Chapter Fifteen: Marked | Part 1
Thirtyx did, in fact, waltz into class Onspane morning like nothing had happened. The other seniors’ confusion had a more satisfying flavor than he’d tasted in years.
Rhea and Benn had done their best to make him presentable upon their return the previous evening. Thirtyx felt bad they were expending so much energy after two straight days of testing, but every time he inhaled to complain, he caught Seerla’s eye, and her knowing look reminded him of their conversation on the riverbank.
So Thirtyx held his tongue during the combined healing session and makeover. By the time curfew rolled around, the scrapes had vanished from his arms and legs, his voice was no longer hoarse from the water, and the bruises could only be seen in direct light.
Short of pummeling them, this is the best revenge I could imagine, Benn admitted halfway through their first class. Nearly 20 people coordinated this attack—getting you in a hostile environment, away from all of your support—and they didn’t even touch you. That sends an incredible message.
But many of them had touched Thirtyx. While everyone continued to gape at him during lunch, Rhea and Benn pondered why none of the Selkies were sporting angry purple blotches.
“If most of them body slammed you, they could just be marked under their clothes,” Benn mused.
Rhea frowned. “That seems unlikely. Did literally no one smack you with a flipper?”
Seerla’s glower made Thirtyx feel simultaneously touched and terrified. “You really think he was paying attention to what seal parts were pounding him while he was trying not to drown?”
Before Rhea could get defensive, Thirtyx forced a chuckle. “I’m sure there were flippers. But Selkies can’t help wandering around naked. If they’re marked, it’s only a matter of time before the gossip spreads.”
Benn spent the free period doodling various versions of the marking sigil and muttering to himself about the semantics. Seerla kept glancing at her former Selkie friends. It was a while before Thirtyx noticed her eyes were narrowed in confusion rather than anger.
“What is it?” Thirtyx asked. “I mean, considering you wanted me back at Wydewood to be your study buddy, and now you aren’t studying.”
“Some of the Selkies are wearing their pelts… differently today.” Her eyes scanned another table of mostly senior Selkies, and she nodded. “Like, Farish usually has his squarely around his waist so that it hangs down over his backside, but today, it’s tied off to the side. And Rhiadon usually wears his like a shawl, but today, he’s got it as like… a broad belt. What if they’re trying to hide something?”
Benn stroked his chin. “It’s strange that they’d all change their style at once. But the pelts are still covering places that are already covered by clothes. What could they possibly be hiding?”
“What about Nephrie?” Rhea visibly brightened at the thought. “Seerla, maybe you can get close enough to—”
“I have no intentions of going near Nephrie for a while.” Seerla glared at her textbook, jaw clenched, but it didn’t disguise the tears now rimming her eyes. “Besides, Nephrie never touched Thirtyx. She was too busy keeping me from helping him.”
Seerla slept on Rhea’s floor for a second consecutive night, then a third, then a fourth. On Thirspane, she returned from the library to find that Rhea and Benn had somehow wrangled a spare bed from the storage closet to Rhea’s room without anyone noticing.
“You used Pfah magic outside of your rooms?” Thirtyx demanded of Benn later that night. “Everyone’s still on high alert about how you left during lockdown. What were you thinking?””We were thinking someone needed a new roommate to keep them safe, much like someone else did once.” Thirtyx was used to Benn’s withering, almost parental look, but that didn’t make it any more fun. “And we were in a storage closet. It’s not like we were throwing golden sparks around the dining hall.”
Calley Jones 