Tangled Tides (The Sea Monster Memoirs) (11 page)

D
elmar and I hurled packages of C-weed onto the shore.

"She can't be that bad," he insisted.

"You're right. She's only impossible ninety-five percent of the time."

"She's the key that unlocks the door to our world, Treygan." Delmar almost said something else, but the others approached.

Pango was a great physical asset when it came to hard labor, but he was also the most notorious gossip in all the waterways of the worlds. His green curls broke through the water, followed by Merrick's floppy, yellow bangs.

"Gentlemen." I nodded.

Pango spit a mouthful of water at me and flicked me with his tail. "Don't gentle man me. You two sped ahead so you could discuss our newest Goldilocks. You better share some juicy porridge with Papa Bear."

"Pango, there isn't that much to tell."

Merrick rolled his eyes. "Even I'm declaring sharkshit on that one."

"Yes," Pango agreed, untying the rope around his shoulders to release his bags of weed. "You two hijacked the girl during a hurricane and changed her against her will. This is the most interesting initiation to date. Start dishing it out. Too hot, too cold, we're not picky bears. Just give us something scrumptious."

Delmar shot me a look of caution.

My guess was Merrick didn't care to hear details. He and Pango were polar opposites—one of the many reasons they were perfect together—but we all knew Pango wouldn't drop the issue until he received some sort of update. We had a few hours of work left to do and I didn't want to listen to Pango whine or beg the entire time. I had been harvesting most of yesterday, all night, and half of today. The lack of rest made me irritable.

"You'll be disappointed, Pango," I said. "She abhors us."

He finished heaving the last of his packages onto the rocks and turned to help Merrick. "Us? All merfolk?"

"Yes."

Throwing his head back, he let out a theatrical laugh. "She hasn't met
me
yet. No one could ever abhor me. I'm too loveable." Merrick chuckled and Pango punched him on the shoulder. "It's true and you know it."

"I didn't argue," Merrick said before diving underwater for a bag that slipped off his ropes.

Pango watched him swim away before probing further. "Whom has she met so far to establish this abhorrence? Just you and Dr. Doomsday?" He flicked his head in Delmar's direction.

"Hey!" Delmar shouted over his shoulder, climbing the rocky ledge onto land.

"Delmar, darling, you know I love you, but let's tell it like it is. You are a bit intimidating with your dark hair and ghostly complexion. That raspy voice of yours probably convinced her she had met the Grim Reaper of the sea."

Merrick glided back through the water. "What have I missed?"

Delmar finished buttoning his shorts and opened his arms wide. His indigo hallmarks glimmered in the sunlight. "I have been named the Grim Reaper of the sea."

Pango clapped and Merrick snorted a laugh. "Only if Daddy Death is a closet die-hard romantic who wouldn't hurt a shrimp."

We all climbed out of the water and grabbed shorts from the shed. Pango reached for a pair of sneakers and I raised my brow at him.

"What? I got a pedicure yesterday. Sand is a great exfoliate, but it's murder on the polish."

For being six-feet-five-inches and the most muscular merman around, Pango was exceptionally feminine at times. Merrick was a saint for putting up with his high-maintenance lifestyle.

"Lace them up and get to work," I grunted. "We're way behind."

Pango bowed dramatically. "Yes, master."

I shot him a look that said
don't
, but he just laughed and tied his shoes.

W
e were hanging the last bag of plants to dry when I sensed the girls approaching. "You have got to be kidding," I groaned, turning to look out at the ocean. I expected one, not three.

"What?" Delmar asked, squeezing excess water from several leaves, but then he also sensed them. "Oh. Never mind."

"Good, glittery gumdrops, we have visitors!" Pango sang. "But horrors, I'm not equipped to make a proper first impression. Why don't we keep designer apparel on this island in case of emergencies?"

Merrick patted Pango's stomach. "You look great. She'll drool once she sees your washboard abs."

Pango sighed. "I hate it when my perfect body is the first thing people see. I'm more than just a pretty face, ya know?"

My plan was to stay away from Yara until we began our training together, but here she was, showing up where I worked. I threw my garden shears so they struck the ground a few inches from Pango's shoe. "She shouldn't be here."

Pango squealed and jogged in place. "You heathen! I could've lost one of my little piggies."

"Pango, cool it for a minute," Delmar ordered.

