Chapter 31
Grayson
Grayson awoke with the vague notion that he may have consumed a small amount of battery acid. That, or one too many hard seltzers. At his right, Keld lay sprawled on his stomach, face half buried in the pillow and tail pinning Grayson in place.
Grayson scrubbed at his face and started the slow process of squirming free.
Keld’s visible eye cracked open. “Mornin’,” he mumbled. “How d’you feel?”
“Like a freshman after his first frat party.”
“I don’t know what that means but congratulations or my condolences.”
Grayson shoved at the heavy tail. “Free me. I just need some water and I’ll be fine.”
Keld swished it over to the other side of his body. “That’s great because you agreed to go for a run with Tara later.”
Grayson stopped dead in his tracks. “I didn’t.”
“You did.”
As if on cue, Grayson’s phone buzzed from the bedside table.
Tara Baker: I’ll be ready in twenty minutes!
“Oh my god,” Grayson groaned. “I told her I needed to start running again because I haven’t been working out, and she said she was going on a run today, and I said that’s great, and—Fuck I agreed to go on a run with her.”
“Mhmm.” A shiver ran along Keld’s dorsal fin, wavering from the middle of his back to the lower half of his tail. “You better get that tight little ass moving, aiu.”
Grayson inhaled a cup of water and dug through his drawer of unused workout clothes. After a few minutes of rodent-like fervor, he came up with an old pair of running shorts and a light singlet. He ignored Keld’s eyes on him as he peeled his pajamas off and donned the much smaller garments.
“You should run more often,” Keld commented. His gaze flickered between Grayson’s long, exposed legs, and the bit of collarbone that protruded around the singlet’s straps. “Being mostly naked and sweaty suits you.”
“I’m not sweaty yet.” Grayson found his light gray windbreaker and zipped it over the sleeveless shirt. “And you won’t be here when I get back to see it.”
“True. Don’t shower until I get here.”
“You’re disgusting.”
The Alpha was still grinning as Grayson left, stopping to fill a water bottle on his way out.
Tara was waiting just outside the door to Grayson’s building, looking far too energized for someone who’d consumed at least double the alcohol Grayson had.
“I’m so excited to have a running partner again!” she said as they turned toward the bus stop. “I didn’t know you ran in college, but I guess I should have known from your body type.”
“Scrawny?” Grayson said sarcastically.
“I was going to say lean.” Tara laughed. “Anyway, I wanted to take you up to the northern side of the island. It’s really beautiful up there. More like Usoi than Earth. But I figured I wouldn’t make you run all the way there on your first day back in the game.”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “We’ll take the bus up to Midtown and run from there. Sound good?”
Grayson took a drink from his bottle. “Sounds tolerable. I hope. I don’t get how you can be so…” He gestured to her entire body. “You drank more than me.”
“It’s like how characters in fantasy and sci-fi books make themselves immune to poison by taking bigger and bigger doses. I did that with Whiteclaws. And wine. And tequila.”
“God.” Grayson shook his head. “You should be studied.”
The bus pulled up and the pair boarded. It was mostly empty, considering it was a Sunday morning. Grayson gazed out the window as the bus traveled along the shoreline, watching the plants shift from a mix of purple and green to a wall of violets and mauve.
“This is us.” Tara half-pushed him out of his seat and out onto the sidewalk. The building around them no longer looked exactly human. Houses along the beach were cantilevered into the water, and the structures inland were lower, boasting walls of carved granite and marble.
“Whoa,” Grayson whispered.
“Right? I always feel like I’m jogging on another planet when I come up here.” Tara stretched and arm out to the side then the other. “Ready?”
Grayson shook out his legs and did his best to recall his old warmup stretches. “Ready.”
Tara took off at a steady pace, her neon blue shorts and jacket leading the way. Grayson was impressed with himself as he ran behind her—he only felt a little like dying.
However, by the time they circled back south, Grayson could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and someone who looked like his great grandma waving him in.
