Page 167 of Bewitched By the Sea Monster
A surprised, sobbing laugh burst out of me. “Oh, you goof.” I rubbed his face, gingerly swiping some of the blood away. “But you’remoreattractive. It makes you look like a ferocious warrior.”
A life preserver pinwheeled offValiant,bonking me in the head before plopping into the water beside Alistair’s chin.
He hissed again.
“It’s a floaty,” I said. And then I picked the donut ring up and chucked it back.
It didn’t land anywhere near the ship—stars knew my throw and aim weren’t that good— but the message was received. Loud and clear.
“Pippi!” Jackson cried. “Grab the life preserver!”
And, oh, he was playing a part. Wringing his hands. Mussing his hair. Jiggling his knee. Acting very much like a concerned boyfriend trying to get the love of his life out of a dangerous situation.
It was bullshit.
And he and I…we were long past the point of niceties.
“Fuck you,” I bellowed.
A cloud of murmurs and incredulous laughter spritzed from the ships.
Jackson’s face reddened. “See what I mean? It’sdonesomething to her?—”
“The only thing Alistair did was care about me.” Yelling scourged my throat and took more oxygen than my overworked lungs had. My vision got checkerspotty. But I cranked thevolume up a little more, because I wanted to make sure he heard me. “Which is more than I can say for you!”
Jackson gripped the railing in both hands and leaned halfway over, almost as though he’d considered jumping into the water to wring my neck. Then he thought better of it, straightened up, and called down, “Grab the life preserver, Pippi.”
“So you canget me out of the waybefore the asshole you idolize mauls an innocent person? I think not.”
“Pippi.”
“I won’t do it, Jackson.” I jutted my chin up. “If you want to keep gouging his eyes out, you’ll have to gouge mine out too. Because Iwon’tleave him.”
Dozens of faces dotted the ship’s railing now as people swung their gazes between me and Jackson, murmuring things like“Did I hear her right?”and“Oof, this might get good.”
Rune placed a placating hand on Jackson’s shoulder as he wiggled his fingers, calling the life preserver to him. “Pippa, we can’t risk Alistair hurting people.”
“Do I look hurt to you?” My throat burned.
“No. And I’m very glad you’re not. But you’ve clearly interacted with him before, and he should not be able to interact with tourists. Ever.”
“Why?”
“These runes keep him safe too,” Rune spoke over me. “They keep him from doing something that would bring a hunt like this down on his head.”
“And what about the curse?” I spat. “Was that done to keep him safe?”
“I’m sorry?” Rune tapped at his ear. “It’s hard to hear you, darling.”
I was certain he’d heard me just fine. But I threw my head back and upped the volume a few more degrees. “What aboutthe curse?!The one that turned him into this. And is keeping him trapped here?”
“Oh, Pippa, I think you may be confused?—”
“Pippi!” I screamed. “It’s Pippi. Not Pippa.At least get my name right if you’re gonna act like a condescending sack of shit.”
Alistair’s shocked laugh was music to my ears.
Other people chuckled too. Nervously, the sort of way folks did in those awkward situations that made them feel so uncomfortable, they had to giggle to release some of the tension.
