push through your gills. The mental aspect is important, you have to be at one with your breath.”
“I know,” he says, but there’s no trace of meanness in his voice.
He kneels in front of me so we’re at eye level, and my voice dies in my throat. For a moment, I forget to breathe. We’ve only been this close once before — when he rescued me.
His presence is more intoxicating than I remember and another blush explodes over my cheeks. Before I get too deep into the moment, I awkwardly place my hands on either side of his neck. He slowly does the same on my neck and I feel the warmth of his fingers, hovering close to my skin.
“Like this?” he says softly.
His green eyes are locked on mine and I’m lost in them. The moment is strangely intimate and his touch is soft on the sides of my neck.
Then, he starts breathing. Movement emits from beneath my fingers and I let out a shriek. He’s doing it, he’s breathing through his gills. I’m mesmerized by the sensation of light fluttering, and heat in his exhale. Just like Halloran said.
The Destiny: A YA Paranormal Academy Romance (Deep Cove Academy Book 1) Page 8