Page 24 of Shifting Tides

“Exactly, hazardousto my health,” Brett said.

I resisted the powerful urge to slap Brett on the back of his head the way my father always did when I said or did something stupid. Towering over both of them physically brought out the dominance in me. And when they acted so idiotic, it was all I could do to not turn into my least favorite parent.

Of course, I was probably a little envious of their free spirits, as I wasn’t given much freedom at all. As heir to the Dracul line, I had a certain image to uphold. It didn’t help that the entire school seemed to bow at my feet, either. Mostly the avians, of course, but I’d caught more than one nod from a were or kitsune.

Sometimes, I wished I didn’t have the status, or the expectations that came with it.

“Honestly, I’m more interested in that new chick who showed up in the middle of the night,” Brett added. “She somehow went her whole life not knowing she was a mermaid. I bet she’d be lots of fun to play with.”

“That’s impossible,” Niko said. “Brett, you’re an idiot. There’s no way a mermaid wouldnotknow she was a mermaid.”

“It’s true,” Brett said with a mischievous grin. “I overheard that her mother was totally clueless or something. And maybe she was afraid of water? Anyway, the girl had no idea until Caesar told her.”

“How do you know—?”

“Tobias.”

The baritone voice I’d know anywhere cut off my question. Niko and Brett knew the voice, too, and said a quick and respectful hello before skittering off toward the dining hall.Cowards.

I straightened my back, filling the full six feet of my height. Yet, no matter how tall or strong I became, my father’s presence always made me feel like that small, ten-year-old boy.

“Hello, Father,” I said, bowing slightly. “What brings you to The Dome?”

I clasped my hands behind my back in the same way he did when talking with someone he considered his equal.

My father did not mirror me, though. “Caesar offered his office—”

“Lord Arthur,” Miss Tanis, the dragon mastery teacher interrupted with a pinched smile. She was a distant cousin of ours. “I was not aware you were visiting The Dome today.”

She pushed aside her brown hair and touched the frames of her glasses, which were a fiery red color today.

“Aida!” Arthur’s smile was uninhibited and clearly not forced. A stark contrast to the look he’d given his own son. But I didn’t care.

I relaxed my stance slightly since Arthur’s attention was elsewhere. And then I caught sight of my mother rounding the corner to meet us. Her long, thick auburn hair hung around her shoulders, and I noticed she wore the lavender dress I’d bought her for her last birthday.

“Hey, Mom.” I met her halfway and wrapped my arms around her delicate shoulders.

“Hello, Tobias,” she said in the soft tone I liked to think was reserved only for me, but was certain my sister, Tamara, got an equal dosage of it.

“I didn’t know you were coming to visit,” I said, pulling back from her.

“Your father wanted to discuss something with you,” she said, and we both looked at Arthur and Miss Tanis, who were fully engaged in their conversation.

I tried to avoid looking directly at Mom’s face as she watched them but failed, and I felt the stab of pain that always accompanied the expression she wore.

Octavia was beautiful. She was my mother, but I couldn’t argue that fact. I’d heard more than one of my friends comment on her beauty, despite her age, and I’d seen the looks other men gave her, though she never noticed.

She looked twenty years younger than her age, with her thick auburn locks, near-flawless porcelain skin, and amber eyes. My black hair, thick eyebrows, and strong features were straight from Arthur, but my amber eyes came from her.

Octavia always looked a hundred times more ethereal whenever she watched Arthur. The reason she never noticedthe gazes from others was because of the undying love that drew her eyes to the face of Arthur, andonlyArthur. She could stare unabashedly if his attention and her thoughts were distracted. But the second his eyes met hers, the spell was broken.

Though her expression only changed a fraction, small enough that anyone else might miss it, I had that pain-laced expression burned into my memory. I didn’t see it now, but I knew it would come the second Arthur finished his conversation with Miss Tanis, so I fixed my gaze on the polished floor.

“I’ve accepted it, Tobias,” she said softly, tilting her head to force me to meet her eyes.

“He doesn’t deserve you,” I gritted out bitterly. It wasn’t the first time I’d said it to her, either. “Do you still feed Adam and Alex and…herevery other Sunday night? Does Tamara put up with it? Or has she started making excuses to miss out? She said she would.” I grumbled the last part under my breath.

Octavia tilted her head down so she could look at me through her It was her way of showing me authority, ever since I grew an inch taller than her when I was eleven. It was still effective.