Chapter Thirteen: Upriver | Part 4
Studying was a futile endeavor after that. It didn’t take long for them to abandon their halfhearted attempts at concentration in lieu of getting ready for the party. Unwilling to leave Thirtyx alone, Seerla wedged herself into Benn’s closet while Thirtyx changed. Then, she dragged him to her room and made him do the same.
In Nephrie’s closet, Thirtyx fought two absurd but insistent urges. The first was to rifle through Nephrie’s things for evidence that her sudden change of heart was a sham, but even his Verith eyes were of little use in the oppressive darkness.
The second was to crack the door open and peek at those scales on Seerla’s supposedly Trollish ass.
Thirtyx did neither. Instead, he buried his head in his hands and willed his thoughts to hike off a cliff. All those years his hormones could have kicked in, but instead, they waited until he was fighting for his life in the midst of political turmoil…
Seerla let him out of the closet while she applied makeup and rearranged her hair into a neater, more intricate braid. This made Thirtyx feel self-conscious about how little effort he’d put into his own appearance. He wasn’t used to caring, given his general desire to blend in. But when he and Seerla donned their jackets and started down the path to the lake, it became clear that blending in had never been in the cards tonight.
“So I guess Nephrie didn’t tell anyone else she invited me,” Thirtyx grumbled, averting his eyes from yet another cluster of whispering classmates. “Should I make another big speech, or will I just embarrass myself?”
Seerla grinned. “I don’t know about embarrassing yourself, but I’d love an encore, seeing as I missed the original.”
“Speaking of embarrassing, you know you don’t have to walk with me or stay with me or anything. You have plenty of other friends… most of whom are currently staring at you like you’re chanting in Ancient Draconic.”
“Will you shut up and accept that we’re friends now?”
Thirtyx managed to stay off the subject as they approached the lake shore, where three long boats waited on the sand. He guessed they could each fit four people, but he couldn’t tell for sure through the crowd of Selkies running back and forth, laughing and cheering and carrying on.
Buck naked.
He cleared his throat. “I, uh… I always forget how totally unashamed Selkies are about nudity.”
Seerla was unfazed. “Yeah, it was an adjustment with Nephrie. But it’s kind of nice not to be self conscious about your body—bodies, for them? Anyway, I admire the spirit. And you have to admit, the view isn’t terrible.”
He followed her gaze to Rhiadon, streaking along the shoreline, his seal skin waving like a banner above his head. Objectively, Thirtyx could see the appeal that had apparently captivated both Benn and Rhea, but the flare of frustration that it had also captivated Seerla was new. He wanted to distract her, but he found himself watching Rhiadon sprint down the pier at top speed before careening off the end, cocooning himself in his pelt before splashing into the water. A few fracs later, a whiskered nose poked above the surface.
Several Selkies followed Rhiadon’s lead and waded into the lake. Another climbed onto the pier, her pelt tied around her otherwise bare waist. Thirtyx didn’t recognize her as Nephrie until she addressed the crowd. “Alright, less aquatic friends! Into the boats! Ambrosia and Liadonna used their magic minors to hopefully propel them so you don’t have to paddle. Oh, and Thirtyx?”
Thirtyx’s stomach lurched as Nephrie pointed at him, but even from this distance, he could see a playful grin on her face. “I’m glad you could make it.”
The gesture seemed sincere enough that the muscles in Thirtyx’s shoulders unwound a bit, and he managed to smile back.
Calley Jones 