The Syrenka Series Box Set, Page 4

  He was always on top of things and it made me wonder what kind of leader I could possibly be in comparison to him. We’d never be equals. I wasn’t good enough for that. Even though Kain was only a few months older than me, he definitely had it more together than I did.

  “Sounds good,” I said and I meant it. “Are you going to know any of the other syrenkas here?” This was our first Cotillion, but I’d never asked about his personal friendships before.

  “There’s one guy, Vance Donnelly. We met at a gathering a couple of years ago. He’s nice. You’ll like him.”

  “He’s a Donnelly?” I asked.

  “Yes, but not from the Florida group. His uncle is the clan master, which puts Vance back about third in line.”

  I nodded in understanding. “And speaking of, how are you doing with all of this. Knowing that you’re next up for leadership? Doesn’t it freak you out?”

  His nervous laugh was all the answer I needed. He was scared and I’d found something that worried him. “When I think about leading, all I do is torment myself with the reasons why. I’ll be leader when my father dies and that’s not something that I want to imagine.”

  Now I felt like a total idiot. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t mean to imply anything,” I stammered.

  “No, it’s okay. I said I don’t want to think about it, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t have to. His health is deteriorating. We all know it. It just sucks.” He laughed again, but not in a happy way. “How’s that for regal vocabulary?”

  I didn’t know what to say now. Merfolk typically didn’t get sick. Our shifting bodies usually healed broken bones, scrapes, and bruises. The traditional remedies could often take care of the rest. But Harlan Matthew had been diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease. I didn’t know the details, but it was apparently very rare in our kind and usually shortened the victim’s life span by twenty years. Kain’s father had been sick ever since Kain was born. I couldn’t imagine that and it made me very sad every time we talked about him.

  “Seems like you’re ready for that shower now.” Kain’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

  I looked over to see him pointing at my legs. They’d transformed back without me realizing I’d given the command. Shifting the towel around me again, I stood and glanced down at him.

  “You’re going to be a great leader, Kain.”

  He shrugged his shoulders and tried to smile. It looked pretty weak, so I bent forward and kissed the top of his head. “I mean it. There are good things in store for someone like you.” He didn’t say anything as I made my way inside.

  I used my time in the shower to think about my relationship with Kain. We’d always been friends, even though I’ve pushed him away more and more in these last few years hoping that he’d find someone deserving of him. I knew he was in love with me and it really hurt that I couldn’t return his affection. If Brendan hadn’t entered my life, I could pretty much guarantee that things would be different and I’d be looking forward to our arranged marriage with delight.

  But that was not my reality.

  When I walked into the large room, Kain was shifting through his suitcase and hanging up a few things. He’d changed into a pair of grey baggy sweatpants but kept his chest bare. I got caught up in his beauty for the second time tonight as I watched his back and arm muscles move with grace.

  Before he could notice me, I climbed into the bed. I’d taken my two-piece pajama set into the bathroom so I didn’t have to worry about dropping a towel and making an already tense situation even worse. He stopped what he was doing when he heard the bed squeak.

  “I’m almost done,” he said. “I think I’m going to sleep on that chair out on the dock.

  I took a deep breath. “No, you’re not.”

  He turned to face me. “What?”

  “You can sleep here,” I patted the other side of the bed. “You’re not going to sleep in a chair and neither am I. We’re at Cotillion for goodness sake. As an engaged couple no less. I think we can handle sharing a king sized bed. Besides, it’s so large we probably won’t even realize we’re sharing.” There, I said it.

  He raised his eyebrows and finished folding the pair of jeans in his hands. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yes. It’s fine. You stay over there and I’ll stay over here, and we’ll both get to sleep on the bed.” He smiled, showing all of his teeth and exuding a vibe I didn’t want to react to. So I tried to cover my unease with a threat. “Do I have to set some ground rules buddy?”

