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“Hi, De!” trilled the mermaid from the fountain.
He waved at her, then added, “Or you can call me De.”
I shook his hand. Human palms were so dry, and his was warm; it was hardly the smooth, scaly greeting I was used to.
Well, you’re going to have to get used to a lot of new things,I reminded myself. But making friends didn’t have to be one of them.
My mother’s voice sounded sharp in my head.If you want any sort of mate, you’ll have to find him there.
Right. She’d been very clear about whatherbiggest goal for my life was.
I pulled my hand away and tucked it behind my back. Mom might have sent me to Slaymore with the hope of me finding a mate, but that wasn’t why I’d agreed to come.
I was here to get my degree and get out.
Guys were just another type of nonsense and a distraction from my real goal. I was here to become a scholar of Marine Mythology.
Oh, and also to prove to the world that Krakens were civilized shepherds of the ocean and not the monstrous killers legends made us out to be.
“Did you get your room assignment yet?” Amadeus was asking. “Roommates and first semester classes—those are the biggest things. Though if you’re really into sports—”
He was still smiling… and glowing. Were all humans this bright? Or was this something special to him, to his powers? What was he?
“I’m fine,” I interrupted his friendly ramble, a little more coldly than I’d intended. “I don’t need anything.”
That got Amadeus to stop talking, though his smile didn’t falter. Why didn’t he think I was rude?
He scratched the back of his neck. “When I saw the car pull up, I was curious. And, well, you looked a little lost.”
“I don’t need help,” I mumbled.
“I’d be happy to carry your bag,” he offered.
We looked down at my Samsonite suitcase. Everything inside it I’d bought yesterday after coming ashore. Funnily enough, things that thrived in the Deep didn’t do so well on dry land.
The only thing I’d brought from home was the gold cuff on my wrist that suppressed my powers and my true form. My suitcase held a week’s worth of clothes and toiletries, and I could lift it with a finger.
Which I did.
“I’ve got it.” I offered him my best shot at a smile, something that definitely needed practice, and started toward the mansion’s front door.
Walking out of his sphere felt like going from day to night. The air around me seemed colder and darker, and I felt alone. But I didn’t turn around, not wanting him to know he’d affected me.
Judging by the mermaid’s enthusiastic greeting, Golden Boy probably had this effect on a lot of people.
“Do you know where you’re going?” he called after me.
“Close enough!” I shouted over my shoulder.
Pushing on the mansion’s creaking front door, I barely kept from rolling my eyes at the cliché. Cool air brushed past me.
“She’s just up the stairs—” Amadeus shouted from behind me.
Stepping inside, the door closed, and his voice was silenced.
I was acting like I had a stiff tentacle up my butt, and he probably thought I was an arse. But I wasn’t here to make friends, and if everyone left me alone, it would make studying easier.
And I definitely wasn’t here to get married, no matter what Mom said.
