But even in a ridiculous white and pink onesie, Reef looks insanely attractive. I catch his eye and he holds my gaze. An electric current runs through my body, as it always does when I’m near him.
“Unicorn, very smooth,” I say to break the intense moment.
“Don’t you mean horny?” He grins, and I just about choke on my soda.
I flush bright red as I clear my throat. “Where’s Kendra?”
Reef’s eyes darken. “How should I know?”
“I thought you were coming to the dance together.”
Reef looks at me for a long moment, quietly assessing me. The silence builds between us, getting louder. His eyes burn straight into my soul and, for a moment, it’s like we’re the only two people in the room. My heart thumps loudly. The magnetic pull feels stronger than ever.
Then, he exhales, looking resigned. “I’m going to get a drink.”
He strides off, leaving me standing alone.
What just happened? I stare after him, more than a little dumbfounded, as he walks to the food table at the other end of the tent.
Kendra appears in her tiny uniform and spots Reef. Like a shark, she beelines straight towards him. She circles her arm around his neck and leans close, whispering in his ear. He glances at me quickly, and then steps back from her and says something. She nods and they walk out of the tent together.
My heart hits the floor. I should never have come to this stupid dance.
“Maya, come on!” Casey shrieks from the dance floor, oblivious to my broken heart.
I shoot her a false smile and join her and the rest of the crew. We dance for a while, but I can’t get into the spirit of things. I try my best to laugh along, but my heart aches. I check the tent entrance numerous times, but Reef doesn’t come back.
A slow song comes on and everyone couples off, swaying to the music. Dennis takes a step towards Flo and holds out his hand. Marlowe grins as Brooke approaches him. My eyes finally land on Casey and TJ, who are staring at each other intently. They move together in slow motion and I smile, happy for my friend.
There’s no one I want to slow dance with here, so I quietly slip outside. I make my way to the cliffs by the far side of the courtyard. I lean on the railing and take in the ocean below. It pounds the shore, black and angry.
It’s so beautiful at Deep Cove. Sometimes, I can’t believe how much my life has changed in two short months.
“Nice view,” a soft voice says from behind me.
I turn and then immediately avert my eyes from Reef’s emerald gaze. I shrug, looking towards the water. “Not bad.”
He joins me at the railing. “Sorry I left. I had to do something.”
“What’s that?” I try to keep the note of bitterness from my voice, but I don’t succeed.
“Apparently both you and Kendra were under the impression that I was meant to be here tonight with her.” Reef’s voice is uncharacteristically flat.
Then he faces me, a note of urgency in his voice. “I don’t know what she said, or what you think happened, but you need to know one thing. Me and her — we’re ancient history. She asked me to the dance after Night Sky last week, and I told her I wasn’t interested.”
My heart skips a beat and I glance at him quickly. He said… no?
Reef’s voice is almost angry as he continues. “Obviously, that wasn’t clear enough for her, so I spoke with her again just now. I think she got the message this time.”
His expression softens and he takes a deep breath. I finally meet his eyes and they’re locked on mine. I stare blankly, speechless, as I process his words.
“Thanks for explaining that,” I say lamely.
“You might not be saying thanks in a minute.” Reef holds his breath and my stomach turns. “I asked Dean to please not go to the dance with you.”
“Why?” I’m breathless, my voice almost a whisper. My heart beats a million miles a minute and my cheeks are warm.
Reef moves closer, his emerald eyes blazing. “Don’t you get it?”
My legs feel weak and I’m lost in his eyes. “Get what?”
“Maya.” His voice is low. I’ve never loved my name so much.
He cups my face in his hands and my breath leaves me completely. I try to open my mouth to say something — anything — but, before I can form a single word, his lips find mine. The entire world spins and I melt into him. He pulls me closer, crushing me against him as he deepens the kiss. It’s even better than I could‘ve imagined. I never want it to stop.
