“Did you finally speak to your dad?” Jeff didn’t bother with hello; he rarely did. “How’d he take it?" He slapped Malachi hard between the shoulders.
Malachi lurched forward with a hiss, grinding his teeth as the pain flared. Jeff didn’t notice. Of course he didn’t. Jeff never noticed discomfort unless it was his own. Ally clocked it, though. He studied Malachi with narrowed eyes, then held out a croissant, still warm from the oven, stuffed with bacon and cheese. Ally’s family had been up since dawn, baking fresh breads and pastries in time for the breakfast rush.
Malachi shook his head. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday, but the smell made his stomach churn. Normally it would’ve been eaten in several bites.
Ally’s jaw dropped. Malachi turning down food was unheard of.
Jeff scoffed. “Are you joining Ally on a diet now, too?”
Malachi didn’t answer. Impatience simmered in his chest. Jeff’s voice scraped against his nerves, every word a reminder of how easy things still were for him. How uncomplicated his plan to simply up and leave Latharna was.
Silence hung in the air.
The morning was calm; the tide was on its way out. A golden glow reflected off the sea as the sun rose higher. The view was beautiful. It should’ve soothed him. All he could think about was what lived beneath the water. The Selkie.
He swallowed hard, jaw tightening. He understood the need for secrecy. But sitting here, between the friends he’d grown up with, it felt wrong. Cowardly. If something from the Otherworld hurt Ally or Jeff—if he stayed silent and let it happen—his fingers curled into his sleeves. He wouldn’t forgive himself.
“You bottled it, didn’t you?” Jeff cut in, sawing straight through Malachi’s thoughts. His mouth twisted with contempt. “Again.”
“I’m not going.” Malachi kept his voice steady, bracing himself for Jeff’s fury. “Things have changed. My dad needs me.”
“Changed?” Jeff exploded. He shot to his feet, trainers scraping hard against the stone as he jumped onto the path. “Your dad hasn’t needed you once in your life. He wouldn’t notice if you left without even saying goodbye. What?—”
“Hey!” Ally stepped in to break Jeff’s momentum. Always the peacemaker. He hated confrontation, but wasn’t afraid to call someone out when they crossed the line.
“Stay outta this, Aloysius,” Jeff hissed, jabbing his finger into Ally’s shoulder. “You know I’m right!” He swung back to Malachi. “So what bullshit did he come up with to make you change your mind?”
Malachi exhaled a slow breath through his nose. He didn’t bite. But the effort of holding it in was sharper than the pain in his ribs. He couldn’t leave Latharna, not anymore, not knowing what he knew. His fingers found a frayed tasselon his hoodie and twisted it, over and over, while his gaze fixed on the sea.
“Are you stoned or something?” Jeff paced, agitation vibrating off him. “What did he say to you?
Malachi didn’t answer. The waves rolled in and pulled back out again, steady and indifferent. Jeff’s voice rose and fell behind him like static.
He never really understood Jeff’s obsession with them leaving together. Leaving was Jeff’s dream and Malachi got swept up in it mostly because he had nothing of his own. Drifting behind Jeff was better than standing still and being ignored at home.
“He needs you to work at the shop, selling plastic crap,” Jeff sneered, dismissing The Wolf’s Den to its most basic function. “Come on, Mal. You’re better than that.”
Malachi’s mouth twisted. A backhanded compliment, delivered with knuckles.
The waves brushed softly against the wall below them. Tiredness washed over him. Closing his eyes, he thought of bed and the sleep that had been eluding him for the past week. The Selkie flashed into his mind, sharp teeth and those cold blue eyes. What other creatures from the Otherworld lived on Latharna?
For the first time, Jeff didn’t feel big, or intimidating.
Dad’s face surfaced, haunted, but finally honest. Malachi wasn’t sure he would’ve done anything differently in his place. That thought surprised him more than anything else.
Jeff drew in a breath, recalibrating. His tone had shifted—softer now, the way it always did when brute force failed. “We were going to travel the world.” His smile didn’t reach his hard eyes. “There’s nothing for us here. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can really start living…”
When all else failed, emotional manipulation came through. Jeff wasn’t taking no for an answer, but Malachi was done with falling into line.
“I just don’t want to go anymore.” Malachi rolled his shoulders, a small, noncommittal movement, and looked back out to sea. He didn’t meet Jeff’s eyes. Didn’t rise to the bait. Just let the words fall flat between them.
Below, the waves crashed hard against the wall. Malachi leaned forward and glanced down. Water slapped the stone inches beneath their feet, cold spray misting the air. That only happened during storms.
His muscles tightened. Something pricked at the back of his neck—the unmistakable sensation of being watched. He scanned the water, heart beating faster, but whatever it was stayed just out of sight.
Jeff kept ranting, oblivious, as usual, to anything that didn’t directly impact him. Ally nodded along beside them, not agreeing but acknowledging, always trying to keep the peace.
“There’s stuff going on that I can’t explain.” Malachi wasn’t about to betray his family, not to appease Jeff’s temper. “You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.”
