Page 21 of Reptile Dysfunction
Maybe the kids are right. Maybe the Silver Swimmers see what I’ve been pretending not to. Maybe everyone can see what I’ve been trying to hide behind enforcer intimidation and guarded distance.
I like her. My snakes absolutely adore her. And judging by the way she looks at us—all of us, scales and powers and complicated history included—maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Even if it means my snakes will give everything away.
I can survive that.
What I’m not sure I can survive is another day pretending she hasn’t unraveled me.
So maybe after class, over coffee, I’ll stop hiding. Not with a game.
Just the truth. Plain and terrifying.
Because sometimes, risking everything is the only way forward.
And she’s starting to feel like everything.
Chapter Nine
Sloane
The Harmony Glen Farmers Market bustles with Saturday morning energy—vendors hawking produce and crafts beneath striped canopies, bluegrass music drifting from the fountain stage. I weave through the crowd, balancing a cup of Marcie Vale’s lavender lemonade and scanning for one very tall Gorgon.
“Looking for someone?” a deep voice rumbles behind me.
I turn to find Thad, towering over the crowd, his presence impossible to miss.
“Just the town’s most intimidating swim instructor.” I smile, noting how his faded black T-shirt hugs his chest. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“When the mayor’s daughter invites you to the market, declining feels… ill-advised.” His tone is dry, but his snakes sway with visible pleasure as we fall into step.
“Smart man. Ming’s honey cakes sell out early. She’s over that way,” I nod toward a nearby stall. “We may need intimidation tactics.”
“I don’t intimidate people for pastries.”
“Not even really good ones?”
He nearly smiles. “You’re right. Depends on the pastry.”
As we move through the crowd, I notice how people react—kids wave, vendors greet him warmly, but some still flinch or give him a wide berth.
“The Sanderson twins adore you,” I say, watching them air-swim, giggling when his snakes mimic their strokes. “Mrs. Petrov, on the other hand, almost dropped her tomatoes.”
“People remember,” he says with a shrug that doesn’t quite hide the stiffness in his shoulders. “Five years isn’t long when you’ve been raised to fear monsters.”
“Or when those monsters teach your kids to swim.” I bump his arm lightly. “Give it time.”
At Cara Ming’s stall, she grins. “Thaddeus Fangborn! Haven’t seen you in ages. Too fancy for market pastries now that you’re training Harmony Glen’s elite?”
“Just busy,” he says, but his snakes perk up at the smell of honey cake. Sterling actually stretches toward the tray, earning a laugh from Cara.
“Still got good taste, that one. Two honey cakes?” She’s already boxing them before we answer.
“And a sourdough,” Thad adds. “Sebastian swears it’s better than the bakery in town.”
“Smart brother. And don’t even try to pay—this one’s for saving the Mitchell boy.”
Thad blinks, clearly caught off guard. “That’s not—”
