Tangled Tides (The Sea Monster Memoirs) (23 page)

Yara patted the cushion beside her. "Sit."

I took a seat at the foot of the lounger.

"Good seal," Yara barked, then giggled and took another sip.

"Nixie's right, you're drunk."

"Oh, please." She leaned back and pressed her bare feet against my stomach. "Only a few glasses of champagne."

"A few? You've never had a drop of alcohol in your life." I tried taking the glowing martini from her, but she held it above her head, splashing it on her gown and laughing.

"My party. My rules."

"Hmph, you think so?"

She nodded like a bobble-head doll. She was kind of cute in her intoxicated state—much less uptight and not nearly as chatty.

"Love this music." She tapped her foot against my ribs.

"We can dance if you want."

"But my head's all spinny."

The past few weeks of us as a couple—or whatever we were—had been an act, but the comfort between us was real. Out of habit, I took her foot in my hand and massaged up to her calf. She let out a sigh and went limp.

"You did eat, right? Alcohol hits you hard if there's no food in your system."

"Mmm, I had pancakes."

"Pancakes?" It was nearing eleven o'clock at night. Merfolk would never serve pancakes at a welcoming dinner. "Are you telling me the last time you ate was at breakfast?"

She giggled. "Looong day."

"Hell, Yara, you need to eat. I'll grab you some food." I stood but she sat forward and clung onto my arm.

"Don't leave me too." She sounded like she might be on the verge of crying.

"Too?" I sat back down. "Who else left you?"

"Treygan," she said through pouty lips. "He can't kiss me. I think he hates me. He didn't even give me a wish."

What in the world was she rambling about? Treygan couldn't kiss anyone. I eased her back against the cushion. "Treygan isn't worth getting upset over. And I would never leave you, but you do need food. Be back in two minutes."

A
cheeseburger, half a dozen
hors d'oeuvres
, three glasses of water and seven songs later, we were on the dance floor, sweating out whatever alcohol was left in Yara's system. Being surrounded by forty dancing selkies made her awkward, off-beat moves look that much worse.

"You're a horrible dancer," I shouted into her ear, trying not to get head-butted while she jerked back and forth.

"I know, but I can sing." She lifted her elbows up and down in a wretched version of a chicken dance.

I wiped the sweat off my face and looked at the pool. People kept jumping in to cool off before climbing out to dance again. Others danced in the water.

"Go," Yara insisted. "This heat must be killing you."

"I'd invite you to come, but the water is thirty-four degrees."

"And I'm sure all these selkies would love my mermaid tail flapping around their pool."

I kissed her sweaty hand. "Go dance with Dina while I'm gone."

"I want to rest. I'm not feeling so great."

Nixie had filled me in on Yara's condition when she took her from the island. She watched Yara drink non-stop for two hours after dinner. When Yara slipped away to the bathroom, Nix found her huddled by the toilet, sweating and clammy. Nix couldn't tell if it was from drinking too much or the first sign of cravings.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Just need a breather," she said, turning away.

T
wenty minutes later when I walked into the cabana, Yara was curled up on the lounger. Dina dabbed her face with a wet towel.

"I promise it will," Dina whispered to her.

"No," Yara moaned.

I sat beside them. "What's going on?"

Dina pulled her hair back into a ponytail and shook her head. "She's started craving, but she refuses to drink blood."

My eyes widened. Could she be any less subtle about it?

"Simmer down," Dina continued. "She knows she drank blood at your house. She and Treygan discussed it and she promised to never drink again."

Damn it. That would make convincing her to drink from me nearly impossible.

"Yara," I said softly, rubbing her leg. "It gets worse. You'll have to drink to stop the pain. The sooner you do it, the less you'll have to suffer."

"No," Yara argued, flipping over to face me. "The pain will stop. If I get through this without drinking, then I'll never want to drink again."

"Ha! Who told you that?" Dina asked.

"Treygan."

"How would he know how it works?" Dina snarled.

Dina and I both knew Treygan had experienced cravings firsthand when we were kids.

"Trust me," Dina lied, "the pain doesn't stop, and you'll always crave another drink." From behind Yara's back she winked at me and tossed the wet towel in my lap. "I'm not hanging around to watch you wither in pain, but I will give you an easy way to make it stop."

In true selkie style, Dina grabbed me so fast I didn't have time to react. She dug one of her claws into my forearm and tore open a long gash. Blood flowed instantly.

Yara looked frenzied. She licked her lips, but turned away. "Get it away from me!"

I covered the gash with the towel and curled up behind her, wrapping my non-bleeding arm around her waist.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I hated seeing her in such agony. "I should've warned you what was in my fridge. You shouldn't be going through this."

"I feel like I'm gonna puke," she groaned.

"I know, but you won't." I pulled her wet hair off of her face. She was already trembling. Treygan couldn't have told her everything or she wouldn't have agreed to stay at our party. She wouldn't be speaking to me, much less allowing me or Dina to take care of her. But he had discussed our blood habits with her. Did
she
figure out she drank blood, or did one of the other merfreaks? "Did the first time make you sick?"

