After a ridiculously long time, she looked back at me, eyebrow arched. I knew she was hoping to goad me into exploding into anger once more. I refused the impulse. Easily.
“What we were discussing, Brett, is a hunt.”With that, she reached out and plucked another morsel out of the assortment.
I looked over at Zef and then the other mermaid who Syleen seemed to consult. Neither acknowledged my presence. I avoided Therin’s gaze, as if he would be looking at me anyway. I almost turned to Lelas, but it seemed I’d gotten her into enough trouble.“Okay, Syleen. You were discussing a hunt. What does that have to do with me?”
To my surprise, she didn’t make me wait on a response. Maybe the games were over.“There was some discourse as to the merit of your presence at a hunt.”
I wanted to ask what a hunt entailed, but I didn’t want to seem any more ignorant than I already did. Still, I didn’t know what to ask or what the correct or safest response would be. I waited.
I was nearly ready to begin questioning again when Syleen finally spoke up. Maybe I would get more out of her if I played her power games, at least to a point.“While we were split on the issue, I was inclined that you should accompany the hunters in the morrow.”She daintily took yet another bite. I waited for her to chew and swallow.“I suppose you may have some input into the situation. What are your thoughts? Do you think you are able to contribute something to this tribe? Is taking part in a hunt a quest in which you are willing to partake?”
Nothing like asking leading questions. There was no way of refusing without seeming a coward or leech on the tribe.“Count me in.”
“Very well.”Without further acknowledgment, she returned to her food and left me in the silence of my own thoughts. After a while, one by one, the other mers returned to their places in the circle and continued to feast. Maybe I was more aware of them than I had been before, but their eyes kept darting to me every few seconds. Out of curiosity or fear of me exploding, I wasn’t sure. Maybe they were getting their fill of me while they had the chance—before the hunt.
Unsure why, trepidation filled me, leaving me cold and a bit nauseous. I wasn’t exactly sure what Syleen meant by a hunt, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a good thing. Especially if she had been one of the ones who had been advocating my participation. I didn’t see her volunteering me for a fun little jaunt into the open sea to gather up crustaceans.
Even as I felt the fear tingle through me, I couldn’t help but wonder at myself. What was I afraid of? If the witches were right, and I was even more sure they were with the everlasting mer blood in my veins, I was destined to live forever. I couldn’t be killed. Right? Why was I nervous? And even if they were wrong and I could die, wouldn’t that be good news? Wasn’t that what I wanted?
As the anxiety ate away at my appetite, I tried to distract myself by finally taking in the rest of the tribe, as much as I could without obviously inspecting everyone. There seemed to be roughly the same ratio of mermaids to mermen. The majority looked to be in their mid to late twenties or early thirties, with a couple of outliers seeming a bit older than Lelas and a few that appeared in their early forties, about the same as Syleen. A quick glance around the crowd revealed them to look nearly like any typical group of humans. A couple were in the realm of being stunningly beautiful and a few rather unfortunate-looking. Most, however, looked like a bunch of soccer moms and dads you’d run into at the grocery store. Well, except for the mother-of-pearl luminescence that shimmered from the skin as the flickers from the sunset above darted across their faces. There were tails of every color imaginable, but over half of them were various hues from the blue, purple, and green families.
I’m sure they noticed me inspecting them, but it didn’t seem like most of them minded. In fact, it appeared that many of them were returning the favor. Combined with my mounting fear of the hunt, it was all I could do to not dart away to my hut.
Maybe to combat my nerves or maybe to just piss Syleen off, I stayed until the majority of the group was gone. Only after Syleen had swum away did I give in to my fear and enter my dwelling.
Twelve
BRETT WRIGHT
Lelas’shand tentatively waving through the kelp strands made me laugh and instantly lessened the ever-tightening ring of fear around my stomach that had been growing in the past hours since the meal.
Pulling my arms through the water with one motion, I crossed the width of the hut and pulled the seaweed apart.
Lelas swept through. She swam partway across the space before she turned around. Given mer boundary issues, she may have well been across the meadow from me.
“You okay?”
Her eyes widened, and she raised her hand over her heart.“Am I okay? Oh, Brett, I was concerned over you! Are you all right? I am most sorry.”
I waited where I was. I wasn’t sure what she was comfortable with at this moment.“Sorry about what?”
She shook her head, as if clearing away a tidal wave of thoughts, before she replied.“That I looked at you. If I had kept my eyes where they needed to be, you would not have been pulled into a conversation of which you were not yet to be invited.”
“But Lelas, it was about me. I’m glad you looked at me. Otherwise, I’d have no idea they were talking about me. Who knows when they would have told me about the hunt. Maybe not until they came to get me and tell me we were going.”
“Still, it was not my place. I should hate to be the cause of tension between you and Syleen.”
“You know as well as I do that was there way before you looked at me. Way before tonight. That has nothing to do with you.”
She didn’t respond. Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine as they darted around the space, landing anywhere but near me. Her shoulders were slumped, and her face was once again mostly hidden behind her short curtain of blonde hair.
“Come on, Lelas, you look so sad. There’s nothing to be upset about. I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”I floated closer to her.“Plus, didn’t you hear? Syleen actually said my name.”
She looked up at me then, and I could see the hint of a smile behind her hair.“I believe she is warming to you.”
I let out another laugh at that.“I wouldn’t go that far, but it is an improvement.”
Her quasi smile faded.“So, I am forgiven?”
