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I heave out a breath.
“Let’s just go.”
“Come with me if you want to live,” Skarlyt says, making her voice deeper and pushing her hands out toward both Kristle and me.
“Oh, I loveCasper.” Kristle giggles, looking young for the first time since I met her.
“Return my daughter in one piece,” Narissa warns.
“Tomorrow night,” I agree. “If, for whatever reason, we will be delayed, I’ll call you on that phone.”
“Buckle up, buttercups. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Skarlyt giggles, making Kristle’s eyes go wide with fear. I’m about to tell her that she was just kidding, but don’t get thechance as we disappear from the living room, landing in the small village we have claimed for ourselves.
“Pearl!” My younger sister, Aqua, rushes toward me. I let go of Skar’s hand just in time to wrap my arms around her, giving her a soft kiss on the head. Even at twenty-two, she still greets me the way she did when she was a little girl.
“Hi, pip-squeak,” I say, hugging her back fiercely.
She steps back, wrinkling her nose in distaste at my nickname for her.
“When are you going to stop calling me that?”
“Never,” I tell her, booping her on the nose. “Kristle, I’d like you to meet my baby sister, Aqua. Aqua, this is my new friend Kristle.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kristle says, giving a small bow that is customary among sea nymphs.
“No need to bow to me. Pearl is the closest thing to a pod mother we have,” Aqua explains, waving her off and jutting out her hand to shake.
“Pod mother?” Skarlyt interrupts, looking at me with betrayal written all over her face. “When were you going to tell me? This whole time, I’ve been talking to your father about decision making. No wonder he always tells me he will get back to me. He probably has to talk to you about it first!”
“It’s not like that,” I begin, earning a scoff from both Kristle and Aqua. “Okay, it is kind of like that. It’s practically unheard of to have a pod mother as young as I am. I shouldn’t become a leader for many, many more years.”
“But youarethe leader?” Skarlyt probes, and I dip my chin in acknowledgment.
Pods are led by matriarchs—the oldest woman in the pod who is willing to accept the responsibility. However, I am only the eldest in my pod because of the disasters we have suffered.For now, I am happy to let my father shoulder some of the responsibilities.
Skarlyt seems personally offended by the fact that I never told her I was in charge. Her diatribe includes hurt that she’s been the “only woman” in all these meetings with stinky alphas, but we both know that’s not true. The alpha couples here share their power, and the women are often more aggressive than the men.
It’s clear to me that she’s really just upset there was something she didn’t know. Skarlyt is a lot of things: in charge, curious, intelligent, and foolhardy. She isn’t often unaware, so it probably stings.
“Skarlyt,” I say firmly, interrupting her.
“What?”
“I know you’re upset, but I only have twenty-four hours to show Kristle around before I have to bring her back.”
“Okay, but this isn’t over,” she warns, popping away. She’s probably going to complain to Phoebe. And probably Rayne. And Drusilla.
In fact, I’ll probably be cornered by everyone on the island about this by tomorrow night.
Ugh. I scrape my hand down my face.
“All right…” I begin at the same time Kristle lets out a huge yawn.
Even though it’s first thing in the morning here, it is nighttime back in Australia. She’s probably tired. “How about a quick swim around the island and then you can sleep for a bit before I give you the full tour?” I ask, altering my plans.
She agrees and Aqua, Kristle, and I head out to swim. We pass the rest of our small pod as we go, but I forego overwhelming her with introductions. Still, she looks them over curiously.
Each man we pass has to pick his jaw up off the floor as we pass, but it’s when we get to Mizu that it gets really interesting. Before we are close enough to speak to my cousin, Kristle and he pause, not breaking eye contact.
