Page 119 of Bewitched By the Sea Monster
“Sea spit!”the strawberry blonde woman trilled.
“Oh, you don’t have to—” I ground my teeth when the sea gave a particularly hard buck, and the rocking of the ship sent my stomach crab-crawling up my throat. Only for a few seconds. Once the floor settled, the nausea did too,thankfully.
“Nonsense.” Elisabeth insisted. “Sit. Please. Ilovedoing hair.”
“Too much,” one of the women in the group chittered good-naturedly.
And, well, when Elisabeth’s zeal tugged so hard at my heart, beckoning me to come closer, how could I not?
“I used to be a hairstylist, before I met Kian, of course. Butno one”—Elisabethoohedwhen I staggered onto her stool and she got her fingers in my curls—“had hairthisgorgeous. And it’s so thick!”
She spent at least an hour fiddling with my hair. Trying one updo, deciding she’d done a “rubbish” job. Taking it down. Crafting a second that shelikedbut didn’tlove. Then she got an idea for something she thought would look better, so the second updo got taken down so she could twine my strands into their final form.
All the while, she and the other women gossiped. It was all mindless prattle. Nothing mean-spirited, just “Did you see so-and-so is dating who’s-em-what’s it?”kinda things.
I joined in a little. Whenever my stomach felt steady enough to risk a bit of conversation. But mostly, I listened and slow-sipped the seltzer, wishing itwasn’tspiked, because the fruity bubbles helped slow my reeling belly.
“Onyx, dear,” Elisabeth called suddenly. “Would you like to join us?”
I turned.
This ship had warped wooden benches scattered about the deck. Three dotted the arch of the bow, and Onyx rose from one of them, tossing her book down as she cradled her empty cup and made for the minibar. She didn’t acknowledge Elisabeth’s invitation as she banged her glass on the bar, curtly asked for a beer, and bolted back to her bench.
“Fussy bitch, that one.” One of the women harrumphed.
Onyx lounged on the bench and buried her nose back in her book.
Stars bless her steady stomach. I’dneverbe able to read on a ship.
“I heard she’slividabout this island,” Elisabeth whispered. “Didn’t even want to come.”
“Wasn’t it…I mean…I thought Rune Bloodworth said it washeridea?” I asked.
“It was.” A handsome, almond-colored-skinned woman said. “But she had a very different pitch.”
“She wanted it to be less a tourist thing, right?” Elisabeth asked.
“Yup. A retreat or something.” The almond-colored-skinned woman shrugged. “Rune saw more money in tourism.”
“So he overruled her?” I asked.
“Men usually do,” Elisabeth said.
All the women made littlehmmmssandhuhhhsof agreement.
“And poor Onyx hasn’t been right since her sister died.” Elisabeth dropped her voice to a breathy whisper, lest the sticky breeze pick up her words and carry them to Onyx’s ears.
“That’s right,” the strawberry blonde hissed. “And she got caught in all that hoopla with SorcerSoft.”
“SorcerSoft?” I gaped. “My company used to work with them. Before they…you know…” I dragged my finger across my throat.
“Yeah, what amessthat was.” The woman shook her head. “Onyx is luckyshe didn’t go down with them.”
“Rune helped her,” Elisabeth added. “And she helped him. And now they’re glued at the hip, whether she likes it or not.”
My eyes found Onyx as she jiggled her knee and flipped to a new page, her eyes never leaving the book. “Poor thing. Was she close with her sister?”
“They were twins,” Elisabeth said.