“Tara, wait,” he gasped. He stumbled to a stop and planted his hands on his knees. “I need a minute.”
Tara grinned, jogging slow circles around him. “Honestly, I thought you’d keel over way sooner than this. You’re doing great.”
“Gee, thanks.” Grayson took a swig of water. His lungs were on fire.
They’d stopped in front of one of the Mer-style houses that seemed to rest on the surface of the ocean. There was a Mer out front, walking unsteadily toward the mailbox. She looked sick, with dull yellow scales and ragged fins.
The wind kicked up, blasting a blessedly cool breeze across Grayson’s overheated body.
The Mer’s attention snapped toward him, her orange eyes burning into his.
“Wai,” she rasped. Her face was twisted with rage, but her eyes were strangely unfocused. “Wai noa’yasie doak woguerwe zihu?”
“Sorry?” Grayson said, fear lancing through the exhaustion. “I can’t understand Loaish.”
The Mer’s lip curled. “Wai tyrneiae noa’yasi, huo? Yai woguerwe.” She took a step closer, claw-tipped fingers twitching.
“We’ll leave,” Tara said, palms in the air. “We’re leaving.”
Everything happened simultaneously.
The Mer lunged, and hot pain ripped through his cheek. Tara screamed from somewhere behind him, but the sight over the attacking Mer’s shoulder was what held Grayson’s focus.
Keld appeared in the doorway of the old home, his face a mask of horror. His eyes widened as they met Grayson’s.
“Jiei, vadhi!” he roared.
The spindly yellow Mer whipped around, her tail bashing into Grayson’s leg. He collapsed into the lavender grass, blood streaming down his face. Tara threw herself down next to him. She ripped off her jacket and held it to Grayson’s cheek.
“You’re going to need stitches,” she said shakily. “It’s deep.”
Adrenaline had flooded every molecule of Grayson’s body and he found himself unable to respond.
He watched Keld hurl the much smaller Mer to the ground.
Or was he watching his mother stomp Jameson into the floorboards?
His cheek burned and stung, but he couldn’t remember what happened…
Did his mother slap him? Was his dad on one of his rampages?
But…no, he was outside. The grass was the wrong color.
“Wai jindi tyrnei mek’po?” The female Mer’s words were punctuated with a hacking cough.
“Ais ka esion’yasi,” Keld spat. He raised a hand, fingers clenched into a fist. “Kas nois wai sorethae rif capuie’jo, yai asu’jo sorethalawe, Jiei.”
The frail Mer on the grass shrank back, a spark of true fear entering her dull gaze. Keld spun around and landed on his knees in front of Grayson.
“Aiu, are you okay? Let me see.” Keld gently removed Tara’s hand and the jacket to inspect the gash. “Tyr. You need to go to a clinic. Now.”
Grayson blinked up at him. “You’re here.”
“I’m here,” Keld agreed. He lifted Grayson in his arms.
Tara scrambled to her feet and pressed her scarlet-stained jacket to the wound once again. “Keld, hold this. He’ll bleed all over you.”
“Thanks. You can head home, Tara. I’ve got him.”
Tara hovered at Keld’s side as he carried Grayson toward a familiar Range Rover. “Grayson? Do you want me to stay?”
“It’s okay, Tara,” Grayson muttered. His mind was still hazy. “You should finish your run and head home.”
“If you say so…” Tara shot Keld a harsh look. “You’ll be explaining later.”
Keld nodded and opened the passenger door. Grayson allowed himself to be buckled in as he held the ruined blue fabric against his face. As they pulled out of the unkept drive, Grayson saw the female Mer, still lying in the grass.
“Who is she?” Grayson asked. His voice didn’t sound like his own, but clarity was beginning to creep through his thoughts. He had to snap out of it. He wasn’t at home, his parents couldn’t get to him here. It was just a cut.
You’re fine.
Keld’s jaw tightened. “My mother.”