“I put it in your sock drawer,” Briar said.When Kieran glanced back at her, it occurred to him that everyone sitting there was in the middle of eating lunch.From the looks of it, Santiago had whipped up some of his classic paella, which explained the pleasant spicy scent in the air.Almost instantly, Kieran’s stomach growled.
“Wh-what about Hattie and the spirit?”Kieran asked.
“Hattie was doing a ritual when we left to honor all the souls you released from the lake,” Delilah explained.“It sounded like they’d been trapped down there with the spirit for a while now.Once you removed the Hilt, they all floated to the surface and vanished.”
Kieran thought back to the lake.“Is that what all those little fish monsters were?Ghosts?”
Delilah repeated, “Fish monsters?”
“Oh, right.Long story.”Kieran waved a hand as if to dismiss the thought.“I’ll tell you later.And the spirit?”
For whatever reason, at the mention of the spirit, Santiago rolled his eyes melodramatically.Ariel covered their mouth with a hand to stifle laughter, while Delilah bit back a smile.
Before anyone could explain their reactions, Kieran heard a series of little chirps from down the hall.He turned just in timeto see a small, scaled otter creature bounding toward him.It was about the size of a house cat, with a long, thick tail that moved like a serpent.The spirit took a running leap, and Kieran barely had time to hold out his arms before it landed in his embrace and nuzzled him under the chin.
“She jumped into the rowboat right after you passed out,” Sebastian explained.“Hissed at me every time I tried to move her.Looks like you have a new friend.”
The spirit chirped again as Kieran absently scratched her under the chin.She had no scales there—just short, velvety fur.“But what about Raven’s Roost?Isn’t the lake spirit supposed to grant their wishes?”
“Doesn’t seem like she wants to do that anymore,” Delilah said.She came to Kieran’s side and gently patted the spirit between the shoulder blades.“Right, bud?”
The spirit chirped excitedly, pressing her forehead against Kieran’s breastbone.
His eyebrows furrowed.He’d never had a pet before, much less one that was a former lake monster and wish granter.He had no idea how to care for her, but then again, she seemed both sentient and powerful enough to do that for herself.Maybe she just needed a friend.Kieran could certainly use more.
“Well,” he said, “I guess we’ll have to think of a name for you if you’re going to be traveling with us, hmm?How about…”
“Seaweed?”Briar joked, gesturing to the red marks on Kieran’s neck.
“Perhaps a bit dark,” Santiago started.“Although, accurate in that that creaturekilled dozens of townsfolk—”
“Oh, come on,” Delilah argued, wagging a finger in the spirit’s direction as if tempting her to pounce on it.“She was all mixed up because of the Hilt’s magic—she wasn’t in her right mind.I don’t think she’d hurt a fly now.”
“You don’t know that,” Santiago argued, shooting the creature a look.“Best-case scenario, that creature is going to creep into our beds at night and eat our toes.I don’t want to consider the worst case—”
“As long as we stay on her good side, I suspect we’ll be fine.”Kieran chuckled.“Right, Seaweed?”
The spirit nuzzled closer to Kieran.She made a noise somewhere between a cat’s purr and a squeak, and Kieran added, “Aw!See?We’re friends now.”
“Fine,” Santiago grumbled, “but I’m not feeding it, and when it gets peckish for toes, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Anyway,” Ariel said, drawing the group’s focus away from their new friend, “we’re heading south toward the Mirrorveil Woods now—it should take us a week and a half to get there.”
“Any sign of Elias’s mercenaries?”Kieran asked.
Ariel shook their head.“Not since the lake.Sebastian’s cutting the fuel lines on those boats meant they were still trapped out there when we left.Gave us a great head start.”
Kieran offered Sebastian a small smile.“Thanks for that.”
“Of course.Anything to slow Elias down.”Sebastian nodded, his eyes once again drifting to Kieran’s bare chest before snapping back up to meet his eyes.“Hopefully, it…helps.”
Seaweed hopped out of Kieran’s arms, exposing his torso again.Well,he thought, glancing down at his slim form and nearly hairless chest,this has been properly humiliating.
He cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest.“In that case, I might just…go get dressed.”
Delilah held out the ice bags.“Take these.You were shivering when we first brought you back, hence the hot bath, but if you’ve warmed up enough, you should really give them a try.”
“Thank you, Delilah,” Kieran said as he took the bags.“You’re a lifesaver.I’ll, uh, be back shortly.Ideally, a bit more decent.”
