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The ocean.We got closer to the water with each long step, and it was almost impossible to be touching someone more than I was touching Barren now.Dammit.Was there a single check mark on my mental list I could actually keep?
“Wait, wait!” My arms fell off his shoulders, frantically pushing against his chest like it would somehow slow him down. “P-put me down. I—”
Pop.
My tail split, the force sending me flailing out of Barren’s arm like a fish bouncing off the side of a great barge in search of its freedom. I braced myself for a sandy landing, but a hand locked around my ankles, and I crashed against a steeled wall of chest muscles. “Oh,” I groaned, rubbing a sore shoulder. “Th-thanks for catching me.” Though I was grateful for the save, I couldn’t help but think that sand might have hurt a little less.
Wait—the sand. We were close enough to the shoreline now that it was turning damp. I scrambled in his arm, pushing off his chest again.
“Let me down,” I squeaked, fighting to jerk an ankle out of his grip. “I—I’m good, see?” I flexed my ankles and wiggled my toes, gesturing pathetically at my feet. If he transformed into a merman now, what would happen? Would he want to use me to get his own kingdom’s trident back first? Would he even take me back to Leander? My voice cracked. “Let me down!”
His hold over me slackened with a shrug of his arm, sending me sliding down his body.
And I… definitely hadn’t thought this through.
The apex of my legs nearly caught itself an eel, and when my feet hit the sand, my chin was level with Barren’s navel.Holy—Why was he such a freaking titan?I jerked back with a groan, swirling around on my heels.
Eyes on the ocean, Claira! The ocean!
I focused out on the water and immediately found Laverne. She was definitely sulking now and had taken to playing dead on her back in the water’s path, dramatically letting wave after wave drape over her.
I buried my face in my hands, thinking about how close I’d come to breaking the promise I’d made to Leander already.
Pop.
The sound caught me completely off guard, and I looked up to a trail of oversized footprints leading to the ocean in the sand. My neck searched to the left, then to the right, but Barren was gone. Had he transformed into a betta fish?
A flood of panic worked through me as I sprung down the beach, following the craters his feet had left in the sand. If the undertow got him, there was no way I’d be able to save him. “Laverne!” I called out, though my focus never left the spot where Barren’s footprints abruptly ended. “Laverne, help me! Barren went out into the ocean, and I need you to—”
“Focus on your tail and come into the water.”
Words knocked around in my head, and the feeling of impatience that accompanied them nearly turned my legs into jelly. Barren could project his words into my head just like other sea life could?
“Where are you?” I called, frantically scanning over each wave that rolled in. “You can’t breathe in the water, can you? If you get sucked out there, I—I won’t be able to reach you.”
The next step was the one that did it, and I fell to the shore with apopbut kept moving. Maybe he hadn’t gone far yet. Maybe I still had time to pull him out.
Pull him out?What was I thinking? No, no,Icouldn’t touch him. That just left Laverne, and she was infatuated with Barren, so surely she’d jump at the chance to save him.
My tail felt like lead behind me, but I clawed my way into the waves until the sand was saturated enough to suction my palms.
“Further. You cannot swim without a tail in the water.”
Did he think I was an idiot? Barren sure was uncharacteristically talkative as a fish. Was he unaware of the danger he was in, or did he regularly venture into the ocean as a betta? His voice sounded too steady in my head, too calm.
Waves rolled past my elbows, and I braced my lungs before plunging my head under. A few yards in front of me, a red fish swam near the surface, bobbing along with the overhead tide. He was huge—looking more like a seasoned koi than a betta fish—with a fancy tail that wiggled so fast behind him it looked like it was vibrating. A lone fin steered in the front, paddling just enough to keep one of his bubble eyes focused on me.
“Barren,” I gasped out, and my lungs filled with salt water. “You look—”
“Focus,”he repeated, and my lips sealed. And I thought Leander looked ridiculous as a betta.
I lunged forward, using my arms when the waves ebbed, letting the force help pull me into the ocean. It wasn’t fast, but it worked, and soon my tail slipped underwater. I gulped, silently hoping I’d be able to use the same trick to get back to dry land.
A flash of red zipped past me, and I rested my belly over the sand as I watched him zigzag around.Show off.
“How are you breathing?” I asked, remembering how Leander had struggled as a betta.
“Carefully.”
