Tails (Transformations: Book 1)

19

The party lasted a few hours longer than the last one. Freya pulled her out just before it ended, so no one noticed anything suspicious. However, before they could leave, Kai rushed over and smiled at Aria. "Meet me in one week on our beach. I will swim around there in the afternoon and I won't leave until I see you."

She blushed, not knowing how to respond. "I don't really know if I'll be able to do that..."

"Then I will be there for a very long time." He flashed another smile. "I'll see you in a week." He ran back into the crowd before she could argue.

Aria sighed. "He's going to be trouble, isn't he?"

Freya watched him go. "Probably." She grabbed Aria's hand. "Let's go home. We can worry about him after we get some rest."

Aria smiled and followed her without question. She knew Freya was always looking out for her. She couldn't help but wonder if Kai was part of the danger the nymph had warned her about. Her mind strayed to the boy in red and she glanced over as she walked, but he might as well have been invisible, so she looked ahead, instead. Even so, she couldn't help wondering about him. "Hey, Freya, do you know why Sapphira's bodyguard wore red? You said it's an unpopular color, right?"

"It usually is." Freya didn't look at her. "We provide the clothes for the merfolk, since they can't get them, obviously. We leave them on the beach and we try to get whatever they request. Red was the color we were requested to bring him, so that's what we did."

"That's odd, isn't it?" Aria wasn't sure if she really understood. "Is it some sort of statement?"

Freya paused, needing to think about that. "Yes, I suppose it is." She had a bad feeling about where this conversation might lead. "Aria, it would be best not to ask too many questions about them or become involved in any way with the Glemorans. They are dangerous people."

"So I've gathered." She looked at the nymph, wishing she could read her mind. "You keep a lot of secrets from me, don't you?"

Freya came to a stop, still holding Aria's hand. She was silent for a few minutes and, when she spoke, her voice was soft. "You are very dear to me, you know. I wish to shield you from the world." She gave Aria a sad smile. "I would keep you all to myself, if I could, but I know that would make you unhappy."

Aria wasn't sure how to respond to that. She thought about it, for a moment, and took back her hand, so she could hug her friend. "You are very dear to me, too. I don't know where I would be without you." It wasn't like Aria to say such emotional words. She considered such things to be excessively sappy. However, Freya said things like that often enough and it seemed like she needed some reassurance, so Aria didn't want to let her down. She pulled back and smiled at her. "You're my best friend, after all."

Freya stared at her and smiled, surprised by how much better she felt. "We need to get home. It's getting awfully late." She grabbed her hand and dragged her along behind.

Aria smiled as she followed, glad that Freya seemed less stressed, for the moment, at least.

Eric rushed over to Aria, wearing a grin, the next day, before she got changed. "Have you seen what a great response we got on our petition?" He held it up to show the hundreds of signatures, revealing that he and the others had been busy.

Aria gave him a tired smile, almost regretting how late she had stayed out. "That's really great." She frowned, a little as she considered him. He was cute, even handsome, in his own way. His awkwardness was charming and there were plenty of reasons to like him. However, when she compared the scientist to the merman, he tended to come up short. Aria brushed those thoughts away. Eric was a great guy and she barely knew the engaged prince. It would be foolish for her to risk what she had for something that was clearly never going to happen.