Chapter 3

THREE

CHIP

"Chip, thank you so much for bringing us here and showing us the Island." Laurie's face lit up with excitement. Her light eyes were bright and animated as she spoke. "It really is amazing."

A gust of wind blew across the surface of the water, sending tiny ripples in all different directions. We lounged just off the coast of the Island, just letting the water soothe and relax us before we continued on our little tour. I wanted to give them all a minute to get used to everything they'd seen and learned about Megelle Island before I took them back underwater to see my home.

"I'm glad you like it." I smiled and flipped onto my back and gazed up at the clear blue sky. Though it was fall and the air was crisp, the sun still shined down on us. The water was calm all around me, and I let my arms drift out to the sides, and for a moment I felt completely weightless. My hair drifted out around me. I closed my eyes, just feeling the cool of the waves.

"Like it? I love it."

"Who would've thought there were so many magical beings that could live together like this." Tara floated next to me, mimicking my position in the water. "And actually getting along."

I gave a light chuckle. "It helps that the laws are very strict, and the consequences are steep for any kind of violence."

Tara made a little hmm sound in the back of her throat. "What if you're just defending yourself?"

"I'd like to think that they'd be understanding about something like that but really why test the limits?" I shrugged and went back to floating when I heard familiar voices on the shore—a familiar voice that made me question whether or not violence would be worth the consequences.

"It is very important I get it back, Reese, you have to understand."

I shot straight up and turned to gaze at my sister, Reese, standing and talking with that asshat Monroe. Her long red hair flew in the breeze and her hands moved as she spoke to him. "I get what you mean, Monroe. Really, I do."

I'm sure that she did. I'd taken something from her on more than one occasion. But as my sister, she pretty much signed up for that. And I always gave her stuff back eventually. He ran his hand through his thick dark hair. It drifted back from his face in waves, and it was too attractive for his own good. His eyes were a dark, chocolatey brown with light flecks of gold in them that caught the rays of the sun. He had no business being that good-looking while also being that annoying. I rolled my eyes and started to swim away from the shoreline when Reese called out to me.

"Chip! Is that you?" She held her hand over her eyes, shielding them from the sun. She wore an oversized plaid coat, dark blue jeans, and work boots. "I know it's you. Don't pretend you don't hear me."

I sighed and turned back toward her and left the others floating a little ways behind me. "You're looking more and more like the wolfpack every day."

I liked the fact her soulmate, Holden, was the best thing that ever happened to her. But when they got married, it made him pack alpha and Reese, my silly little sister, a leader among the pack as well. She glanced down at herself. "Better than the yellow rain boots."

I nodded and pressed my lips together, trying to hold back a smile. "It's very true."

"Reese, please, a little help here." Monroe motioned toward me. "I hate to break up a reunion, but I have to get back and I just want what's mine."

"So, you brought your proof then?" I swished my tail back and forth holding myself up in the water. Tara and Laurie both chuckled as they hovered behind me.

Monroe shifted from one foot to the other and kicked at the sand in annoyance. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "Not yet."

"Then I don't think we have anything to talk about." I drifted farther away from the shore.

"Come on, Chip," Reese called out to me. "If it's not yours, give it back."

A burst of laughter came from deep in my chest. "How do we even know it's his?"

Her face fell, and she pursed her lips while nodding. "I mean, fair point."

Monroe's eyes widened and he marched toward the water's edge. "What the hell is it with you? You just take things that don't belong to you and hold them hostage to piss people off?"

"Not usually, but you just seem to get on that side of me." I shrugged and the cool water sloshed around me.

He narrowed those pretty brown eyes at me. "Lucky me."

"Must be a talent you have for getting on people's nerves." I looked him up and down. "You're really very naturally vexing."

He arched his eyebrow. "I was thinking the same thing about you."

"Pro tip: maybe try to have an original thought. That way, you're not just standing there going, rawr give me what's mine and you're annoying." I did my best impression of his deep, grumbly voice. "It's really boring, and annoying, and?—"

"Please do continue to wow me with your words." He rolled his eyes and gave a heavy sigh and turned back to Reese. "I feel bad this is what you have to deal with all the time."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "For your information, I'm a damn delight."

He scoffed and gave a humorless chuckle. "Sure you are."

"Good thing I don't care what you think of me." I didn't need to stay here and listen to this, or even fight with him. I blew him a sarcastic kiss and turned my back on him.

I heard his growl as I swam away, then Reese's reassuring words. "I'll talk to her, just give me time."

"Yeah, good luck with that," I called over my shoulder. I motioned for the others to follow me, and when I dove under water, they were right behind me. The faster I swam, the better I felt. Distance between me and Monroe was the best thing. My chest felt lighter, and the way the water moved around my body sent a small thrill through me.

"I cannot believe you just did that." Reese came up from behind me like a bat out of hell. She sped around me, making me spin in a circle.Though we were sisters our siren appearances couldn't be more different. Where my tail was purple hers was a vibrant green color. While iridescent scales covered her breasts and spread over her shoulder.

"Ohhhh, you're in troubleeee." Tara chuckled with wide eyes.

Laurie gave her tail a little bump. "Don't get into it."