Too soon, he breaks away and I almost fall into him. He moves his hands to my arms and looks at me, his half-smile on his face.
“I’ve wanted to do that for so long.” His breath is heavy, catching in his throat.
I shake my head, breathless myself. “I — didn’t hate it.”
His face cracks into a huge grin. “Oh, didn’t you?”
He picks me up and I laugh as he spins me around. He sets my feet back on the ground and kisses me again, more gently, tenderly, this time. The butterflies explode in my stomach and I wrap my arms around him. I pull him as close to me as possible, never wanting to let go.
When we eventually break apart, I’m dizzy and Reef’s hands are tangled in my hair. I hear his heart thumping and I smile, painfully happy.
“Honestly, Maya. I can’t get you out of my head—”
The words die in his throat and I feel the muscles of his arms clench. I look at his face, and he’s frozen, staring at something behind me.
“Where’s he going?” he murmurs.
I spin around and see a figure skulking in the shadows, heading towards the castle. My heart constricts. “Was that —?”
“Halloran.” Reef confirms. He grabs my hand. “Come on.”
Together, we run across the courtyard. The stars are gathered in hordes in the inky night sky, faintly illuminating our path. We reach the castle door in time to see Halloran rounding a corner into a side hallway. Reef and I look at each other. I’ve only taken that hallway once before — when we ended up at the hole in the castle floor.
“Maybe he’s going to his classroom?” I whisper.
Reef shrugs. “One way to find out.”
We tail Halloran down the hallway, hiding in the shadows as we go. We reach the stone staircase and follow Halloran down. Suddenly, Reef stops and I almost crash into him.
He holds out a gentle arm to steady me, and then drops to his knees in the shadows. He beckons for me to crouch next to him. I inch forward to look down the stairs and see Halloran at the bottom. He’s pacing around the hole in the floor, mumbling to himself.
Reef intertwines his fingers with mine, and we wait for what feels like an eternity while Halloran continues to circle the hole. He’s too far away for us to hear what he’s saying.
Then, without warning, he turns and ascends the staircase.
For what feels like the millionth time this semester, we run.
41
“Move over, Landwalkers!” TJ runs across the common room and plants himself between me and Casey on the couch. He practically lands on top of me and I give him a little shove.
He shoots me a charming smile. “Sorry, Maya, I didn’t mean to squish you.”
He puts his arms around Casey and kisses her with a surprising amount of tenderness. I roll my eyes but I’m laughing. Casey and TJ kissed at the Halloween dance a week ago and have been inseparable since. She seems so completely happy, her eyes are shining.
I wish I could say the same for myself.
My body feels haggard, the circles under my eyes darker than ever. The past week has been sheer pleasure marred by sheer pain. The two sensations are at war constantly. Every time I close my eyes, one of two images flash before me, dancing vividly in my head.
The first is the butterfly-inducing flashback of Reef kissing me at the Halloween Dance. My knees turn to jelly at the thought of it. Every time I see Reef now, I can barely form a cohesive sentence. I’m constantly distracted thinking about him �
� wanting to spend more time with him, wanting to get closer to him, wanting him to kiss me again.
The second is much less welcome — the latest installment of my nightmare. I’m trapped below the ocean, staring at the necklace and an unconscious, bleeding Reef. Now, it’s not even a question. I swim towards Reef, hell-bent on saving him and ignoring the necklace.
But it's not enough. The hands come for Reef, pulling him to his death, and when I turn around, the necklace is gone too. The disgusting, inhuman thing has taken them both, and I’m alone when the darkness comes for me.
I haven’t told Reef my worst fears. I’m terrified of what the dream could be telling me. I feel like I’m struggling to keep my head above water as the Supermoon closes in.
“Hey!” Reef’s voice brings me back to reality.
He bounds into the room and slides gracefully to the ground at my feet. He rests his head against the arm of the couch, not quite touching me. I want to reach out and run my hands through his hair.
I can’t let anything happen to him. I just can’t. I don’t think my heart could take it.
