River shrugged again.“Don’t know what else to tell you, man.The pub serves coffee, and it’s open by now.”
That was good to know, but I was more focused on the fact that Selina was not in her shop.If she wasn’t there, where was she?
One thing everyone in this town knew—except Daruka—was that Selina held grudges.And she always got her revenge.
Oh, shit.
“Thanks, River,” I managed before sprinting down the block toward my bed and breakfast.Halfway there, the ground rattled under my feet.
I glanced down, like that was going to tell me anything.
Two tremors in less than a week was unusual, sure, but it didn’t mean the world was about to end.It just meant the rocks this place was built on were settling.
Daruka would not see it that way, not without me there to reassure her.She was running from something.I had no idea what, but those first tremors had spooked her enough that I knew she might consider turning tail and leaving town again after this second shiver.
Even if she wasn’t speaking to me, I didn’t want her to leave, to no longer be in my life.
Hell, last night, when she bolted upstairs and then refused to come out of her room, I went wandering around town and learned that the new yoga studio had a massive saltwater pool out back.Since it was run by a selkie, all yoga classes were done in the water.Made sense, and I couldn’t wait for Daruka to start talking to me again so I could tell her this good news.
Did I dote on her?
Yes, yes I did.
Did I see myself backing off any time soon?
Nope.
Speaking of which, I should quit dawdling and get the hell upstairs,.If Selina wasn’t at her shop, she might very well be in my bed and breakfast, picking a fight with Daruka.All jokes about a witch and a mermaid walking into a bar aside, I really did not want to find out who might win in a battle between those two.
I barreled into Krishna at the base of the stairs.Poor kid fell flat on his ass.
In my defense, he was, like, half my height and easy to miss.
“Shit, sorry, man.”I offered a hand and pulled him to his feet.
He glanced at my other hand.“Where’s her coffee?”
“Coffee shop’s closed.Have you been here the entire time?No sign of Selina?”
“No one has come through here since you left.But I suppose you just justified her fears.”He sighed.
“What fears?”
Krishna flapped his arm at the staircase behind him.“That’s why Daruka’s been hiding.She knew Selina would come after her eventually.Selina always gets her man.”
Selina always gets her—what?Where did Krishna come up with these things?
Wait.Daruka was hiding from Selina—not me?
That certainly perked me up.
No, I should not be thrilled about this.I’d just expressed my own worry about Selina confronting Daruka.
But, yeah, I was really relieved that she wasn’t dodgingme.
“Thanks, mate,” I said, patting Krishna on the back before striding up the staircase.“I’ll take it from here.”
“Where are you going?”he asked, practically running to keep up with my long strides.