"Girls, let's give them a minute," Linda chided them both as she swam by. "Come along."

"I don't need a minute." I turned toward Reese. "Can't believe I did what?"

"Treated Monroe like that." She crossed her arms and just hovered there. Her bright hair drifted around her head in a fiery halo.

I turned away from her and pointed deeper into the water. "And just beyond that ride is home."

The water was much cooler back by Megelle Island, and I could feel it in my blood. Though the temperature didn't bother me, I knew we were well into fall. The water wasn't as crystal clear as Key West, but there was a certain crisp spookiness in the water that I always loved kind of like a fog.

Reese swam in front of me. "Don't ignore me, Chip."

"I'm not ignoring you. I'm just busy."

"I can't wait to see it." Tara spun in an excited circle. Small bubbles formed around her and drifted up toward the surface. I chuckled and her cheeks turned a bright red. "Too excited? I know, but this is the first time we've ventured away from home and met other sirens, and now we're going to meet the King and all your sisters! It's wild."

I never thought of the fact that I was a princess and had nine other sisters as something to be excited about. Mostly it meant I never had anything of my own and zero privacy. Like now, when all I wanted to do was go on this tour and Reese was bothering me about Monroe.

She moved in closer to me as we neared our home. "You should just give it back."

"No." I don't know why I felt like I had to hold on to that damn pocket watch, but I did. If he wasn't such an ass, I might've given it back.

She sighed. "So you're being spiteful."

I ignored her words and pointed toward my home. "And there it is. My home."

"Wowwww." Tara's eyes widened. "It's amazing."

There, on the edge of an underwater cliff, stood my home, or rather the castle I grew up in. My father ruled the local seas. He wasn't a god, but he ruled with an honest and fair hand while working together with the Vaunteros. After the split of the supernaturals in First Realm, the ones who chose not to engage in the war were granted amnesty here on the Island—under the rule of the Vauntero family. But my family was granted the sea, and we kept it. Me, my father, and my nine sisters.

Our castle was tall and made of gleaming sand and crushed iridescent shells that made it sparkle even at night. There were multiple floors and the windows were glassless, so fish and sirens swam in and out as they pleased. Two turrets stood at each side of the castle, their roofs looking like golden teardrops. At the center of the castle, the roof was domed with multicolored sea glass. Bubbles floated up from the windows.

Pickles swam out of one of the windows and headed toward our group. When she spotted Reese and I, she paused for a second and then glanced from me to Reese and back again. "What's going on?"

I plastered a fake smile on my face. "Pickles, can you show them around the castle?"

"Umm, yes, of course." She gave me a what the hell is going on sideways glance and I just shook my head. She waved them toward her. "Follow me and I'll take you to meet my father and see the castle."

Our new siren friends talked excitedly as they swam by.

Once they were out of earshot, I turned back toward Reese. "What are you thinking?"

"Me?" She pressed her hand to her chest. "What were you thinking just taking something that wasn't yours?"

"Finders keepers." I shrugged.

"Chip, this isn't funny. It's not like taking a hair tie from one of your sisters."

I rolled my eyes and made a sound of annoyance in the back of my throat. I didn't want to talk about this with her or anyone else. Once the stupid mage proved he owned the stupid watch, I would give it back. Until he learned some manners and a little bit of using his nice words, I'd be happy to oblige. But I wasn't going to give into a guy who was rude right from the start. So maybe I was teaching him a little lesson . . . a lesson he deserved.

I turned away from Reese and swam toward our room. I darted through the window, but she kept following me. Our room was large by anyone's standards, but all nine of us had to share it. Well, eight now that Reese was gone and married. Shells the size of small cars were embedded into the walls. Seaweed drifted up from each of them, forming small, closed-in beds. I never minded sharing with my sisters. I liked the noise and mayhem each of them brought to the table. I loved that they gave as good as they got.

Each of us had a chest of drawers next to our beds. I liked to hide some of my treasures and the things I found in mine. A bit farther away from the castle I had my own underwater cavern that no one knew about. It was all mine as well as the things I put in there. The pocket watch was there now, and it wouldn't move until I said so. I swam over to my bed, parted the seaweed, and floated in, letting the seaweed separate us. I lay there staring up at the bunk above mine with my tail hanging over the edge.

The seaweed around my bed parted and Reese popped her head in. "I'm not done talking about this with you."

"Well, I am." I turned back to her."You're not the boss of me, baby sister."

Two firm hands wrapped around my tail, and before I could fight back, I was yanked from my bed and into the middle of the room. Brownie, my eldest sister, glared down at me with her arms crossed over her chest. Her dark-red hair floated around her in wild waves, and when she narrowed those chocolatey brown eyes at me, she reminded me of my mother. I relied on Brownie too much sometimes, but when our mom passed away, she stepped into the roll and all of us still looked to her like she was our mother.

"But I am, baby sister. " She arched one red eyebrow and didn't let go of my tail. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." I pulled my tail free from her hands. "Well, anything that wasn't fully deserved."

"That is not true," Reese countered.

I waved her words away. "She doesn't even know the whole story and automatically assumes I did something wrong."

