Page 14 of Buoy
“… gray and her wolf is huge.”
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know about Rhys’ other friends or the people he found attractive. Maybe Rhys missed his real friends. Soren was just some random child in his hometown he only saw for a short time in the summer. Were they really friends?
“We don’t talk much,” Rhys continued. “I just watch her from afar.”
“Do you miss your school friends when you’re home?” Soren swallowed, not really wanting to hear the answer.
“No. Not really. None of them are pirates.” Pushing to his feet, Rhys looked down at Soren, then patted his head. “Tag! You’re it!” He took off.
None of them are pirates.“Wait! Does that mean you miss me when you’re at school?” He trailed after Rhys with no hope of catching up.
Rhys stopped at the edge of the dock, waiting for Soren. “Of course I miss you.”
Soren’s cheeks. Oh, they were on fire. “Can I see you before you leave?”
Rhys dropped his head. “I’ll have to leave before sunrise. If you can somehow stray from the dock, I live—” He pulled Soren close and pointed towards the main road. “See the house with the yellow roof?”
Soren nodded.
“I’m three houses back. If you can’t come, watch for us…” He turned Soren just a quarter of an inch and pointed. “We’ll leave from that field. I’m the red one. Mom’s blue violet. She flies with me to the halfway point, then I join a ship that takes me to the academy since not all students can fly.”
“Your dad doesn’t go with you?”
Rhys looked away and scratched at his arm. “I’ve never seen him shift. He’d… Well, he was force shifted before I was hatched. Decades before, during a border dispute. And he can shift. He just does it privately because it’s painful. Don’t want anyone to see.”
“Oh.”
“He’s where I get part of my color from. He’s orange and yellow.”
Soren dropped his gaze to the ground. “I don’t think Vex will let me leave.” But he wanted to see Rhys’ dragon up close.
“Watch for me, then. I’ll give you a show.”
Soren turned to see a huge grin on Rhys’ face. Soren found himself smiling back. “Good night, Rhys.”
“Good night, Soren. Until next year.”
To Soren’s surprise, Rhys dropped a kiss to his forehead before heading home across the cobblestone road. Soren stared after him. What did it mean? He pressed his hand to where Rhys’ lips had been. They had been soft, it was barely a graze. Maybe he had imagined it. Maybe he had actually sniffed Soren’s hair. Weirdo.
As predicted, Vex refused to let Soren past the docks, so he sat cross-legged on deck, leaning against the mainmast, looking towards the field Rhys had pointed out. Seagulls cried above, and Soren tuned them out. They irritated him. His eyes were heavy. He didn’t get much sleep the night before. Was a forehead kiss considered anything? Did Rhys like like him? Did he like like Rhys?
Yeah. Yeah, he did. He dropped his head back against the mast. Despite only knowing him a handful of weeks over a few summers, he felt Rhys was the only one he could really trust. Vex was… fine. Didn’t hurt Soren. But he was a pirate captain and had lied frequently.
Soren bit his bottom lip. He was lying to Rhys. But Soren couldn’t tell him he was mer. That would upset Vex. Would get him beaten by Bellani if anyone outside Vex’s approved people knew what Soren was.
The sun started to rise, and he still hadn’t seen the dragons take flight. Surely he hadn’t missed them. He had crawled out of his hammock hours ago.
“What are you doing out here?” Kane stood over him with a smirk. “Come to make me feel better?” He grabbed himself, and Soren’s stomach soured.
“No.” He stood and walked around the raven shifter. He could practically hear the feathers at Kane’s nape ruffle in irritation.
“You’re walking away from me?”
“You know what Vex’ll do if you touch me.” Soren kept his eyes on the field, trying to ignore Kane. Trying to will the dragons to the sky.
Kane was right behind him, his stinking black hair brushed against Soren’s shoulder. His mouth was right to Soren’s ear. “Vex won’t do a damned thing and you know it. My sister has him so wrapped—”
“I’ll break your fucking neck if you so much as lay a fingernail on Soren.” Neither had seen Vex approach. Soren was paying attention to the sky, while Kane was paying attention to him. Vex may be a cutthroat pirate, but he cared for Soren. “Keep it in your fucking pants, Kane, or you’ll find out your sister isn’t the protection you think she is.” Vex yanked him away.
