It’s #BookQW and my teen wizards share matching ‘faces’!
More from Chapter 11:
With a flick of his hand, Salm levitated the towel and magically threw it at her. “Tomorrow, you better wear your wetsuit. Ty can borrow my old one, the green one from before I shot up a foot.”
With jerky movements of her stiff arms, Coral swung the towel around her. Shuddering and closing her eyes, she snuggled into softness and apricots—Manta used the same soap Ma did. If only Ma were here to serve her a bowl of soup to finish warming her on the inside. Sometimes, having no body fat wasn’t fun.
“Hoy, lad,” Salm snapped. “Just remember that’s my sister you’re gawking at.”
Her eyes flew open as both Salm and Piper laughed. Towel around his shoulders, Ty bent over their dock locker, but his reddening neck confirmed her brother’s implication.
Coral stalked toward Salm and, in the middle of him taking the sheets from Piper, punched him in the arm. “Stow it,” she growled.
He laughed. “Try telling me again when you’re not holding a towel over yourself.” He jumped back as she aimed a kick. “And when you’re wearing boots. Come now, Coral, I wouldn’t be much of a brother if I said naught. Now I’ve said it, and you can do with him as you please.”
“Oh, lovely.” She recrossed her slipping towel and anchored it under her folded arms. “Just announce it to everyone.” Her gaze skimmed to Ty, who was leaning against the locker and once again watching her, his silver eyes shining and his mouth curled at the corners.
Spells! She’d wondered if he was interested. He might be blushing, but there was nothing shy about the way he looked at her.
Heat flushed across her neck to cover her face. It had happened again, this funny sensation. Magical or not, this wasn’t the place to sort it, or the smile twitching at her lips.
Ty returned the smile, stood and extended a hand to Salm.
“Thanks,” he said as they shook. “Having three sisters myself, I understand the role. Please let me know if I overstep any boundaries again.”
“Ach, we don’t want you looking to Salm for that,” said Piper. “Manta will tell you.”
“Excuse me.” Coral inserted herself between her brother and Piper, both a head taller than she and Ty. “This is my business, and as usual you all don’t need to be butting into it like cleaner wrasses. Salm and Piper, would you be so kind as to finish for us? I’m going to see if Manta has something warm to eat. Ty, would you like to come, too?”
His gaze darted to Piper and Salm, but he said, “Sure.”
“Let’s go.” She pushed past Salm, scooped up her wet clothes and briskly led the way off the dock. Truth be told, she wasn’t very cold anymore.
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My paperbacks have arrived!
Get Lost Whisperer of the Seas in print or ebook! Buy it here!
If you haven’t read the rest of the series, don’t worry. This novel can be read as a standalone. The characters and location are new to the series.
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Are you local to the Washington, D. C. area?
I’ll be at Mad City Coffee in Columbia, MD this Saturday, August 31, 2019 from 7 to 9 pm, selling and signing my paperbacks with a host of other authors to celebrate science fiction author Catherine Asaro‘s book launch.
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