“Dust doesn’t sparkle well when damp,” she snarked, but she took his hand and let him boost her to her feet.
I met Riggs’s gaze, and my eyes asked the question my lips couldn’t form. He stripped off his sword and laid it on the sand. “I’ll just wade in.”
I glanced down at the sword. “You’re leaving it there?”
“Constance will guard it. Won’t you, Constance?”
The headmaster’s assistant didn’t even open her eyes. “Oh, certainly. With my life.”
I peeled off my leggings, leaving me in just panties and a bra. And looked up to see Riggs staring at me. What I saw in his gaze sent another pulse of heat through me.
“Aren’t you stripping?” Sid asked him, oblivious to our moment.
Riggs ripped his gaze off me. “I react to strong sunlight,” he responded. “Go all red and peely. Not pretty. So I’ll just stay in the shallows. I already know how to swim.” He leaned over to ruck his sweatpants up above his knees.
Sid accepted the explanation, and I relaxed a little. I was scared of drowning, but I was also determined to learn how to swim.
We waded into the water as a unit, while Nar and a delighted Leah shifted to human to greet us there.
“Keep your hands to yourselves,” Adilyn snarled at Nar. “Or I will glamor your dick away.”
The Sea Krayt’s eyes widened. “You can do that?”
Adilyn glared at me. “Touch me, and you’ll find out.”
“No one’s touching anyone,” Sid growled, casting a dark look at Nar.
The Sea Krayt looked hopefully at me.
Riggs loomed up beside me. “No touching.” He glared at Nar.
“You guys are such a bunch of killjoys,” Nar complained. Then scales chased across his skin, and he turned to dive into an oncoming wave.
“Can you teach Adilyn and me how to swim?” I asked Leah.
Leah cast a glance after Nar, but then she smiled at me. “Certainly! We’ll stay inside the buoys, though. There is a bloody great fish in the lake that will happily gnaw on you.”
Okay, now I was really nervous. “Does it come past the buoys?”
“Oh, no. It doesn’t like the beach at all.” Leah gestured. “Come with me, girls. I’ll have you swimming in no time.”
She led us beyond where Riggs and Sid waded, until we were up to our waist in the water.
“First, we are just going to float,” she said. “Because if you ever get tired of swimming, you can rest by floating.”
“I’m already tired of swimming,” Adilyn snarked. I noticed that her dust clothes had reduced considerably—was it due to the wet? Or on purpose?
Leah ignored her. “It’s easy to do.” She showed us, lying flat on her back so that she drifted along with the waves. “Just breathe slow and easy, don’t panic. If you thrash around, you’ll sink.”
We tried it. I sank right away.
Adilyn, on the other hand, bobbed like a cork on the water. “This would be fun if I wasn’t wet,” she stated.
“Try again, Bree,” Leah said.
I tried again. I sank, again.
“Here.” Riggs was sacrificing his dry lower half by wading in up to his hips. “Lay flat on my arms.”
