He studied the scars for several moments before gently reaching up and running his fingers over them. I shivered at the foreign touch over the sensitive skin. Surprisingly I liked it and wanted him to touch me more.
"These were why you didn’t want to shift last night?”
I nodded and pulled my sleeve back down. ”I know you guys know about them. But it’s hard.”
He leaned his head against mine. “I understand.”
"You do?" From what I saw of his body, he didn’t have any scars. His skin didn’t carry a single blemish. But I did remember how he wouldn’t shift last night either.
He lifted his hand and stared at it. “I'm different from the others.”
I snorted. "Thats a bit cliché, don’t you think?”
"And calling me cliché when I’m trying to open up is rude, don’t you think?”
“Touché. Sorry." I wrapped my other arm over his shoulder and brought him in close for an awkward hug. “Please, continue."
“I am from a different race of Merfolk called Deep Sea Mer. A little self explanatory, but my kind hale from the deepest depths of the ocean. From places so dark and cold that it is almost a wonder how anything could live there. We are a warrior race that are often considered savage and less intelligent than the other races.”
I watched as his hand shifted. Black scales surfaced and the skin around it looked so much paler, it was almost a light blue. The claws he sported were much longer than my own, and what I had seen on the other guys as well. It looked like the hand of some sort of demon.
“My true form is nothing like the others. We are a race that others fear. I…”
“Were you too afraid for me to see what you looked like?”
“Not afraid.”
“No, of course not. Percy, listen,” I reached out and took his clawed hand in mine. “Yes, you and other mer might believe that your form is scary, or even downright ugly, but I still know it's you. And I like you. We all have our ugly side. You just saw mine. Some people are just lucky that they can easily hide that part of themselves. And while this might sound cheesy, those kid’s movies had it right: it’s what inside that matters.”
Percy’s hand squeezed mine and he relaxed against me. We sat like that for a few moments, a blissful silence full of acceptance.
I inhaled and slowly murmured. “Besides, I think it will be good to have a merman who hales from a warrior race on my side.”
Percy stiffened. “Why? Did something happen?”
My mind flashed to Calder and the shiver that ran up my spine when he had touched me. And let’s not mention…him. If I wasn’t careful, I’d have that asshole knocking on my door. And this time, I couldn’t just run.
I shook my head. “No, nothing happened, but you never know.”
His hand squeezed mine. “Remember what I told you. I will protect you. You are safe with me.”
I smiled, closing my eyes and resting myself against him. “Thank you.”
Chapter Nine
Atalanta
I stayed with Percy for the rest of the day and helped him close the library down at ten. At first I stayed in his office reading, but once I noticed Percy frequently had to stop cleaning to help someone at the counter, I convinced him to let me man the counter while he cleaned. He agreed with the condition that I shift my hands back to normal, as he unfortunately didn’t have any gloves with him. I was silently proud of myself when I discovered that it was much easier this time. I was even able to get my feet shifted back to normal.
Once he showed me the basics of how to work the computer and check out books, he left me to my own devices, only checking in on me occasionally.
After ushering out the last person and locking the doors, I helped him tidy up. We even made a competition out of who could put books back the fastest. The two of us moved swiftly through the isles, putting back misplaced and returned books. Percy won.
I think I was finally getting the hang of his micro-expressions, because he seemed smug about winning to me despite his face not looking all that much different.
“Do you want to try going out and shifting again?” Percy asked as he locked up.
I thought about it for a moment. I had shown him my scars earlier and felt pretty comfortable with it. I was also curious to see if he would show me what his shift looked like.
“Okay, sure,” I nodded.
“All right. Let me just tell the others,” He said, taking his phone out of his pocket.
“No,” I held my hand out to stop him. “I mean, you can tell them. But—um…can we try it alone? Like, maybe have them join us later or something? I don’t want to hurt their feelings, it’s just…”
I wasn’t ready for all of them to see. One at a time felt a little more comfortable at the moment.
Percy studied me for a moment before slowly nodding and texting the others. He held up the phone to show me the group text he was going to send.
I am taking Ms. North out for a swim. We won’t be long. I want to see if she will feel more comfortable shifting with just one of us around.
My brows rose. I was surprised that he willingly showed me his text and that he had understood exactly how I was feeling.
“Yes, that’s good.” I bit my lip. “You don’t think they’ll be mad? Or jealous?”
“Let’s find out.” He hit send.
Mere seconds later, the phone buzzed with life. I leaned over to see the replies.
Jason: Keep her safe
Mr. Clark: Good, we aren’t ready. Keep her away as long as possible. and what Jason said.
Dawson: let us know if she succeeds
“Who’s Dawson?” I asked as I read the names over each text.
“Theseus. His current last name is Dawson.”
“Current?”
“You are not the only one who needs to change their name. But that is something to discuss another time. Come on.” He took my hand and began to lead me around the building.
I wondered about Ajax’s response but didn’t need to wait long when Percy’s phone buzzed again, this time with a phone call.
He answered. “Ajax.”
Then, without another word, he handed the phone over to me. I took it and put it to my ear. “Hello?”
“You okay?” Ajax asked gruffly.
“Yes?” I chuckled.
“You’re too far out of my range.”
I frowned. Out of range? “Oh, you mean your empath ability thing can’t reach this far?”
“Yes. I don’t like not being able to feel you.”
I smiled at that. “Well, I’m okay, Ajax. Just thought I’d try shifting.”
“And you don’t want us there?”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just…” I bit my lip.
“I understand. Be safe, little bird.”
My mind flashed to the painting he created of the raven and the smaller bird. “Okay, Ajax. I’ll see you soon.”
He hummed on the other line before hanging up on me. I handed the phone back to Percy. He took the phone and then smoothly slipped his palm into mine and guided me through the dark woods towards a cove.
In the dark, I could see Percy leading us to a small box propped right on top of a rock far away from the water.
“You can put any of the clothes you don’t want to get wet in here,” He told me as he let go of my hand and began to unbutton his vest and shirt.
I mentally slapped my cheeks to pump myself up and began to remove my clothes and the bandages on my face. It was just Percy.