Reef steals a glance at Casey and TJ, who are firmly attached to each other’s faces. Looking around the room and satisfied that nobody is listening, he tilts his head and looks at me.
“I think we should go back to the castle,” he murmurs. “Try to find out what Halloran was looking at on Halloween.”
Reef and I haven’t spent half as much time together this week as I would’ve liked. After running for our lives on Halloween, we decided to divide and conquer. I spent time in the library researching necklaces, while Reef contacted his father to see if he had any more information on the shipwreck where his mother died. Both of our efforts proved frustratingly futile.
The hole in the castle floor seems like a logical next step.
I check my watch. It’s 9pm — one hour until curfew, and the castle should be empty. “Now?”
“Now.” He jumps to his feet.
TJ lazily opens one eye. “Ooh, where are you guys off to so late?”
Reef laughs and chucks a pillow at the TJ-Casey tangle on the couch. “Somewhere far away from you two.”
“Don’t be jealous, it’s not a good look on you,” TJ mumbles and then turns his face back towards Casey.
Still laughing, I fall into step next to Reef as we walk across the courtyard. I wish he would take my hand.
“Casey and TJ are cute.” I smile.
“Sure, if ‘cute’ looks like eating each other’s faces.” Reef snorts, but his eyes are laughing.
We reach the castle quickly and make our way to the stone staircase. The descent is as dizzying as I remember, and by the time we get to the bottom, I’m out of breath.
I stand on the bottom step, staring into the raging abyss. The black ocean looks straight out of my nightmares. I take a deep breath and tentatively step onto the tiny floor area that circles the hole. I lean against the wall and my heart pounds as I remember the jump.
Never again.
Reef, not nearly as affected, paces around the ledge, imitating Halloran’s motions on Halloween night. He arrives next to me and leans against the wall.
“I have no idea what he was doing.” Reef shrugs.
I squint into the darkness, trying to make sense of it all.
And then I see it.
“Reef… is there something written on the floor?”
Reef kneels carefully and brushes dust off the stone next to him. “It’s an F.”
He slowly moves around the ledge, reading each letter out loud.
“F — A — T — U… It’s the siren motto, I think.”
I lean forward as far as I dare. Indeed, the faint, swirly script around the ledge spells out: Fatum est enim vestra
“You find your Destiny from within,” I mutter. “Not helpful.”
“Why would Halloran have been looking at the motto?” Reef frowns.
“I have no idea.” I tilt my head to the side, reaching into my memory. “Was it here before?”
“I wasn’t looking at the floor last time.” Reef smiles his half-smile and I blush.
I sigh. “I think this is another dead end.”
Reef nods, disappointed. “Let’s get out of here before someone catches us. Everyone already thinks you have a death wish after last time.”
We climb the stairs, and I trail behind Reef, reminded again of how lucky I am to have met him. When I first jumped through the hole in the floor, I never would’ve imagined that he felt something for me too. I wish I could find the words to tell him what the night of Halloween meant to me. What he means to me.
When we get to the hallway, Reef looks at me. “You okay? You’re quiet tonight.”
“I was just thinking about what happened last week. You know, between… us.” I stammer, my cheeks flaring red.
Reef smiles, amused. “What about it?”
I open my mouth to say the words, but it appears that I don’t have to. Reef’s eyes twinkle and he takes a step towards me, backing me against the cool, stone castle wall.
“I just —” I sputter, my heart racing. I look at his lips. “Well, I umm—”
“You can’t stop thinking about it?” Reef’s eyes burn into mine. “Because I sure can’t.”
I nod, unable to speak. He closes the gap between us and I forget all of my worries for a few minutes.
42
“Today’s the day Maya, I’m sure it is!” Casey hops out of bed and throws on a tank top.
I look at her, and then at my own bundled presence and try not to feel envious. Casey had her first transformation two days ago, as did Flo. Reef and the guys had theirs over the past week. Me? Nothing.