I made my way to the water's edge followed by Delmar, Pango and Merrick. Kai was first to reach us, with Koraline and Yara close behind.

"At least we know she's awake," Delmar murmured.

"What is she doing here?" I shouted to Kai and Koraline.

"My apologies, Mister Treygan." Kai lowered her guilty eyes.

Koraline reached the rock wall at my feet. "She insisted. She wouldn't let Kai leave without her, and I wasn't about to let you yell at Kai for it."

"It's your job to tell her no, Koraline."

Yara waved her arms above her head. "Hellooo? I'm right here. How about taking it up with me?"

I shifted my annoyed gaze back to Koraline. She put her hands up protectively. "You know what she's like. There's no stopping a Yamabuki."

Yara glared at me. Of course she had already asked Koraline about that.

Pango peeked over my shoulder. "Hello, Yara. I'm Pango. Enraptured to meet you."

Her eyes widened. No doubt wondering why such a huge man spoke in such a prissy manner.

"This is Merrick," Pango continued, resting his hand on Merrick's shoulder, "the most handsome merman of all the oceans. But don't start fantasizing, because he's spoken for." After kissing Merrick's cheek, Pango motioned at Delmar. "And word on the water is you've already been acquainted with Delmar."

"Nice to meet all of you." Yara's pleasantry shocked me, but people couldn't resist Pango's good nature. I had never met anyone who didn't like him.

"I'd like to speak to Yara in private," I announced. Kai and Koraline swam toward the beach.

"Meet you merry maidens over there," Pango sang as he and the other men walked away.

Yara swam up to the rocks and I knelt down. "What are you doing here?"

"I pass out and you dump me at some stranger's house?" she practically hissed at me.

"Yara, I wish you would stop being so difficult."

"You mean like a
stubborn
Yamabuki?"

I ignored her indignant tone. "For your own safety, there are rules you must follow and things you need to learn. I don't have time to argue with you every step of the way. There aren't enough hours between sunsets for me to complete my work
and
educate you. Koraline will answer any questions you have."

"You saved my life when I was eight years old. I don't want to hear about that from Koraline, I want to hear it from you!"

Childlike innocence flashed in her eyes again, even as she tried to put authority behind her words. What answer could I give that would satisfy her? The whole truth was far too complicated. "Many merfolk have rescued drowning humans. As I said, we have highly attuned senses when it comes to knowing when humans are near. I was in the right place at the right time." None of it was a lie.

"My uncle told me a fisherman found me."

I tried not to smile. "Well, I can be a fish-or-man."

She rolled her eyes. "I know there's more to it than that. What are you hiding from me?"

"Listen, I have work to do. Once I've caught up on cycling the crops, I'll meet with you and we can discuss it further."

She crossed her arms, pouting with her typical disgruntlement.

"Yara." I pulled my hair back so she could see the sincerity in my eyes. "A Yamabuki is the most steadfast of all Koi fish. According to legend, the Yamabuki is the only one to succeed at swimming up the River of Suffering and climbing into the mist of the Eternal Falls where it transformed into a powerful dragon. Not because of stubbornness, but because of determination, bravery and spirit."

She blinked rapidly. Her glare softened with each flutter of her lashes.

I stood up and shouted, "Kai, Koraline, please take Yara back to Solis."

As I walked away I was tempted to look over my shoulder and see why she wasn't arguing or asking more questions, but I resisted.

Not looking back at her was astoundingly difficult.

K
oraline and Kai swam on either side of me.

Yamabuki. Steadfast. Brave. Did Treygan really see me that way? My uncle said similar things about me, even when I was a kid. I already missed my uncle. I missed Rownan too. This new existence was a lot to take in.

The scenery during our swim to and from Weed Island was breathtaking. The tropical fish, the sea turtles, the coral and plant life: it was a never-ending aquarium. We swam high above an old sunken plane. On land, it would have looked big and majestic, but the deteriorating heap of aluminum on the sandy ocean floor looked so small and disregarded.

At one point Koraline heard the engines of a cruise ship nearby, so we dove deeper, keeping far from its path. Three dolphins spun around us, clicking and whistling as one pushed a large leaf with its nose. The air bubbles they left behind tickled my skin. I kept hoping to see a selkie, assuming they'd look a lot like us except half seal, but no seals were anywhere to be found.

I reached over and touched Koraline's shoulder.
Koraline, can we talk?

