Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter Sixty-Three

My stomach lurched as we all made our way to the end of the dock. The wind rolled across the water's surface until large waves slapped against the wooden planks, making it impossible to stop thinking about even if I closed my eyes. The large yacht sat just to the right, barely a foot-wide gap between its plank and where it'd been harbored along the wide dock, which was rocking with taunting consistency.

My hand flew to my mouth as nausea hit.

"Are you alright?" Calin asked, taking me by surprise from behind and cupping my elbow with genuine concern as I tried to push my hair out of my eyes, but the wind was relentless.

"Aww, the poor little orphan is seasick before she even gets on the boat," Duvessa, never far from Calin, mocked.

All her friends laughed on cue and she pushed me, just hard enough to cause me to stumble forward. If Calin hadn't been there, I'd have boarded with the imprint of the dock on my face, burdened with who knows how many splinters.

"Shut up, Duvessa," he said, catching me before I fell and pushing me back to position, but over-correcting.

I bumped into something hard and he reached out to steady me again, but not before an even louder splash resounded through the air. I froze, knowing by the humorous twinkle in his eyes that I wasn't going to like what I saw if I turned around. But I couldn't help myself, and my curiosity took the reign of my better judgment. Everyone had burst into laughter.

Turning just as Duvessa's head broke the water's icy surface, I winced. Fully clothed with mascara running down her cheeks, she didn't look half as intimidating as she wanted to. More like a drowned rat, pumped up on steroids and frothing at the mouth with a seriously bad case of rabies. The kind where you didn't want to spread your disease by biting someone, you needed to. She was, in a word, pissed.

"You bitch!" she screeched.

Her ear-splitting wail was so high that my teeth throbbed. I smiled, momentarily distracted into forgetting my queasy stomach. No matter how much I'd regret it later, I wanted to indulge in the hilarity of the moment.

Duvessa growled. "I'm going to—"

"Shut up, Duvessa." Calin laughed. "This is my fault, not hers. And you can't be pissed. If you hadn't tried pushing her in, you wouldn't be wet."

"You're defending her?" She splashed about and tried slapping the water in her anger, coughing as she choked. "After all the pranks she's pulled, she should be in here! I can't believe Mr. Corbin even let her come on a school trip! She should be banned! Expelled from school!"

"Do you honestly think anyone believes she's the one pulling pranks?" Calin rolled his eyes. "Trust me, Duvessa, the right person got wet, and it couldn't have happened to anyone more deserving."

Breena glared at us as Meighan ran to help Duvessa out of the water, her tiny, inappropriate heels clicking against the wood as she almost fell in herself. "I can't believe you're defending her. How can you take her side over Duvessa's, Calin?"

"Uh, yeah." He laughed, coughing dramatically into his fist to disguise the reaction. "Didn't she tell you? We broke up weeks ago."

"What?" Breena and Meighan shrieked in unison, turning to stare at Duvessa, still wet but out of the water, to demand answers.

"Come on, Nora, it's our turn to board."

I looked up, also shocked. They broke up? So not the time to think about that. Instead, pretending to be composed, I took the hand he extended and allowed him to help me to my feet, letting it fall away the moment I caught my balance. I busied myself with straightening my clothes. I could sense everyone staring at us, and all I wanted to do was go home and pretend like the day had never begun.