I grumble to myself and grab my swimsuit, sidestepping Kendra as I walk to the bathroom. We haven’t exchanged a single word since Halloween, and frankly, the arrangement suits me.
Casey and I hurry across the courtyard to get out of the chill November wind. I frown and wrap my arms around myself, already dreading the freezing ocean water. We file into Halloran’s classroom and I flop into my seat. Reef is not here yet, of course. I don’t think he’s ever been early for anything. He’s so laid back, he’s practically horizontal.
At the front of the room, Professor Halloran rifles through a stack of papers. I sit stiffly, watching him. Since Reef and I visited the hole in the floor last week, I’ve been dumbfounded. No matter how much I think about it, I cannot work out why he was pacing around the ledge on Halloween night.
He knows something. And I intend to find out what before we run out of time.
Reef darts into the classroom as Halloran gets started. He sits next to me and curls his foot around mine. I smile at him, thankful for his calming presence.
“In siren form, you’ll notice you have increased strength.” Halloran paces at the front of the room. He’s doing that a lot these days. “As I’m sure you remember from your Mythology classes, this strength came in handy before sirens were peaceful. At that time, it’s believed that the earth was ruled by evil.”
Interesting that Halloran speaks of evil when he very well could be evil himself… But how to prove it?
Then, a memory of the long, spindly hands from my nightmares flashes before my eyes. My stomach twists into knots. Those hands — and the creature they belong to — are certainly evil.
I freeze. I wonder if such a creature exists in this world? I’ve never considered that, because sirens are real, other creatures could be real too. Monsters. Demons. Creatures from the depths of the ocean.
Shivers crawl over my skin. Surely, we would’ve learned of such things in our classes.
“Reef,” I whisper. It’s a ridiculous question but I have to ask it. “Do you know if there are, like, monsters or anything in the siren world?”
Reef’s eyes dance and he seems amused. “Our world doesn’t really work like that. Our only “monsters” are humans and evil sirens. Villains. They’re the ones the Sirenis Force are after. Sure, we learned about monster
s when I was a kid, but I think every kid — even human — is scared of monsters.”
I nod slowly, considering his words.
“Why do you ask?” He tilts his head.
“I’m just thinking of the creature in my nightmare,” I muse. “The hands don’t really look like siren hands.”
Reef frowns and his face darkens. He shakes his head and opens his mouth, but Halloran interrupts. “It’s time to jump in the water and practice using your strength!”
Reef shrugs and we stand as the rest of the class bustles around. My stomach is a bundle of nerves and any thought of the creature leaves my mind. I take off my uniform and walk towards the ocean in my bathing suit. My classmates go ahead of me, diving in with ease and beginning their transformations readily.
Reef stays next to me and squeezes my hand. I’m so tense and nervous that I barely register how good he looks in his baby blue board shorts.
We jump in together, still holding hands, and the cold water shocks my system. I disentangle my hand from Reef’s as he swims downward. I watch as his gills form, his legs fuse, and his tail appears. Within moments, he’s in his siren form. Somehow, he’s more beautiful than ever.
Next to him, I see TJ has already transformed, his bright green tail matching the green swim shorts he was wearing. Casey, too, swims with ease, laughing and flipping. Her voice is melodic underwater, captivating. Then, Flo delicately floats by, her tail developing before my eyes.
Meanwhile, I bob near the surface. My gashes barely become gills, just enough to breathe unevenly in the water.
It’s hopeless.
Professor Halloran stares at me dejectedly from the ocean floor. Flo, Casey, Dennis, Rayne... everyone has transformed. It’s just me left.
Today is not the day.
43
The words blur in front of my eyes and I can no longer focus on the page. I look up and my neck cracks loudly. The library is otherwise silent and empty. With a frustrated scowl, I shut the book. No answers here.
The Destiny: A YA Paranormal Academy Romance (Deep Cove Academy Book 1) Page 15