Chapter 28
Kiora
I WATCHED FROM MY HIDING place as Troy waved his arms in the air, probably to get Azar’s attention. I had noticed a dragon flying earlier. My escape plan was already falling apart. Maybe if I had kept on climbing, I could’ve gotten away, but my arms had turned into wet noodles and then I fell asleep in this stupid cave.
Well, I wasn’t giving up without a fight. Not a chance.
I grabbed a large rock and hid in my little cave, waiting to see if I’d be discovered. Or more like when I’d be discovered.
The loud thump that shook the mountain confirmed my suspicions about Azar, but then it sounded like he’d flown away. Odd.
I strained my ears, trying to figure out what was happening. Hushed voices. Multiple sets of feet stumping around. Then one of them came to the mouth of my cave.
Lifting the rock over my head I got ready to strike. And then my pursuer turned toward me. I yelped. She yelped. And then she shifted into a seal.
“Mom?” I asked the seal who still wore a t-shirt and shorts. They split but not enough to fall off, and the hem of the shorts must’ve been sturdy because it cut into the seal in the most uncomfortable way, giving it a waist line.
Mom made a keening sound, then covered her face with a flipper, like she was ashamed of what just happened.
“Eirlys?” an unfamiliar male voice shouted, then his steps came closer and faster, like he was jogging.
I lifted the rock again, but he saw me before I could hit him with it. Lifting his hands in surrender, he stepped back from me. And grinned. Because they had me cornered.
Mom whimpered, turning her sad eyes on the newcomer who was still staring and grinning at me. Mom’s whimper got his attention, though.
“I’m just gonna give my shirt to your mom. Okay?” He pointed at the shirt he was wearing.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. It was enough, though. He took the shirt off and gently lay it next to Mom who immediately shifted back into her human form, grabbed the shirt, and pulled it on. It hung on her like a minidress. All she needed was a belt.
“Is everyone decent?” Troy asked from what sounded like a dozen feet away.
“When have I ever been decent,” Mom grumbled. “Now, both of you, get out of here.”
I frowned. That didn’t sound like something Mom would say. She had always been meek.
The now-shirtless man walked backward, his eyes on me the entire time. And that grin... Why was he grinning like a lunatic?
Mom was grinning, too, then she threw her arms around me and squeezed. Hard. Good thing I hadn’t eaten anything in a while or she would’ve squeezed it all out.
The rock fell out of my hands and rolled uselessly to the mouth of the cave where it could’ve been picked up by Troy or that other man, but neither of them did anything.
“Mom,” I croaked. “Let me go.”
She did, taking my hands instead and looking at me, inspecting my face. “You’ve changed so much. I was so worried about you. Oh, my waves, you have no idea how much I was worried.”
“Are you possessed?” I blurted out because she wasn’t acting like my mother. She was all giddy and outside. She hadn’t left that house the entire time I had lived there. Hell, she hadn’t even left it to give birth to me. Now, she wasn’t just outside but on the mountain.
She choked out a laugh. “I have so much I need to tell you. Where do I start?” She hopped in place like a deranged bunny. What was happening. “Oh, Billy’s dead. I killed him.” She said it with the biggest smile I had ever seen. Seriously, what in the leech-infested waters was happening right now?
“What?”
She bobbed her head, then hugged me again and rocked us back and forth. “When I found out he was trying to sell you, I kinda lost it.” Another hard squeesh. “So, I went back home, but I was hoping to find you there because I figured you ran away, but you weren’t there.”
“Mom, you need to start making sense. What do you mean you went back home?”
“Right, I didn’t tell you that part yet.” She went back to holding my hands. “Billy stole my sealskin. I have it back now, as I’m sure you could guess by my little spectacle.” She laughed, actually laughed. “That’s why I couldn’t leave that house before and had no memories.”
Oh. Things were starting to make a little more sense. Just a little. Wait, if Dad was gone, then I overheard Troy talking to Mom? No, that can’t be it because he referred to her in third person when he said to bring her along.
“We both need a chill pill,” I mumbled as my brain tried to catch up with everything that was going on.
“We could go to the Magic Bean. They have a tranquility potion. Have you been to the Magic Bean yet? That’s where your dad and I met. For the second time, I mean.”
I stiffened, suddenly hating the coffee shop.
“Not Billy. Oh, my waves, I keep forgetting to tell you the most important things. Billy isn’t your father. I was pregnant when he kidnapped me.” Mom let go of one of my hands and started pulling me toward the exit. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to your real father. You’ll love him.”
I wasn’t sure about that, but I went. It’s not like I could run away now. Maybe if I played along, I’d get another chance.
The shirtless man from earlier rushed to us as soon as we emerged from the cave. Surprise, surprise, he was still grinning.
“Kiora, this is Dylan, your father. Dylan, meet your daughter,” Mom announced.
“Hey,” Dylan said.
What the hell was happening right now?
“You guys are overwhelming her,” Troy said calmly, like my life hasn’t just been turned upside down. “We need to go somewhere a little less nerve-wracking, relax, and give Kiora a chance to process.”
“Okay,” Mom agreed. “Your place. I want to daaaaance.”
“Eirlys, you’re freaking your daughter out. Stop being happy,” Troy deadpanned.
She flipped him off. My mom flipped someone off. What planet was this?