Then there came a grinding of metal, the closing of the hatch.
“All right,” Kyle said. “Let’s go.”
I was too busy watching what Kyle was doing to notice when my uncle Derek and my mother entered the room.
“When will we find out what exactly we’re heading toward?” I wondered aloud.
“Fowler’s usual way of doing things,” Derek muttered as he took a seat.
We fixed our eyes straight ahead on the dark waters as we passed through the island’s boundary.
About an hour into the journey, Kyle let me sit in his seat and I took over navigating. It really wasn’t that much more difficult than smaller subs I’d had experience with. I was in control for several hours with only occasional help from Kyle. As we began approaching the Northern Mariana Islands, I took a break.
Leaving the control room, I stopped by the galley to pick up a glass of orange juice and then headed to the main chamber where most of the passenger seats were.
I spotted my gang of friends in the corner and headed over to them. They were all snacking on their packed lunches… or breakfasts, as the case might be. I rummaged in my backpack for a granola bar before taking a seat next to Arwen.
“It’s so weird to finally be on a mission,” Grace said, as she munched on a peanut-butter cookie. “Kind of nerve-racking too…” I could not blame her for feeling nervous. As much as she wanted to be here, she would actually be leaving the submarine, unlike me.
“I don’t think you have anything to be nervous about,” Heath said in his deep baritone voice.
Grace stopped chewing, and I couldn’t miss the adorable blush that crept to her cheeks. It was no secret to anyone that she had a crush on Heath. She was one of many girls on the island who had fallen for his rugged good looks.
“What makes you say that?” she asked in a small voice.
“I’ve seen you in training,” Heath said, a smile reaching his navy-blue eyes.
“Back in a minute,” Brock muttered. He put down his sandwich and stood up. I guessed he was going to use the bathroom, but to my shock, before he walked away, he placed a kiss against Arwen’s cheek.
I widened my eyes, gaping at Arwen as Brock left.
“What?” I stammered. “Since when have you two been…?”
Arwen bit her lower lip. “Since, uh… yesterday actually. He asked me out after math class.”
Well, that explained why she had not told me yet. Their going out was not entirely unexpected though. I’d observed them giving each other the eye for a while at school.
Then a grin split my face. I looked around to see if I could spot Corrine or Ibrahim, but they didn’t appear to be in the room. “Does your mom know you’ve hooked up with Kiev’s son yet?” I asked Arwen.
She half scowled, half grinned at me. “No, not yet.”
I chuckled. “Please do invite me round for dinner when you plan to tell her.”
Arwen narrowed her eyes at me. “Definitely not.”
The discord between Corrine and Kiev was a long-running joke on our island, even though Corrine had forgiven Kiev like two decades ago for his past… mostly. Anyway, Arwen and Brock were a good match for each other, being full witch and half warlock. I didn’t see why either of her parents would object.
Brock hadn’t possessed the powers of a full warlock from birth, but he had worked hard under his mother’s tutelage and he could pretty much pull off any spell from what I knew. He used to get himself in trouble when he was a kid, messing around with spells and potions—hence the faint scar beneath his cheek where he had once tried hovering knives. He was lucky to have lived to tell the tale, first from the knives, and then the chastisement his parents had given him. I doubted he’d played with knives again after that.
I averted my eyes to Grace and Heath. If they ever got together, I couldn’t help but feel that they would make another perfect couple. Heath was half-dragon, and although he could not shift into a beastly form—unlike some of the other half-human, half-dragon kids who’d been born in The Shade—he was able to breathe fire, even as a humanoid. Just not in as much intensity as a dragon could. Grace, on the other hand, was half fae, and she could manipulate natural elements, fire especially. I could not wait to see them work together as a team.
When Brock returned, he leaned over to Arwen again, this time taking the liberty of kissing her full on the mouth.
Grace and I rolled our eyes.
“You two should just get a room already,” Heath muttered, biting into his apple.
Arwen and Brock ignored the three of us and continued to make out as if nobody else was present.
Grace—her cheeks still rather rosy—cleared her throat. She was clearly about to change the subject when Ben’s voice came booming through the chamber.