by Angel Leya
“Here you go!” Kenzie said, handing two candy canes to the first student to arrive. She couldn’t remember if the girl was a mao or a hound. She wasn’t an ursa. Those she could never forget.
Kenzie smiled wide. “Don’t be a grinch. Take one to eat and use the other to pass along some Christmas cheer!” Okay, it was cheesy, but it was the best she could come up with.
The were looked at her funny, but at least she took the candy canes. Kenzie kept passing the treats out as the students filed in. A few refused, but she got a few smiles out of the bunch, which helped make it all worthwhile. Still, she couldn’t help but feel she was trying to push a rock uphill. Alone. With average, human strength.
Ugh.
Some days she wished Wes would bite her and put her out of her misery. She could become one of them, if she wanted. It would destroy her magic, though, and her magic was the one thing that meant more to her than fitting in. Most of her life, her magic had been pent up, limited by the dwindling spell knowledge and lack of grimoire to guide her. She’d only just begun to use the stuff, and as dangerous as it could be, it was incredible, too. Dang, she really needed to look back through the book with an eye for Christmas. Or vandalism protection. Too bad mastery wasn’t until tomorrow.
Kenzie hardly heard a word as Mrs. Coltar started up class. She dreamed up elaborate magic traps and alarms meant to expose and humiliate the mer. Her next class, Paranormal History taught by Oberon, passed in a similar fashion.
It wasn’t until she was about to leave that Oberon managed to catch her attention.
“Can I have a word, Kenzie?”
Kenzie shouldered her bag and pursed her lips before turning back to him. “Sure. What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you about the incident earlier.”
“Oh. Okay.” For a moment, she feared she was about to get another lecture.
Oberon folded his hands. “I spoke with Helena and Lenore, and they have alibis for last night.”
“All night?” Kenzie asked, folding her arms.
“They also said they had no idea about the decorations until this morning.”
“Uh, huh.” Likely story.
“I’m also having a hard time believing the girls could create the kind of damage we found, though I’m not sure what could.”
“Right.” Kenzie’s skin was beginning to boil. Those girls were totally going to get away with what they did. No wonder Myreen had as much trouble as she did. And from the stories she told, those girls were way worse. But whatever. Kenzie had her magic. She’d give them beards again if they came after her. Maybe singe some hair or something.
“I just don’t want you doing anything rash. Rest assured, I’m still looking into this.”
“What about the videos? You said you’d look at those.” Kenzie gripped the strap of her bag tighter, hoping her head of steam didn’t cause her to float away.
Oberon nodded, his face grim. “We did, but there’s nothing there.”
“Nothing? Like it just, poof, is destroyed?”
“More like the videos don’t exist for that time period.”
Kenzie’s brows rose. That was some high-tech vandalism. Maybe the mer weren’t behind it.
“I’ve got Ren looking into it, and in the even that he’s unable to recover the video, we have another device that might do the trick.”
“Okay. Cool. Whatever.” Kenzie turned to go, sensing the conversation wasn’t going anywhere helpful. She needed to think. This whole thing was starting to sound strange and almost unbelievable. This school was tech-savvy enough to create a simulation room that allowed for infinitely maneuverability, but their surveillance could be knocked out without a trace?
Oberon caught Kenzie’s arm before she could go. “Are you sure you want to continue with your . . . project? I’m sure no one would think less of you if you decided to focus on other things.”
“If I don’t spread Christmas cheer, who will?” Kenzie asked, smirking. Her shoulders sagged. “Look, I know not everyone’s behind me, but I can handle it. And I think we all deserve something a little extra special this year.”
“Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”
“And maybe I’m right about bringing in more selkies,” Kenzie said, knowing she was pushing her luck.
Oberon chuckled. “You are tenacious. Give it some more time, Kenzie. Let’s talk again after Christmas—assuming nothing else comes of the incident this morning.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
Oberon let out an amused huff. “I have no doubt. Now go. I’ll let Romi know that you’ll be late for Oceanid transformation class.”
