Page 34 of Between Salt and Serenades
“I believe you have that coven’s approval,” Breena said with a giggle. I felt heat rising to my face when I glanced at another table and noticed the man there sneering at me.
“I think I’ll leave the bubbly water for you.” My hand was held over my chest, preparing for another round of rejected air I feared would come. “But if this gets you to drink more water, I will be your personal bubbler.”
“Your magic is useful for more than one other thing, I suppose,” Breena said, grabbing another square sandwich off the plate. The cucumber sandwiches stacked upon the plate were smaller than my palm, tea sized, someone called them. She bit into the soft bread, a firm crunch following.
“Mmm, and is that one other thing tricking sailors or making you scream?” I said as she finished up her bite. The crumbs gathered at the corner of her mouth tempted me to eat another tea sandwich. These green cucumber things were quite juicy and fresh, and I didn’t mind them paired with the creamy substance slathered onto each slice of bread.
Breena choked on her bite and said, “I cannot believe you just said that in public.”
“Well, I told you I'd embarrass you somehow. I can’t be nice to the humans who work hereandforgo embarrassing you at the same time. That requires a skill I don’t possess.”
“I thought you already covered the latter with your belch,” she said. She eyed the sandwich-eating witches next to us, who were now no longer focused on us, but on a leatherback journal sitting upon their table. The paper was scribbled with all sorts of interesting and unfamiliar symbols and text, and I wondered where these women were hiding when I was a girl looking for magic on land.
“That embarrassed me more than you,” I admitted with a crooked smile. “And what? Are you going to argue what my magic does to you?”
“I mean…” She trailed off, and the hand holding up her chin slid in front of her mouth to hide her smile from me. “I suppose I’ll have to adjust my previous statement just a little bit.”
“I want to hear how much you love it. No hiding behind your hand,” I said.
Breena lowered her hands and clasped them in front of her. She sat up straight and said, “And I want world peace, but I know that won’t happen.”
I shook my head from across the table, loving the fire that coursed through her veins. I used to think stubbornness was the worst quality, and then I met Breena. I loved the way she challenged me and made me work hard for the things I wanted most, which, most of the time, was the stubborn selkie herself.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
BOUND BY FLESH AND WATER
Breena ran her nails down her arm, creating ashen lines in her golden-brown complexion.
“Stop that.” I pulled her hand away from her skin before she mindlessly called forth her own blood.
“Ugh! I’m so itchy. I can’tstandbeing in this skin,” Breena said, releasing a lungful of air. I gave her her hand back, and she sat on it quickly to avoid the gnawing temptation to scratch. “I’ve never been out of the water this long. Usually, I’ll hang out on the shoreline and chat on the rocks with Niven or one of the other selkies for a bit, and then I’ll head back to the water. I barely spend time on land, especially these days. I’ve been too busy trying to hunt.”
“Have you drank water at all today?” I asked. Broken blood vessels were already showing under her damaged, irritated skin. They were nothing compared to the flesh tearing I endured when excess amounts of salt touched my skin, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see her beautiful arms marred up by her own volition.
Breena glanced over her shoulder to the sink, where a glass sat untouched since I filled it this morning. I chuckled and retrieved the cup off the counter, filling it with bubbles like I hadat the restaurant a couple days prior. Forcing it to her lips, she looked up at me as if I was forcing her to eat her own hand.
“Drink,” I demanded. Breena gave in and took the glass with both hands. She didn’t take her time sipping it, and the contents of the cup was drained in no more than a minute. “Good girl.”
“It’s disgusting, but not as bad with the bubbles in it.”
“I’ll make you tea next time. Now that we have a bit of coin, we can go shopping if you’d like. We can grab a few things to have around here other than the necessities we… acquired after our time in the tavern.” I took the cup from her and held its thick glass bottom. The fresh water that had gathered beneath the glass would have stung if my grandpa’s trick with the saltwater rag hadn’t cleared up my burn.
Breena stared at me with a blank expression before her eyes fell into a cautious squint.
“What?” I traced her confused look with my own.
“It sounds like you want to settle right in. Are you sure you want to go and do all that?” she asked. “Tomorrow is Wednesday.”
She didn’t need to point out what was happening on Wednesday.
“You need to be comfortable while you’re here, even if it’s just for one more day. That’s all,” I said. I gripped the bottom of that glass as the lie pierced my throat like a blade. Had I realized it was a lie before I said it?
“Well, if that’s the case, I need to be submerged in water. It’s the only thing that’s going to make my skin feel better. You can give me as many glasses of water as you want, but?—”
I began walking away from her, not needing to hear whatever she was going to say next. Her words triggered an idea, and I had just the thing to fix this problem of hers.
“Sidra?” Breena asked.