Sure.
She made a short yipping sound and Kai looked over at us. Koraline pointed upward and we all swam to the surface.

"Sorry," I said, bobbing up and down with the gentle waves, "but this couldn't wait. I hope you two don't think I'm fussy and stubborn like Treygan does."

They stared at me, their chins dipping in and out of the water.

"Oh, Miss Yara." Kai's eyes had been orange underwater, but now they were hazel and her hair was strawberry blonde. "Fussing don't bother me. I'm used to it. My sisters and brothers fuss and shout too. You remind me of home."

So they
did
think I was fussy and stubborn. Way to make a first impression, Yara.

Koraline smiled at Kai and nodded to me. "Go ahead. What did you want to talk about?"

"Do either of you know where the selkies live?" I asked.

Koraline's jaw practically fell into the water. "I didn't realize you knew about selkies yet."

"My boyfriend is a selkie."

"Boyfriend?" Koraline gasped. "How did I not know you had a boyfriend?"

"Wait, were you one of the Reporters Treygan sent to spy on me?"

"Well, I—" she fidgeted with her starfish necklace. "Yes, but I only checked on you once in a while. To be honest, I sort of slacked off these past few months. I figured I knew enough about you that I didn't need to keep a close eye on you. Plus, you seemed really suspicious whenever I came around. I thought I had blown my cover."

"You and I met before? I don't remember seeing you on the island."

She pursed her lips and glanced at Kai. "Um, well—"

Kai interrupted. "Many times new merfolk forget things when they are turned."

"Hmph, well, I'm sorry I don't remember. I've seen so many tourists over the years. Anyway," I continued, "I don't exactly know where my boyfriend lives, but I need to find him. Do selkies live together like we do?"

Kai shook her head. "No, ma'am, but they spend a lot of time at the frosty bar."

"Frosty bar. Will you take me there?"

"No way," Koraline chimed in. "Not a good idea. We need to get you back to Solis."

I drifted closer to her. "Koraline, do you know what it's like to love someone?"

She hesitated and her cheeks went pink. "Of course. I love my family very much."

"Exactly. My boyfriend is one of the only two people I care about in this whole world. Please, imagine if you wanted to talk to someone you loved and nobody would take you to see them."

Koraline fiddled with her necklace again.

"Miss Koraline." Kai reached over and held Koraline's hand. "If Miss Yara needs love and her boyfriend has it for her, how can we say no?"

Koraline sighed, tugged on one of her dirty blonde pigtails, and sighed again. "Fine, we'll go to Jack Frost's. But if your boyfriend isn't there then it's back to Solis. And if he is there, you can stay an hour at most."

"Oh, thank you, Koraline!" I squealed, splashing water as I hugged her. "What about clothes?"

"We keep clothes hidden under many piers," Kai replied. "There will be no problem finding something for you, Miss Yara."

"Why do you call everyone Mister or Miss?" I asked. "You don't look much younger than us."

"I'm from the Ketokys tribe. We have different customs. Anyone better off than me is Miss or Mister."

"Better off? I'm no better off than you."

"You are Yellow. I recently became Orange. You swim higher than me."

I shook my head in confusion, but Kai just smiled and grabbed my hand. "Come, Miss Yara. We will find your selkie sweetheart."

Koraline didn't look too happy, but the three of us dove beneath the water and swam toward Jack Frost's.

W
e stood outside, looking through the windows at everyone in the bar.

I watched Rownan sip his drink at a table in the corner. "He's the one in the white coat."

Koraline grunted, "Of course he is," and turned away.

"No," Kai said, "Cursed White Coat has a beard."

Cursed? Cursed with good looks, maybe. "It's a goatee," I corrected. "I love how rugged it makes him look."

"Miss Yara, he is a scruffy face. Scruffy face means a selkie is married."

"What?" I laughed. "He's not married."

"I cannot lie. Scruffy face on a selkie man means he has a mate."

I whipped around, glancing between Kai and Koraline. Neither of them looked like they were kidding. "No, he would've told me."

Koraline kicked a rock across the parking lot. "Yara, do you know much about Rownan?"

"Of course. We've been together for weeks. He tells me everything."

Kai snorted. "He tells you what you want to hear. Most of what the icy ones say is lacking truth."

"Did he tell you why his coat is white?" Koraline asked. "Why he has the
only
white coat in a sea full of dark selkies?"

