One Salt Sea
Page 24

“Oh, Tybs knows Connor,” May said. “They totally hung out while you were sick. They’re like, best buds.” Tybalt and Connor shot her matching glares. I had to stifle a smile.
“We’re acquainted,” said Tybalt. “I suppose there’s no accounting for the company you choose to keep.”
I stiffened.
“Is there a problem?” asked Connor coldly. Being needled by Tybalt isn’t fun, unless you have a serious urge to know what it’s like to be a mouse.
“I’m simply wondering why you’re still on dry land, O’Dell,” Tybalt replied. “Shouldn’t you be putting on your water wings and preparing to slaughter us all? I believe that’s your predetermined role in this conflict.”
“All right, that’s enough.” I scowled, taking a step forward and putting myself between them. “We don’t have time for this. Now both of you are going to behave and play nicely, or I will put you out on the sidewalk.” Raj shot me a grateful look. Dominance fights are serious business among the Cait Sidhe, and if I let Tybalt start something in my apartment, I was going to be responsible for stopping it. Raj and I both knew that wouldn’t end well.
Connor hesitated before saying, “Actually, Toby, he’s right.”
“What?” May and I said in unison, turning to stare at him.
“That’s still creepy,” muttered Raj.
“I need to go to Saltmist and check in, or the Duchess may decide that I’m siding with the land and banish me from the Undersea. I don’t think we want that. I know I don’t want that.” Connor chuckled mirthlessly. “It would make family reunions awkward.”
I’d been expecting this. I’d been waiting for this. It still stung. I bit my lip before saying, “If you’re sure—”
“He’s sure,” said Tybalt. I shot a glare his way. He shrugged.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” said Connor, and kissed me.
There was a desperation in his embrace that was almost chilling. Whatever else was going on, Connor was a lot more scared than he was letting on.
I touched his cheek when he pulled away. “Be safe.”
“You, too,” he said. He glanced around the room. “It was good to see you, May. Tybalt, Raj . . . good night.”
“Bye,” mumbled Raj, looking mortified.
“Open roads, Connor,” said May.
I walked him the two steps to the door, opening it again. “Open roads, Connor. Try not to get yourself killed out there. If you do, I’ll kick your ass.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” He kissed my nose and was gone, pulling the door shut with a final-sounding click.
I locked the deadbolt and turned to look at Tybalt, raising an eyebrow. And I waited. His satisfied expression faded by inches, replaced by apparently genuine awkwardness.
“I didn’t say he had to go,” he said.
“But you jumped on the idea with both feet. What are you doing here, Tybalt? Is this your way of returning all those messages I left you? Because, seriously, I would have been happy with a phone call.”
“I was busy.”
The last time I’d seen him, his Court was in chaos following the deaths of several of his subjects, including Raj’s mother. I softened slightly, but kept frowning as I said, “Your timing sucks, Tybalt. Just so you know.”
Tybalt narrowed his eyes, expression going from awkward to challenging. I met his gaze and held it. He looked away first. “A messenger came to my Court with news of the war. He said you seemed determined to involve yourself. It . . . concerned me.”
“Well, at least now I know what it takes to get your attention.”
Tybalt’s head snapped around. “Thorn and tree, October, that isn’t fair.”
“But you ignoring me is? You’ve got a weird definition of ‘fair.’ All I wanted was to know that you were okay.”
May coughed. “Okay, I’ll be in my room if you need me. Please don’t need me. Also, Toby, remember that the curtains aren’t stain-proof, and Raj, if you need to hide, feel free to join me.” She vanished down the hall. Her door slammed a moment later.
“I . . .” Tybalt sighed. “You’re right. I apologize.”
I stopped. Of all the things he could have said, I don’t think anything could have surprised me more than a simple—and apparently sincere—apology. “Accepted,” I said. Glancing toward the hall, I added, “I think she’s battening down the hatches back there, in case we’re about to start throwing things.”
“Really?” Tybalt’s eyebrows rose. “Should we smash a few plates and scream before we have an actual conversation?”
“I don’t think we need to go that far, but I want to get some real clothes on before we continue. Can I trust you two not to break anything?”
“Yes,” said Raj, immediately.
“You might have an easier time trusting us if we continued while you changed,” said Tybalt, allowing his eyes to travel the length of my body.
I snorted, spreading my arms to give him the best possible view. “Go ahead and laugh, because this is your only shot. You’re staying out here while I get some pants on.”
“I had no intention of mocking you. I think you look lovely.” He hesitated a moment before adding, in a softer tone, “Whether you believe me or not, your mother was never as fair a child of Faerie as you are right now.”
“I . . .” The blush raced up my cheeks and the edges of my ears, leaving them burning. I let my arms drop to my sides, barely keeping myself from folding them over my chest. “I have to go change,” I managed, and turned to scurry down the hall.
My cheeks stayed hot even after I was in my bedroom with the door closed. I stripped off the spider silk dress, letting it puddle on the floor while I fumbled with the thigh sheath. Once that came loose, I pulled my jeans on and fastened my usual knife belt around my waist, sliding my knife back into its customary home before putting the Luidaeg’s shell in my pocket.
Sneakers and a long-sleeved red cotton shirt finished the change. I snagged a hair tie from the dresser on my way out of the room, snapping it around my wrist before beginning to pull pins out of my hair. Stacy’s handiwork was good—too good. I was still trying to restore my hair to its normal disarray as I emerged from the bedroom, swearing under my breath all the while.