Kenzie nodded, taking a deep breath as she turned to leave. She doubted her transformation teacher would care if she was late or not. Not like Romi could teach Kenzie anything about being a selkie. Or a seal.
She stalled a moment when she noticed several unopened candy canes sitting in the trash can, but forced her feet to keep moving. Heathens. How could anyone throw away candy? It looked like she had a lot more work to do.
She trotted out of class—and ran directly into an immovable mass. She landed on her butt with an oof and a crack, wincing as she realized she’d probably just broken the rest of her candy canes. Ouch.
The immovable mass hissed. “Are you okay?”
She looked up at the offered hand, her brows drawing together at the irrationally handsome face. “Come to gloat?”
Trevor’s head cocked to the side. “Gloat?”
Kenzie ignored his hand and stood, dusting her bottom off. “About the decorations. I assume it was you and your posse that destroyed them.” She cast a sidelong glance at him.
Trevor shook his head. “No. I didn’t have anything to do with that. I don’t think Helena or Lenore did, either.” He dug his hands into his pockets, staring at his feet. “Actually, I came to see if you wanted to walk to transformation class together.”
“Look, Trevor, I—”
“Are you lonely?”
Kenzie paused. “What?”
“I overheard you asking the director about bringing in more selkies, and I just thought . . .”
Kenzie crossed her arms. “Just thought what?”
“I mean, it can’t be easy going to a school where no one trusts you. It would probably be nice to have others like you, that you could talk to.”
Kenzie’s face reddened. “I’m sorry, am I not clique-ish enough for you? I’ve got plenty of friends, thank you.”
Trevor flipped up the ball on her Santa hat. “Yet you’re trying to jumpstart Christmas all by yourself.”
Ouch. Okay, that hurt more than falling on her butt. And destroying a bag full of candy canes with painstakingly tied bows. Kenzie pushed past Trevor, ready to dump her sack of spoiled goodies. Okay, so now she was being the heathen, but there was no way she could eat all those candy canes herself, or give them out. She’d have to come up with another plan to spread Christmas cheer.
Trevor’s steady footsteps quickly came astride hers. Dang short legs. “I’m sorry, I just . . . I feel like I don’t know you and I’d like to change that.”
Kenzie stopped and whirled to face him. “Why?”
“What?”
“Why do you want to get to know me? I’ve been here almost a year, and you’ve never bothered to talk to me before. In fact, I can remember quite a few times while you stood silently by as your friends taunted me.”
Trevor lifted his chin. “Maybe I never liked the way they treated you and only had the guts now to say so.”
“And maybe I fart tinsel.” Kenzie placed her hands on her hips and glared.
Trevor held her gaze a moment longer, then burst into laughter.
Kenzie’s scowl began to melt as he laughed harder. “What?”
“It’s just you . . . and tinsel . . . and . . . I can’t get it out of my head now.”
Kenzie reluctantly began to chuckle—more at him than what she’d said. Boys.
They began walking again as Tr
evor’s laughter subsided. He cleared his throat. “Seriously, though, have you ever thought you knew something—or someone—and suddenly you get this weird feeling, like déjà vu, except now you’re on a whole other level, like the world’s shifted around you and you’re just noticing for the first time?”
Kenzie let out an amused huff. “Um, I can’t say that I have.”
Trevor chuckled. “Yeah. I get that. Look, why don’t you just let me help you with the Christmas stuff. I won’t interfere with your life or your friends. If you want to forget I exist after that’s done, so be it.”
His offer certainly was tempting. Having him help on the arch made everything so much faster and easier.
And fun.
“I’ll even help you try to figure out who vandalized our work.”
Kenzie cast a surreptitious glance at Trevor, but he seemed sincere. She sighed. “Okay, but I have one condition.”
Trevor smirked. “You and your conditions. What, you still worried I’m going to make fun of your singing?”
Kenzie shook her head. “You have to wear the Santa hat for the rest of the day.” She pulled it off her head and stood on her tiptoes to place it on Trevor—and yes, he may have stooped to help. She arranged the ball so it flopped in his face, and Trevor laughed. He smelled faintly of the beach and funnel cakes, his brown eyes deep like the ocean.
