Page 74 of Blood of the Sirens
He spouted off a quick stream of Spanish to Javi, who rolled his eyes and held out his hand to help me step onto the boat. I jerked my thumb over my shoulder at him, a questioning look on my face.
“Don’t worry about it. He’s eager to get going.”
I reached back for Caspian, but he scoffed at the small boat, preferring to strip off his shorts and dive gracefully into the water. Dario gasped and ran to where he’d disappeared into the water, staring hard. I guess Caspian preferred to swim. It was hard to make him out in the semi-darkness, as the sun was still struggling to rise.
“I won’t hit him with the motor, will I?” Dario asked, glancing nervously at the large blades on the back of his boat.
I scowled at him, indignant on Caspian’s behalf.
“Easy girl,” Javi reassured me, holding me back. “He’s a merman, not a fucking idiot,” Javi scolded his cousin.
Dario put his hands in the air and disappeared behind the wheel. The boat sputtered to life, the engine roaring in quick order. Worry and anxiety bled into my veins. What if Caspiandidn’tknow about engines and boats? What if he’d been down there with the sea witch for so long he had no idea about the dangers of modern technology?
A strange sense of confusion bled through my worry, followed by a clear image of the ocean floor. Glancing up in my mind, I saw the outlines of many boats on the surface above me.
Caspian! He was showing me he was all right! Well, that would certainly make this trip interesting.
“Chica! Where we going?” Dario asked, clearly primed for an adventure. I sent a question to Caspian, who responded by popping up in front of the boat, his black tail smacking the water. I pointed to him. Dario’s jaw dropped.
Javi just laughed. “Follow him, obviously.”
The boat lurched forward. The lights from downtown were still on from the evening, casting a glow through the retreating darkness. It was quieter now, but I knew soon it would be alive with the laughs and shouts of thousands of tourists on spring break. Merrick had been so excited to see it. I vowed to show it all to him, just as soon as we brought him back. And the first thing I’d say? It’ll be the same thing I said when we met.
“Hey, hottie.”
