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Caleb nodded understandingly. “I see. In order for us to guide you, you must give us a possession you value.”
I crossed my arms and thought for a second. “What about a mermaid scale?”
Elysia snorted, her tiny voice laced with derision. “Like you could get one of those.”
Instead of answering, I walked to the stream and submerged my lower half. The water washed over me and slowly my legs disappeared, replaced by my beautiful tale. I admired it, wishing I could just walk in it instead of human legs. I reached down to a loose scale at the bottom and tore it off, wincing as it came out.
Bracing both arms on the edge of the stream, I pulled myself out until I stood on my legs again. With a slight smirk at Elysia, I handed the scale to Caleb. His wings fluttered as he examined it. “This is sufficient. It has seen many days.”
He bowed to Kaga, then me. “We will journey two days to the flower. Once there, it will not bloom for three more days, but we will not stay with you or accompany you back. Are we agreed?”
Kaga and I both nodded.
Elysia threw one last glare at me before they both stepped off of Kaga’s palms and flew in front of us. “Someone has an admirer,” I said quietly to Kaga. “Are you to be married in the fall?”
He snorted. She’s not my type.
“You have a type?” I asked, genuinely curious.
Short mermaids who throw temper tantrums.
My eyebrows drew together, and I turned my nose up at him, not even pausing to wonder if it was me he was talking about. “I do not throw temper tantrums!”
Kaga’s laugh reverberated through my head, and I stomped past him, glaring at him.
Elysia flew next to me, right next to my face. I almost swatted her away from me before I realized it was her, not another dreadful mosquito. “What’d he say?” she asked.
“Nothing for you to know,” I said.
She glared at me again, and I was starting to wonder if it was her permanent expression. “You’re not good enough for him.”
“You barely know me,” I said, appalled at her quick judgment. “Besides, maybe you’re just saying that because you know you’re not good enough for him.”
She let out a high-pitched scream of irritation before flying ahead next to a group of other Luminae. A few glanced at me, with one or two glaring at me, too.
“Great,” I said. “I’m going to have to deal with this for two days?”
Squiggles patted me with a tentacle, and I smiled. At least I had one friend out in the sticky jungle.
Chapter 25
We only walked for another hour before setting up camp. The Luminae led us to right outside their city. I stepped closer, fascinated by what they had built in the foliage.
Small cottages were carved into the trunks of the palm trees, with ladders of thin ropes connecting them. Lights twinkled inside the cottages and I saw Luminae inside, going about their chores. Even smaller Luminae children ran across the bridges, whooping as they saw us, their wings stuck to their backs.
I swung my pack around and fished inside until I found what I was looking for. I unwrapped the small hard candy and put it on one of the house’s porches. The children, watching with fascination, screamed with delight, running toward it.
Laughing, I turned around to see Kaga’s eyes on me, his stormy eyes unreadable. “What?” I asked.
He shrugged, then pointed to the pile of canvas on the ground. Come help me.
I glanced back at the kids, who were gleefully sawing at the treat, then followed Kaga. We worked together, as we had the other nights, to set up our tent and bedrolls, as well as start a fire and food. Caleb flew up to us while we were working, hovering close to my face. “Tomorrow will not be easy. Prepare yourselves.”
I nodded at him before he flew up, then shifted to face Kaga. “What is he talking about?”
He ran a hand through his hair and grimaced. We have to cross the river.
“Oh. That doesn’t sound too bad,” I said, confused. “I can just swim across. I am a mermaid, in case you’ve forgotten.”
