Sanguine Tides - Book 3

Chapter 10

TW in the description
Thank you to mr_bluz for the art!

Eshe POV

"There is nothing I can do about it, Alberto, so stop complaining." Eshe said for the fifth time.

Her obnoxious little brother hadn't stopped pacing their stone home for an hour. His constant circling was creating a sort of current inside the hut.

"Will you settle down!" Eshe barked when a wave of water pushed her fins in her face.

"I can't just sit around and do nothing!" Alberto said through gritted teeth. "We are supposed to be preparing, not wasting time."

"I agree with you. But there is a courting fight in the arena today, and two of the Council members have to preside. They want all the Elders present for the war meetings."

"Don't you think this is a little more important than a courting fight?" Alberto bit out for the tenth time.

Eshe rolled her eyes.

"As I've already said, yes, I do. But Rusalki tradition is strong, and the son of a noble family is fighting in the arena. The Council wants to be present to oversee the match."

"How important can one stupid fight be?" Alberto asked incredulously.

"Let's just say having even one Elder watch a match means it is a big deal." Ksenya piped up from the corner.

She and Luca were weaving seagrass into clothes for Sireni refugees that lived just east of the village square.

"How many members came to your courtship fights?" Alberto asked his sister.

Eshe gave him a wide grin that showed off her fangs, but it was Ksenya who spoke again.

"The entire Council came to all her courtship fights. Including Chief Kirill."

"Really?" Luca asked, looking up from his lace-like weaving on a Sirena dress.

"The pairing for the daughter of Oksana would affect the fate of the Rusalki tribe. So yes, the entire Council was there to oversee it." Ksenya said, tying off a pair of pants.

"So the Chief got to see you kick Xander's ass three times?" Alberto asked with a grin.

Eshe nodded and saw some of the tension leave her brother's shoulders.

"Well, that at least makes me feel better," Alberto said. "Still isn't an excuse to waste an entire day we could be preparing." He started again.

"Ok, that's it," Eshe said, rising from her place in the corner of the stone hut. "Everybody up." She commanded.

"Where are we going?" Luca asked.

"To visit Giulia and Mattias. I can't sit all day in here with Alberto creating his own current." Eshe said, glaring at her brother. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"I'd like to see them again," Ksenya said. "It was interesting to see how you can interact with the humans so easily."

"It's just like interacting with anybody else," Luca said.

"I find that strange," Ksenya said in a very airy voice. "But I would enjoy another evening of observation."

"Just get a couple drinks in Mattias, and you'll have plenty to observe," Alberto said.

"Now you are speaking my language," Eshe said, wrapping a heavy arm around his shoulders and dragging him from the hut.

Eshe's rough handling of her brother led to a mini grapple outside their hut. Eshe saw from the corner of her eye that Luca and Ksenya were watching with interest.