  Laughing, he shook his head and put the last of his clothes away. A few moments later, he crawled to the far side of the bed and turned off the light. I rolled onto my shoulder and faced away from him. I think he did the same.

  “Goodnight, Eviana,” he whispered.

  “Night, Kain.”

  We didn’t say anything after that and although I thought it would be impossible to sleep, in no time at all I felt my eyes close. I dreamt that I flew through shallow water like a manta ray. I was moving at a good speed over seagrass beds and coral reefs, all the time knowing that something bad was about to happen. Nothing ever did, but that nagging feeling kept looming in the back of my mind and was there even after I woke up. Although rested, my nauseous stomach felt upset and nervous and I didn’t know why.

  Until I rolled over and looked at Kain’s face.

  I sat up so quickly I got caught in the covers. Making a fool out of myself, I tried to detangle my legs and nearly fell out of the bed. I’d temporarily forgotten about our sleeping situation, and now my shenanigans woke him up.

  “You okay?” His voice sounded groggy with sleep and I had to close my eyes when he rolled onto his back and stretched out in front of me. Stop looking. Stop looking. Stop looking. I chastised myself. The tan, muscled chest kept drawing me in and when I tried to move away, I fell with a thump to the floor.

  “Eviana!” Kain cried out. I landed on my back with my legs stuck in the covers hanging over the side of the bed looking up into his concerned face and striking blue eyes. What could possibly be any more embarrassing?

  “Ow,” I moaned and tried to assess if I’d injured anything more than my pride. Nope, just my pride and any coolness I may have had. As soon as I realized this, I started giggling and couldn’t stop.

  Kain stared down at me for a few more seconds before joining in with his own amused laughter. We stayed like that a little while longer until tears fell from my eyes. Finally, he reached for me and I gave him my hands. In one swift motion, he pulled me back up onto the bed. Although I think he underestimated his strength because I ended up completely on top of him in the center of the mattress. I felt the heat radiating off his chest and my heart pounded.

  “Um…thanks,” I said, unable to make it much more than a whisper.

  “Anytime,” he smiled up at me and caught my gaze. I felt his hand push back a piece of my hair from my face and suddenly I couldn’t think about anything else. “Why were you trying to get away so quickly?”

  The lump in my throat and the butterflies in my stomach made it difficult for me to understand his question. “Bad dream?” I couldn’t remember what had freaked me out earlier. What was wrong with me?

  His body shook with another laugh while he wrapped his arms around my back. We’d never been this close together before and I’d never been like this with anyone other than Brendan. Suddenly, Kain kissed my forehead and gave me another tight squeeze. “Well, that’s what I’m here for. To protect you from bad dreams.”

  My muscles tensed with guilt and fear. Guilt because I thought about Brendan and fear because I didn’t know why my body responded to Kain like this. He must have sensed it too because he gently pushed me off to the side and rolled out of bed.

  “Time to get up anyway. I’m sure it’s going to be a long day.”

  Walking gracefully to the closet, I watched him select his clothes; a pair of khaki pants and a light weight button up shirt. The top was sky blue and I knew how handsome he’d lo
ok in it. I also really needed to get control over my feelings right now.

  He bounded into the bathroom with clothes in hand and I heard the shower turn on. I decided that it was too much trouble to bath myself again, so I threw on a long blue sundress and pinned back the sides of my hair. After adding a little makeup and some deodorant, I was ready to go.

  Yet, I still sat on the bed for another ten minutes waiting for Kain to emerge. It was clear to me who the female in this relationship was. When he stepped out of the bathroom through a wall of steam, I couldn’t help but tease.

  “Finally,” I sighed dramatically. “I thought I’d have to tell everyone that you fell in. Did you get everything plucked and primped just right?”

  He looked at me and the side of his mouth curved up with a smirk. “Hey, don’t hate me because I’m beautiful. Do you think this hair styles itself?”

  I could only shake my head. “What time do we have to be there?” I asked.

  “What time is it?”