"Is it really that far-fetched of an assumption?" She motioned to our sister, Mango, who was working quietly in the corner on a boat engine. "You're always taking things that don't belong to you. And this is no different."

Mango's head snapped up and her dark hair floated into her face for a second before she shoved it back. Orange scales were spread over her temple, down the side of her neck, across her shoulder and chest. Her orange tail was bright against the sand, and it only made the engine that much more visible. "Don't drag me into this."

"Well, where'd you get that thing from?" Reese pointed toward the metal pieces floating all around her.

"Chip gave it to me." She shrugged.

When Brownie and Reese both turned back to me with accusing eyes, I arched my eyebrows at them. "I didn't take it . . . I found it."

" Chip ." Brownie pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "One of these days you're going to get in trouble with the Vaunteros for stealing something, and there's not going to be anything any of us can do."

"First of all . . ." I held my finger up. "Stealing things isn't a violent act. Second of all, I didn't steal the engine, I found it in a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean. If anything, that's like garbage-picking. Ocean cleanup, you're welcome. Third of all, I haven't stolen something since I was a kid. Since then, I've only stolen stuff from my lovely sisters. That does not count. And if I find something on the ocean floor, then it's free game. Finders. Keepers."

"Everyone pause." Brownie held her hands out. "What exactly is this about? What did you find, Chip? And who does it supposedly belong to?"

"A pocket watch. Monroe Whittaker." Reese shook her head.

Just then Pickles swam through the window and joined our little group. "What's happening? And why am I giving tours when you were gonna do that today?"

"Because Reese came in all hot accusing me of stealing Monroe's pocket watch . . . which I didn't do, because, news flash, I FOUND IT. And I didn't want to talk about it in front of our new friends." I glanced over her shoulder. "Where are they, by the way?"

She waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, Dad is with them, and he's gotten on the topic of the difference between all the seas and they seem fascinated, so I left them there for a minute to come see what was going on."

The rest of my sisters groaned at the sound of his seven seas lectures. It was something he went on and on about whenever he was given the chance, so we had plenty of time.

Brownie kept her hands up. "Now, who is Monroe?"

"This total ass hat," I snapped.

"He is not. He's actually a really nice guy," Reese countered.

"No, no, he's really not." Pickles shook her head as she backed me up.

"See!" I pointed toward her. "He was so rude. And had no proof that watch belonged to him. He could be a conman or something and we wouldn't even know it."

"He's not a conman, he's a travel agent." Reese sighed. "And he's super nice. He's done a lot of work to help Holden and the pack. He gets them all set up, with safety measures and everything. He's so patient and really kind. Maybe you just got on his bad side."

"I didn't do anything to warrant said bad side. He just attacked me after following me back to the island." I crossed my arms, mimicking Reese's annoyed pose.

Brownie's brow furrowed. "Hold on a second. So Chip found a pocket watch at the bottom of the sea, and this Monroe person says it's his? Does he have proof it's his?"

"Thank you!" I waved my hands toward Brownie. "No, he does not. Or at least not on him at the moment, nor did he bring it with him when he went to tattle on me to Reese."

"I'm sorry, Reese, but it sounds kind of weird, and if both Pickles and Chip say he was rude to them, then maybe you need to talk to Monroe and set him straight. Sirens aren't pushovers, nor should we be."

"Yeah!" I felt vindicated.

"Hold on. If it is indeed his, you have to give it back, Chip. It might be important to him. Let's face it, a pocket watch isn't exactly current fashion."

I groaned. "I have said many times already: if he can prove it's his, I'll give it back."

"Reese, that should be good enough for you." Brownie put her hands on her hips. "And it's okay to take your sister's side once in a while. I get that the pack is important to you, but so is your family."

"All I'm saying is he's been good to the pack and there's got to be something we can do to make this all smooth over." Reese shrugged. "I would never pick him over my family. But you have to admit, Chip stealing things isn't exactly out of the ordinary."

"There's an exception to every rule." I paused, thinking for a moment. "And he might help the pack with all their travel, but he's never helped sirens, and they need help too."

Reese hung her head. "I don't think I can tell him how to run his business, Chip."

"No." A wide smile spread across my face as an idea came to me. "So maybe we should start our own travel agency just for sirens."

Brownie plucked a piece of seaweed from the floor and began tearing little pieces off of it the way she did when she was being a worrying mother hen. "Chip, what is it about this guy that makes you want to go head-to-head with him? I've never seen anyone get so under your skin."

"He's just pompous and rude and he thinks he's too good-looking." I had a whole list of things that annoyed me about Monroe Whittaker, and I was happy to give them all.

Brownie pursed her lips. "How do you know he thinks he's too good-looking?"

"He just does. You can tell by how he carries himself. And you can never trust a guy who knows he's good-looking."They all fell silent for a moment, staring at me. I felt like a fish caught on a hook, and I needed to change directions. "Besides, when Pickles and I put our minds to something, it's as good as done."

"I'm in. But how do we start a travel agency?" she muttered. "Like, where do we even begin?"

"I have no idea, but we'll figure it out." I crossed my arms over my chest. "That mage went fishing with the wrong bait."