“Deal,” Trevor breathed.
And with that one word, Kenzie realized just how close she was to Trevor. She took a hasty step back, hoping her face didn’t look as red as it felt, but tripped over her feet and landed on her bottom. Again. At least now she had a reason to be embarrassed.
Trevor chuckled, holding out his hand.
Kenzie stared for a long moment, then took it and let him help her to her feet, aware of how strong and warm he felt. What the crap is wrong with me? Get it together, girl. You’re with Wes.
“Ready?” Trevor asked.
Kenzie stared at the door to transformation for a long moment, the long hall looking shorter with each passing second. She whirled back to face Trevor. “Are you sure?”
Trevor leveled his gaze at her. “You’re not backing out on me now, are you, Tinsel?”
Kenzie lifted a brow. “Tinsel?”
Trevor smirked. “Hey, I have to wear this Santa hat.”
Kenzie rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine, Santa. Let’s do this. But if your girlfriends—”
“Friends. Sort of.”
“Whatever. If they have a conniption because we’re hanging out, I’m gonna need you to back me up here.”
Trevor pumped his brows as he guided her down the hall, his hand on the small of her back. “No worries, Tinsel. I’ve got you.”
He opened the door and gestured for Kenzie to enter first. Kenzie shook her head and rolled her eyes, but went in anyway, heading straight for the lockers, though she couldn’t help but throw one more curious glance back at Trevor. He was stripping pool-side, his smart clothes already in place, and she couldn’t help but notice just how perfectly he was built. Not too muscular, a nice balance to his top and bottom halves, thanks to a mer tail that provided the bulk of his swimming power. He caught her looking, and winked as he dove in, his feet fusing into a goldfish golden tail before he’d even hit the water. Show off.
The other mer swam and played as usual, streams of manipulated water dancing through the air, majestic bodies and tails leaping through hoops and diving into the depths. Kenzie averted her gaze and picked up her speed. She didn’t want to know if Helena and Lenore had seen her with Trevor, though Helena’s uniquely emerald tail was likely somewhere in that mix. Lenore’s pale lavender tail was a little harder to pick out of the more typical pastels, but wherever Helena went, Lenore wasn’t far behind.
Kenzie made it into the safety of the locker room and let out a breath as she found her spot. A quick scan of her hand made the door pop open, and she grabbed her seal skin. She didn’t need to change to transform, but she took her shoes and socks off and stashed them in the locker anyway.
Draping the skin on her shoulders, she breathed the word that allowed her to transform. “Aon.”
The room seemed to grow larger as feet and hands turned into flippers, her cheeks itching with newly sprouted whiskers. For the millionth time she wondered why anyone on Earth, particularly a magic user who had their pick of the litter, would choose a seal to shift into. What were the MacLugh’s thinking? Talk about embarrassing, sliding into a pool with freaking gorgeous mermaids as this fat—okay, and adorable—but completely harmless seal. Which is exactly why she always did her transformation in the locker room. No way was she going to humiliate herself turning into a seal out there for everyone to see.
Oberon insisted she practice her powers, and since this was transformation class, and a seal was the only thing she could transform into, she was stuck. Maybe one day she’d kill something a little more exciting and enchant the skin. Ah, who was she kidding? She was too twenty-first-century-soft for anything like that. She might eat chicken, but that didn’t mean she wanted to pluck it.
Kenzie turned toward the pool, preparing to ignore everyone and everything, but found Helena and Lenore looming over her. She rolled onto her back to keep her front flippers at the ready. Those things might be short, but at least they had decent claws—the only useful equipment on the creature, as far as she was concerned, and even that point was debatable.
Helena had her hands on her hips—hips which were perfectly covered by her dripping-wet smart clothing. Lenore was a step behind and in the same state, arms crossed. Apparently they’d foregone pool time to pay Kenzie a visit. Lucky her.
“What do you think you’re doing with Trevor?” Helena asked. She paused, perhaps thinking twice about talking to a seal.