"No, but—" I glanced at Rownan again. Why did I know so little about him? My hands felt shaky. I clenched the sides of my sundress and took a deep breath. "Come on, we're going in."

"No, no." Kai stepped back. "Our kind is not welcome in frosty place."

"Fine. I'll go in by myself."

"Wait." Koraline grabbed my arm. "You can't walk in there blind. I wouldn't dare go with you, but it's my job to prepare you." She exhaled, eyeing the bar's tinted windows. "The place is freezing. Everyone in there is a selkie. They all know who and what you are. I don't know what happened between you and Rownan, but I'm guessing it was all an act."

My breath shot out of my lungs like someone had punched me in the stomach. "An act? Why would you say that?"

"Because they wanted you to be one of them, but Treygan got to you first. When you were human, Rownan had the ability to myst you, control your mind, make you think or feel whatever he wanted. He can't do that anymore. You need to figure out if your feelings for him are real or if he forced you to be attracted to him."

I felt dizzy. Rownan had brainwashed me? I replayed every conversation, every touch, every kiss, every thought or feeling I had about him. None of it had been real? That seemed impossible. He would never play me like that. Would he?

Even in the dim lighting of the parking lot I could see pity and sincerity in Koraline's green eyes. "I'm sorry. I know it's not easy to hear."

After standing there speechless for a minute, I smoothed down my dress and glanced at the door. "I can find my way back to the island if you don't feel like waiting. I might be a long time."

Kai put her hands behind her back and bowed her head. "You are brave to go in there."

Koraline shrugged. "'You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.'"

"Plato?" Kai asked.

"Aristotle," Koraline corrected.

I thanked them both for helping me and opened the bar's front door.

A blast of arctic air made me shiver. Almost every head turned to stare at me with dark, hostile eyes. I inhaled a deep, icy breath and stepped inside.

Y
ears of sitting in Jack Frost's most of the night had made me immune to looking at the door every time someone came in. But even after doing six shots and nursing my fourth pint, I couldn't ignore the silence that fell over the bar.

Yara walked toward me, surveying everyone. They were checking her out with equal skepticism. I jumped to my feet and wrapped my coat around her.

"Holy iceberg, it's cold in here," She gasped through chattering teeth.

"I know. Let's get you back outside."

"No." She shivered. "I n-n-need to talk to you."

"Baby, you're freezing. Let's go to my house and talk."

She nodded, pulling my coat around her. I pushed the door open and held my hand up in a
screw you
wave to anyone—meaning everyone—watching us.

"My God." She stumbled off the curb, practically running away from the bar. "You all even look similar: the dark hair and eyes, the scars, all those fur coats. How do people not notice?"

"You never noticed it."

"I never saw so many of you gathered in one place before."

"Humans don't come around here much. And if they do, well, they don't remember much by the time they leave."

She held my coat open. "Why is yours the only white one?"

"Because I'm so pure and innocent?"

"Rownan."

"It's because my father was a rare breed." I climbed onto my chopper. "Lame story, trust me."

Her mouth hung half-open. "You drive a motorcycle?"

"Hop on."

"Umm." She eyed my bike like it was a rabid dog.

"I won't let anything happen to you. You're irreplaceable to me." With that reassurance, she climbed on and wrapped her arms around my waist. "Hang on!" I yelled, cranking the engine to life. Her grip tightened.

Two days with merfolk and she came back to
me
. Jack was right. She might take our side after all.

We pulled into my driveway. I had barely shut the engine off before she leapt from her seat and started pacing. Something was obviously bothering her.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" I asked.

She spun around and got up in my face. Her frizzy hair resembled a rat's nest. "Are you married?"

Shit. I should have known this would come up. Since I couldn't myst my way out of the tough questions anymore, honesty was my best option. "Yes."

Her fists slammed into my chest. "Go to hell!"

"Wait." I held her hands, expecting her to pull away, but she only stared at me, unblinking, just like the eyes that haunted my dreams. "It was a long time ago. She's … on the other side."

"I—wait. What?" Her angry glare changed to something resembling ruefulness. "I'm … so sorry."

I shuffled my feet. The other side meant something different to humans. I knew that, but it was my way of telling the truth without telling the whole truth.

She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. "I had no idea."

Whatever went on between us the past few months, regardless of how fake, this moment felt genuine. I hadn't mysted her into seeing me as charming or attractive. Whatever she was feeling, it was real. I wrapped my arms around her.