Austin’s face burned at Liam’s tone. “You’re the right age, and—”
“Excuse me?” For the first time in his life, Austin heard genuine emotion in Liam’s voice. He peeled back and was astounded to see Liam staring at him, offended. Austin was so amazed at the display of emotion that he forgot to be upset by Liam’s rejection.
“How old do you think I am?”
Austin stared up. Even with the blue glows, things like fine lines and smaller details were hard for him to pick out. There was no substitute for true daylight. “Aren’t you like…mid…forties?”
“Mid-forties?”
“Fifty?”
“I’m just gone thirty-two!” Liam looked down at himself, but then his gaze flicked up, and he narrowed his eyes at Austin. He wasn’t meeting his eyes so much as studying them.
Austin was doing the math. Liam had to have been twenty? Twenty-one? When he started at the lab. That was far younger than Austin had thought.
“Given that I wasn’t fathering any kids when I was eleven, no, I’m not, like, your dad. I’m, like…”
“An older brother,” Austin supplied, and immediately loved the idea. Connor got to have a brother who loved him. Now, so did Austin.
“Let’s go then,” Austin said, stepping back. Surprise flashed across Liam’s face, his hand darting up to his ear.
“Your voice,” he said, surprised.
“It can feel nice. If I’m feeling nice,” Austin added with a coy smile. “I want to burn those files.” He stretched out the kinks in his spine as he strode toward the door.
Liam followed with a dry, “Glad I took a bath.” He grabbed the book and put it in a plastic sheath, neat stitching declaring it completely waterproof.
Tristan was on the couch reading his book on sirens when Austin entered. Austin draped himself over the back of the couch and wrapped his arms around Tristan, pressing his cheek to Tristan’s. “Can you carry Liam over for me?” he asked sweetly.
Tristan shut the book and hummed as he rubbed his cheek against Austin’s in return. “Of course.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The moon was high when Austin glimpsed the white of his razorfish shoreline and the shadowy line of his forest. He dove, searching until he found the matriarch. She crawled out from under a large outcrop of rocks, tentacles rising and curling in a friendly greeting. Tristan passed by overhead, tugging a disgruntled Liam by the hand.
Moments later, Tristan swooped down, offering her a fish he’d caught mere seconds before. The matriarch took it and scuttled back beneath her rock. Austin let out a pleased hum and swam towards the shore. He focused on compressing his spine, on calmness, on what it felt like to take steps, and—there. His silver tail became legs.
Liam stood on the shore, feet safely tucked into boots, shivering. He had the vague outline of a drowned rat. Austin stopped knee-deep and turned around.
Tristan’s head was above water, far out from shore.
“Are you not coming in?” Austin asked.
A frustrated sound carried across the water.
“I don’t think he can,” Liam said. “I don’t think he can talk, either.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have no idea how any of this works,” Liam said. He shrugged off his wet sweater and offered it to Austin. “Here.”
Austin remained where he was. “You really can’t come in?” A distinctly unhappy note came through in his voice. Tristan released an agitated growl. He shook his head. Austin stood there, stumped. That put his plans to show Tristan around thoroughly out of reach. A frustrated growl of his own broke through. “Fine.” He glanced over his shoulder at Liam. “Go in ahead. I’m going to show Tristan around my territory before sending him off.”
Liam folded the sweater he’d been offering over his arm. “Alright.”
Austin ventured back into the water, legs becoming a tail more easily than his tail had become legs. He swam right up to Tristan and butted his forehead against the merman’s temple, irritated. “You should have mentioned that earlier. I’ve seen Goldilocks and Adonis walking around on legs over here just fine,” he added.
A small growl rose from Tristan. He bumped Austin’s temple with his forehead in return, though far gentler.