  I pulled out my cell phone from my purse and noticed I had a couple of messages. They were from Brendan and I hadn’t even checked my phone this morning. Another surge of guilt raked over me. “Almost nine,” I finally answered.

  “Well then, we should go now.” He threw his pajama bottoms on top of his suitcase and slipped on a pair of shoes. Holding out his hand he asked, “Shall we?”

  I really wanted to talk to Brendan, or at least look at his messages, but I didn’t want to make Kain uncomfortable again. So I just smiled, took his hand, and prepared myself to play the role of fiancée for the rest of the weekend.

  As soon as we walked outside, someone yelled for us. I turned toward the far end of the dock to see a young couple hurrying in our direction. They must have come from the boat house at the end. When I looked around, I noticed six different houses along the dock in varying styles and sizes. It was so quiet that I assumed everyone else already left for breakfast.

  “Kain, wait up!” The guy yelling at us towed a girl, who must have been his girlfriend, behind. She had a hard time keeping her three inch heels out of the cracks, but not once did she give him a dirty look.

  “Hey Vance,” Kain said and shook the guy’s hand when he arrived. “Good to see you again.”

  “Yeah, man. It’s been what? Like two years by now?” Vance was tall and handsome, as most merfolk were. He had brown shaggy hair streaked from the sun and stubble around his lower face indicating he hadn’t shaved this morning. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes and the shorts and tee-shirt contrasted Kain’s more polished outfit. It also looked very different from the girl standing next to him. She wore a one shouldered silver top with a pair of short black shorts. I’m an average five foot six inches meaning she probably stood a little shorter than that considering we were at eye level with her heels on.

  Vance smiled down at me. “I’m betting you’re Eviana.”

  I looked toward Kain with a questioning glance, but before he could respond, Vance picked me up in a bear hug and shook me from side to side. “It’s so great to finally meet you.” He put me down but didn’t let go of my arms. “This boy talked about you constantly when we met. I’m glad to see you’re finally here with him.”

  He pushed me aside and pulled the girl closer to both of us. “This is Brinsley Kennedy. My fiancée.” His face beamed with such pride, I had a momentary feeling of sadness. Vance sounded so excited about their relationship and it wasn’t hard to tell by the way she looked at him, that she was just as much in love.

  Kain gave her a hug. “Brinsley, it is a pleasure to meet you.” Turning to Vance he added, “You finally got her to agree to it, didn’t you?”

  Vance laughed and punched him in the shoulder. “Told you she wouldn’t be able to resist me.” He nodded in my direction, “And apparently your charms finally worked as well. Congratulations man.”

  Kain blushed a little bit and smiled at me. I think it was more of an apologetic look. Or maybe a “please play along” request.

  “Brinsley, I’m Eviana,” I held out my hand but she gave me a hug too. They were very touchy-feely, these two.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Eviana. You’re from California, right?”

  “Yes, around the Santa Barbara area. You?”

  “New York. Or really Montauk. Though you’ve probably never heard of it.” She smiled and I realized how beautiful she was. Her long, straight brown hair fell nearly to her waist and her perfect features were only enhanced when she beamed at me or Vance.

  “I have. It’s nice down there,” Kain added and she looked at him with surprise. “I grew up in Boston,” he explained. “Sometimes we’d vacation on the island.”

  A sound that reminded me of a dinner bell rang in the distance. Vance shook his head and sighed.

  “We better get going. Can’t be late on the first day.” Then he added in a mocking voice, “Punctuality is essential in a leader.”

  Kain and Brinsley laughed while we started walking toward the main house. I ran to catch up with Vance. “Have you been here before?”

  “Yeah, Brinsley and I came last year.” He waved his arms around with fake excitement. “It’s a blast!”

  Brinsley giggled again and took his hand in hers before looking over to me. “It’s not that bad. Just try to be patient with all of the hoopla. The first day will seem overwhelming, but they’ll relax a bit once they see you’re trying to learn.” She beamed at me again and I instantly felt more relaxed.

