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I take a small step forward, raising my hands once again.
“I mean no disrespect to you and no harm to your pod. I came to offer you a place of safety amongst my people.”
Someone scoffs. I look around and guess it was Marea based on the skeptical look on her face.
“There is no safety,” Narissa says simply. “Not anymore.”
“There is. I can prove it.”
“If it’s true…” Kelda whispers, looking at Narissa.
“It’s not.” The matriarch sounds decided. “There is nowhere safe. There is only death and destruction in this world.”
“While you are correct for the most part, my pod has found a safe haven, along with many other types of supernaturals.”
“That is not a safe haven as long as there are other supernaturals,” Narissa says adamantly, and I internally curse myself.
I hadn’t planned on mentioning the other supernaturals yet because I know most sea nymphs don’t socialize outside of our own kind. I’ve theorized that our lack of socialization with other species is the reason why true mate pairings amongst our kind are rare and our female birth rate is drastically lower than that of other species.
“Listen, like you, I was raised to be wary of other supernaturals and learned that being safe meant only socializing with our kind. But it wasn’t a sea nymph who saved me from the hunters. It wasn’t a sea nymph who healed me. It wasn’t a sea nymph who gave me a home away from the carnage that the humans have brought upon themselves.” I use my eyes to plead with the group. I can see a few with hope shining on their faces. Whether or not they believe me, I can tell they want what I am saying to be true.
“This is going to sound crazy. But there’s this island.”
“An island?” Narissa says, unbelief clear in her tone.
“Yes. It’s called…” I pause, deciding against getting into the whole name thing. “You know what? It doesn’t matter what it’s called. What matters is that it’s the home of all different types of supernaturals who live in harmony.”
“Can we go?” Summer asks, turning to her pod mother. Autumn and Spring quickly follow suit.
“This may be our last chance, sister,” Marea whispers the warning.
“What proof do you have?” Narissa asks, and I breathe out a sigh of relief that I seem to be getting through to them.
“Do you have a cell phone I can borrow?” I ask. If I can call Matt, he’ll have a way to prove it to them.
“Why?” That single question, paired with the look on Narissa’s face, tells me I have pushed them back into suspicion.
“I need to contact a friend of mine who is on the island. He can send you proof.”
Narissa scoffs.
“So they can come and attack us? No. Absolutely not.”
“They would never attack you. I trust this friend with my life. His mate saved me from the hunters.”
Of course, I don’t say that she also gave me to the hunters. Even though I know the choice was not her own, I doubt the women in front of me would understand that.
All eyes turn to Narissa, waiting for her verdict. Although they will not speak against her, the women of her pod have fearful hope in their eyes. I watch her closely and see the moment she realizes she lost.
“Fine.” Narissa lets out a heavy sigh. “She can use one of the burner phones.” The Seasons and Coral and Cordelia squeal in delight, the latter rush off through the house, presumably to grab the phone.
“You might as well come in then,” Narissa says, turning and walking deeper into the house. Not wanting to give her the chance to change her mind, I leave the safety of the entryway and follow her.
The house is open and extremely clean despite having so many people living in it. A large painting on the wall catches my eye as we walk through the living room. It’s a very realistic painting of waves crashing out on the reef, capturing the perfect aquas, blues, and greens.
“Who painted that?” I ask, turning to Kristle.
She gets a sad look on her face as she turns to face the painting.
