Moona saw that Adrian was turning green and frowned. “Oh. Not well at all,Isee.”
“I’m gonna have a panic attack, Moona.” It was true: his heart was beating so fast he swore it would burst out of his chest andswimaway.
“There’s no need for all that,” Moona said. “Come on. Let’sditch.”
Adrian yanked at his hair. He wanted to, but… this birthday meant more than all the others, especially to his father. But would it really be so bad to skip out on his ownparty?
Adrian opened the doors and peeked around the corner. He could hear his father laughing boisterously with a group of mermen that he could swear must be partwhale.
His father wasn’t even paying attention to him. He wouldn’t know that he was gone. Adrian had seven days after the party to pick a queen. He could put it off… just one morenight.
“Okay. I’m coming, before they start looking for me.” Adrian swam round the back and squeezed through a tiny window in the kitchen he’d been slipping out of since he knew how to swim. He met Moona outside, and she pressed herself against him when they joinedagain.
“Where do you want to go?” she asked as Adrian kept hisheaddown.
Adrian shimmied out of the stuffy shirt and threw it aside. “Anywhere but here. All right. Celer, let’s get out of here.Celer?”
Moona and Adrian turned around. Celer had his head pressed up against the window, small bubbles flitting out of his nostrils as he looked inside withwideeyes.
“Babes…” Celer said in a delusion, staring through the window with an openmouth.
“Oh, forget him.” Adrian waved a hand his seahorse’s way. “Let’sgo.”
Celer didn’t even notice them leave. Adrian was sure if they switched places, Celer would have no problem choosing a mate— only issue he’d have is pickingwhichone.
Adrian swam away from the palace as quickly as he could. He wished he could be anywhere else, be anyone else… even if it was just for amoment.
The truth was, the offer Stavros had given him was tempting. Too tempting. Adrian had almostsaidyes.
The scarier part was, he was stillconsideringit.
ChapterFour
Isamaria
The salty breezeshe inhaled through her nose was like the original breathoflife.
Isamaria held her surfboard tightly to her side and tried not to dance. She loved the feeling of the waves crashing against her bare feet, and the way she sank into the sand as the ocean rolled over her. A full moon lit the sea in a white halo, a perfect glow under thestarrysky.
She’d been out here for hours, waiting for Harbor and Shelly to get done with clubbing until the wee hours of the night. It was close to dawn, she knew. She was tired, but she didn’t long for her bed. She wanted the ocean. She enjoyed being out here and watching the waves roll in, enjoyed being alone. The water was the only thing thatunderstoodher.
She wished she didn’t have to live a life on land. More than anything, she wanted to be a part ofthesea.
The storm was still approaching. It had been raining off and on, so Isa had been waiting to make her move and start surfing. She couldn’t wait much longer, however. She needed to be out there, storm or nostorm.
“Hey, Isa!” There was a shout over the waves. Isa turned, and smiled when she saw Harbor and Shelly approaching, boards tucked underneaththeirarms.
Harbor and Shelly were Isa’s best friends because, well, they weren’t from Coral Bay. They were college students at FSU likeshewas.
“What up, bitch,” Harbor said. She gave Isa a high-five when she joined her side. “How are thewaves?”
“Just about perfect.” Isa fastened the surfboard to her ankle with the Velcro clasp, ignoring the approaching storm on the horizon. “You guys readyforthis?”
Shelly shivered. “It’s a bit cold, isn’t it? Shouldn’t wegohome?”
“The water’s fine, Shelly. You’re such a wuss,” Harborcomplained.
Isa didn’t care if the water was cold. She just wanted to ride some waves. “You girls can stay on shore if you want. I won’t be long. I just wanted to head out forabit.”
