Page 75 of Seas the Reckoning

“No doubt well away from the councilman’s estate by now, and back to doing whatever it is a god does,” Jackal says.

I’m sure he has quite a few things to occupy his time, and I’ll have to think of an appropriate way to thank the deity.

“Does anyone know if gods like gift baskets?” I wonder aloud.

We scan the docks, but unsurprisingly, I don’t see a whale bobbing in the shallow waters.

“Let me give Malcolm a call,” I say, pulling my cell phone from the bust of my dress. It’s early, but there are already multiple people milling around, and we’re drawing attention.

Even if Councilman Taylor doesn’t find us before we leave, he’ll probably be able to trace us to the docks. Two women in wedding dresses will stand out.

Malcolm picks up the call.

“Leena! Make it all right? Cannon and I are ready to fly out there if you need backup.”

I smile as I hear the bite in the leopard seal shifter’s voice. He’s practically part of the family, and the protectiveness goes both ways. If anything happened to Cannon and him, I’d go wherever was needed. But Grammy said to trust our instincts, and mine are telling me we need to keep moving at the moment instead of waiting for reinforcements.

Which is saying something, since my intrusive thoughts have been yelling that everyone is probably going to drown inside a whale.

“Thank you, Malcolm, but I think we need to stay on the move for now. Your friend is ready?”

“All set. Don’t worry about a fee. Firstly, he owes me one. And secondly, Cannon and I paid him. Who knew a dating app could be so lucrative? Adulting, huh?”

His voice is cheery, and I sincerely hope that the two of them are using some of those funds to enjoy themselves.

“We’re also investing in some cybersecurity-related courses to further our careers and make sure we can keep our users safe,” he says, as if he can guess what I’m thinking.

I shake my head.

My little brother and his significant other, responsible adults.

“I’m really proud of you guys. Which I know may sound odd since I’m not your big sister. But I am.”

“Thanks, Leen,” he says, using my brother’s nickname for me. If I don’t miss my mark, his voice sounds choked on the other end. I may have struck an emotional chord. “That means a lot. I didn’t really have a strong tie to other people before meeting Cannon—and then the rest of you.”

Just like Ji-hwan, and Keegan. We’ve formed our own little family of outcasts or misfits or just people who aren’t great at making deep connections beyond the surface level.

Speaking of which.

“How deep into the water are we going to need to go to find a whale? Should we be renting scuba gear?”

As a dive instructor, I’m comfortable with the idea to an extent. I can go without the gear at all. But I’m not looking forward to outfitting Starla and Ji-hwan, and I’m not fully convinced Exos wouldn’t sink like the rock he is if we end up somewhere that the waves affect his ability to fly.

Malcolm laughs.

“Oh, you won’t need that. He’ll meet you by the boats.”

He waits a beat and must decide that I’m not going to figure it out on my own.

“He’s a shifter, Leen. He’ll pick you all up as a human in his boat, and then once you’re out beyond prying eyes, he’ll hop off, shift, and you can climb aboard.”

I could slap myself. Of course we’re not traipsing into a whale’s open mouth from shore, or swimming into frigid waters in nothing but our skins.

This entire weekend has done a number on my mental faculties.

“That’s what I was going to tell you when you called. He’s waiting at one of the docks. His name is Thomas, and he’ll be wearing a captain’s hat so you can spot him.”

I find it very hard to believe that even without a hat we’d have a hard time spotting him in the crowd. He’s a whale shifter. Whales are huge. Many shifters are tall, so I can only imagine a whale shifter will tower over the crowd.