“I’m certain you will. And that person will be truly goddess-blessed to have you as their mate.” She smiled and we hugged some more. There was no such thing as too many hugs in my world. Hugs fixed most things.
After extracting a promise from me to let her know when we returned, Glynda grabbed her coat and dashed out the door. Her parents had insisted on taking her home with them this afternoon, and she still needed to pack.
I sat down with my coffee and sipped the delicious brew while thinking so hard my brain hurt. We needed to leave, but did I even have any cold-weather clothing? Goddess help me, I would freeze!
A loud knock on the door startled me out of my meltdown.
“It’s the merman,” Maverick said with a frown. “Why’s he here?”
“Um, we could ask him.” Without bothering to wait for either of my two males to reply, I scampered over to the door and flung it open, eager to see Kai. I’d glimpsed him when we all assembled in the hall after the demon attack, but he disappeared the minute the headmaster gave us permission to leave.
“You’re okay!” I beamed at him and received a shy smile in return.
“Yes, I am well, Raven.” My gaze snagged on the bag slung over his broad shoulders. He shuffled his feet and said nothing, which made me nervous. Then Maverick appeared behind me, his bulk filling the doorway.
“Can we help you?” I shivered at Maverick’s frosty words. The merman looked up and straightened his spine.
“I’m coming with you.”
“Ooh, what fun!” Zane laughed from somewhere in the background. Maverick gently edged me to one side and glared at the merman.
“Why?”
“Because you’ll need me,” came the merman’s succinct reply.
“Um, how do you know where we’re going and why?” The merman had avoided me for weeks. I folded my arms across my chest, inadvertently pushing my boobs up and out. Kai’s gaze dipped lower before he blushed and his cheeks turned an adorable shade of lilac.
He raked his fingers through his braids. A few moments passed while he considered his next words. Maverick shifted in annoyance behind me, eager for this non-conversation to end, but I kept my feet firmly planted on the deck. The merman had come for a reason. He’d overcome his shyness to be here and have a conversation with me—us. If nothing else, he deserved a few minutes of my time.
And besides, he wassooopretty.
Not that I was looking.
No. No. No.
Zane chuckled from somewhere in the cabin, and I knew he’d picked up on my interest.Stars. I needed to be careful. As a shifter with a horribly keen nose, Maverick would also detect my interest, and that was bad news for all of us.
I didn’t want my bear shifter to tear Kai apart in a fit of jealousy.
“He knows.” Kenji’s snarky voice broke through my mental shield, probably because my concentration had slipped. “Even a blind glow worm could see you’re hot for the fish boy. Have some self-respect, witch. Drooling is unseemly.”
My hand shot up to my mouth before I frowned. “I’m not drooling!”
Kenji snorted. “You may as well be.”
“One of my gifts is future sight.” I jumped at Kai’s words, too busy panicking about drooling all over my sweater.
“And?” Maverick didn’t sound impressed. No surprise there. It took a lot to impress my sexy bear mate.
He slid a brawny arm around my waist and tugged me against his chest. It was the bear equivalent of scent marking his mate. Because yes, he’d definitely picked up on my interest in the merman.
Goddess kill me now; I was a terrible mate.
“Relax, little mate. I’m not mad at you,” he murmured in my ear. “But we do need to talk about the merman.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “And the mage.”Oh.
Kai waited for us to finish whispering before he spoke. “I had a vision where I saw something happen to Raven that I can prevent if I’m there.”
My stomach lurched as a million different,horriblefates flooded my brain. Oh my goddess, was I going to get eaten by a kraken? Torn apart by a shark shifter? Stung to death by a venomous jellyfish?