She shook her head. "It made me laugh."

"Then why are you so against drinking again?"

"Because it's disgusting."

"What's so disgusting about it? It's our way of sharing ourselves with each other."

She looked over her shoulder at me, almost shivering. "You
drink blood
."

"You eat food."

Her teeth were chattering. "What's that g-got to do with anything?"

"You eat to survive. Food provides you with energy. I've seen you eat hamburgers and steak. Are you denying there was ever blood in that meat? That you absorb the life force of the animal that died so you can stay nourished?"

She gaped at me with dilated pupils.

"What we do isn't nearly as bad," I continued. "We share. We don't kill or eat each other. We share blood to make others stronger, healthier, happier, or to feel loved. Our soul's energy carries through our blood the same way merfolks' does by sight. We're no worse than you, just different."

Her eyes flickered to the towel on my arm. A dark red patch seeped through it. Thirst shined in her eyes, but she shook her head. "No. I'm a mermaid, not a selkie." She brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "If I drink again I'll have to drink forever."

Not forever
, I thought. The Triple Eighteen was less than two weeks away—a reminder that I couldn't take no for an answer.

"Selkie instincts are in your blood. You'll always have cravings." This was it. I had to tell her. I wasn't sure if she heard me, so I put my lips against her ear. "Yara, your father was a selkie."

Her head snapped around so fast that her chin nailed me in the forehead. "Liar."

"I swear on my life, it's true."

Yara's whimpering and chattering teeth were her only reply.

"He was brave and strong," I said quietly. "I had nothing but respect for him."

Tears welled in her eyes. "Y-y-you knew my dad?"

"Yes. Before he turned human and moved away."

For a second she looked like she was about to ask something, but then her chest jerked forward and she gasped. "Owww! W-w-what was that?"

"What was what?"

"It felt like s-someone electrocuted me."

"It gets worse. Please, let me help you." I slid the towel off my arm and squeezed the wound so fresh blood surfaced. "You can't fight your genes. Seeing you like this kills me."

She wiped at her lips and rubbed the dark circles under her eyes. Her hands shook uncontrollably. "You s-s-swear on V-V-Vienna's soul that my father was a s-selkie?"

"I swear." I lifted my arm. After a long moment of staring she took it in her hands, pulling my bloody gash closer to her mouth and swallowing hard. She leaned forward.

The music stopped and a loud crash outside startled her. Someone shouted her name.

"God dammit!" I jumped up from my seat. We kept this party location top secret. How did he find us? When I walked out of the cabana and saw Treygan surrounded by forty angry selkies, I covered my bleeding arm and cursed under my breath.

Talk about the worst possible timing.

O
nce I saw Rownan step out of the cabana I didn't need to ask where Yara was. I pushed my way through the crowd, but Jack grabbed my arm before I reached my son-of-a-psycho brother.

"This party is invitation only," Jack said.

I glared at his hand. "Take it off of me before I turn it to stone." He let go instantly. I could feel and hear the crowd gathering behind me. "Tell your minions to back off."

Rownan stepped closer to me. "Your threats don't work on me, Treygan."

"I'll petrify Jack in your place."

"You wouldn't," he snarled.

"Try me."

"She wants to be here. She's free to make her own decisions."

"Then why did you send Nixie to kidnap her?" I shouldered my way past him and into the cabana.

Yara was balled up in a lounge chair, dripping sweat and shaking.

"How bad is it?" I asked, kneeling in front of her.

"M-my d-dad was a s-s-selkie?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you."

Her bloodshot eyes wouldn't focus, and her blotchy cheeks weren't just from being sick. She was crying. Her shaking worsened.

"I'm getting you out of here." I started to gather her in my arms.

"No! I w-want blood. It's who I am."

"No, it's not." I held her face in my hands. "
You
decide who you are. I don't give a damn who your father was. We make our own choices, and you can fight this. If you drink from one of them, they win."

"W-w-win w-what?"

"I should have told you everything sooner, and I promise I'll explain, but I have to get you away from here. Please, trust me."

"Y-y-you left me."

"I had to keep my distance from you today. I'll explain that too, but you're getting worse. We need to go."

The selkies jabbered outside. The longer we stayed here, the more time they would have to come up with a plan to stop me, but I refused to leave here without Yara. I didn't want to petrify anyone, but I would to save Yara. Her eyes opened and closed slowly, then she sat up, looking like it took every ounce of strength she had. I leaned down to pick her up but she limply pushed me away again.

"I can w-walk. Not help-l-l-less."

She was in no condition to stand, but I let her try anyway. When her knees gave out I caught her and lifted her into my arms. "I know you're not helpless, but now is not the time to be stubborn." I pushed through the slit in the white curtains and stepped into a sea of drunken selkies.