  Shaking my head, I dropped back to walk with Kain. “Does she do that to you too?”

  He chuckled and wrapped his arm over my shoulder. “Yeah, she’s got a special talent for mesmerizing people. It’s a characteristic of her family’s bloodline. Merfolk with that much skill usually end up in powerful positions. She’s a great catch for Vance.”

  They did seem to be truly happy with each other and I didn’t think it was only because of her power over him. Kain thought she was a good catch. I wondered if anyone would ever say that about me. My thoughts got interrupted by another ringing bell and we all picked up the pace to begin our first day of Cotillion.

  We were the last ones to arrive at breakfast, and judging by the looks we received, it wasn’t the best way to make a first impression. The large open room boasted windows on three sides and a high ceiling with decorative lantern-like chandeliers hanging above us. Four empty seats dictated our arrangement at opposite sides of the table. Kain and I sat down in the closest chairs and tried to make as little noise as possible.

  In front of us, on the dinner plate, was a hand printed itinerary of the weekend’s events. The gold flecked paper was thick and natural and the calligraphy writing looked beautiful. I didn’t even want to touch it, but once I started reading the schedule I couldn’t help but snatch it off of the plate.

  “Ridiculous, right?” the boy sitting next to me whispered with a smile. “I thought this was supposed to be fun.”

  From sunrise to sunset each day, every hour was planned. Today did look like the worst one, just as Brinsley had warned, but I didn’t really see that it got much better through the weekend. Listings for interviews, manners, public speaking, and strategy filled the paper and I suddenly felt overwhelmed and incredibly homesick.

  “No kidding,” I replied. Turning my head to see who spoke to me, I saw a guy around my age and more primped than Kain. He had short auburn hair, large brown eyes, and a cute smile. Something about him seemed gentle and I felt instantly drawn to his presence. “I don’t even know what half of this stuff means.”

  “Me neither, but I heard some of the others talking earlier. Apparently, we’re here so they can teach us how to be perfect little soldiers.” He pointed to one of the lines on my itinerary. “In the interview sessions, they make you answer all kinds of questions on the spot with a microphone. Just like Miss America.” Twirling his hand around in the air, he giggled. “I’ll be good at that one.”

  “I won’t,” I mumbled. Public speaking was definitely not for me.r />
  “And the one that says manners means you learn proper etiquette for holding business dinners and entertaining other important families.” He practically leaned on me as he explained.

  “When do we get to go swimming?” I asked.

  “Oh, that’s right there. Each night at dusk for two hours.”

  I looked back down at the paper where he pointed and wrinkled my nose. “But that says physical fitness.”

  “Yep,” he smiled then held out his hand. “I’m Daniel Zane by the way.”

  I shook his hand. “Eviana Dumahl.”

  “Nice to meet you, Eviana,” he said with a sincerity that appeared natural and comforting. Daniel and I were going to be friends by the end of the weekend, no doubt. But before I could say anything else, someone cleared their throat.

  “Welcome to Cotillion syrenkas. My name is Pegotty Moranis and I will be heading this year’s ceremonies.” Pegotty was an older lady, perhaps in her sixties, with long graying hair that curled from her shoulders to her waist. She wore a velvet green gown that had black lace trimmings over the bodice and down the front of the skirt. I couldn’t imagine how hot she must be in this Florida humidity.

  “Our activities will commence in twenty minutes and on your itineraries you will find the locations of each session. We expect you to be courteous and prompt. Punctuality is essential in a leader.”

  I caught Vance’s eyes across the table as he mouthed the words “told you” and smiled. Shaking my head to hide my reaction, I looked around the room. There were about twenty of us, both first and second year syrenkas. The group seemed evenly mixed with males and females, and it was obvious who the novice students were. We all wore a look of fear and distress, anticipating the worst.

  Kain nudged me in the shoulder and waved me closer. “Eviana, meet Lily Shannon from North Carolina. She’ll be in our group most of the day.”