Kenzie smiled, letting her tongue hang out. Might as well play up the cute part. She could talk as a seal, but her voice was funny and she didn’t feel like giving anyone more material to work with. And she wasn’t going to risk getting jumped on if she tried to turn back. At least with the weight and claws, she had a decent chance of defending herself. Besides, if the girls wanted to talk about Trevor, they could talk. She had nothing to say about the matter—her lips were sealed.
“Oh, don’t you try to laugh this off. I don’t know what kind of love spell you put on him, but I think you should stick to your kitty-cat and leave our men alone.”
Kenzie cocked her head to the side. She hadn’t enchanted Trevor, but if that’s what they wanted to believe . . .
“You just watch yourself,” Lenore said, leaning forward and pointing. “Karma’s a witch.”
Helena shot her a look, but nodded to the side, and the girls turned and left.
Kenzie watched them as they left, feeling amused. She was technically a witch, so it seemed Karma was on her side. And besides, she and Trevor were just friends. Right? Right.
She shimmied her way into the pool, and soon spotted Trevor’s goldfish-colored tail flapping around—Santa hat still firmly on his head. How, she had no idea, but the sight gave her the kind of warm fuzzies that made her think that maybe, just maybe, she could trust Trevor.
And she had to admit, it felt kind of nice having someone on her side.
What about Wes? her mind seemed to whisper. It was silly, really. They were marked, practically fated for an eternity together. Which was a good thing.
Right?
Chapter 9
Kenzie was able to give Wes a quick peck on the lips after defense class, so she was surprised to find him waiting outside her room after she’d had a chance to shower and change. She kind of liked that he was the only person who dared to enter the Oceanid wing without an invite. It was the kind of thing that upped his hotness factor a notch. Or ten.
“What brings you to the dark depths?” Kenzie asked as she drew near, sure to keep her voice low. It wasn’t that she was afraid of the mer, but she didn’t need to start any drama now. She’d had enough for one day.
“I thought I’d sur
prise you.”
“You are a surprise.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his broad chest. He was boyishly handsome when she first met him, but he was practically irresistible now that he was a shifter. And a cat, at that. Meee-ow!
Wes chuckled, his warm arms returning her embrace. “I’m glad you think so, but I’m not the surprise.”
Kenzie pulled her head back to look at him. “Oh? What did you get me?”
One of the mer girls passed by, obviously avoiding looking at them.
Wes waited until the mer was gone before pulling Kenzie’s lips to his. She reveled in his usual spearmint flavor, the familiar comforts of his embrace. He broke away and smiled. “Speechless?”
Kenzie nodded once, her mouth quirking to the side.
“Good. I got Ren to hand over the reins on his snow machine, and Oberon to approve its use. It can only be on for a few hours in the evening, but the snow should dissipate by morning if we don’t keep it on too long.”
Kenzie squealed, giving a quick clap. “Ahhhh! That’s so perfect. Thank you!” She rose on her tippy-toes and gave him another kiss, her hands tangling in his hair.
The temperature in the air practically dipped as she sensed the presence of someone else in the hall. Whatever. Kenzie held onto that kiss a few seconds longer than intended, just to spite whatever mer was giving them the stink eye now. And as she turned around, she wasn’t at all surprised to see Lenore there.
Lenore gave Wes and Kenzie a once over, her arms crossed and her face pinched like she smelled something rotten, then trotted off. Wes looked to Kenzie, who shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Ready to go set it up?” Wes asked, pulling Kenzie a little tighter.
“Please,” Kenzie replied.
Lenore rolled her eyes, but moved on to her room. Whatever. Kenzie could deal with her later. Right now she had a snow man to thank.
“HOW THE HECK ARE WE supposed to fix it if we can’t even find the right stuff?” Kenzie asked, turning away from the tool chest with a scowl. It figured Mr. Suzuki would leave her and Wes to fix the dang snow machine—or Wes, really, since Kenzie considered herself useless when it came to anything electronic. She could push buttons like any monkey, but putting one together? Psh.