Monsters: The Folklore Trilogy Book 3

Where We Introduce Ourselves

Amarie was a curiosity. We hadn't expected to meet her, obviously, and now that the first stage of whatever mission she was on was complete, she seemed to be at a bit of a loss.

We were sitting on the benches surrounding the deck of the Queen Titania (I was still quite pleased with the Shakespeare theme of the boats). Well, most of us were sitting down. Audrey and Sophie seemed to be playing keep-the-bouncy-ball-away-from-Deynan. Sophie wasn't the best thrower, but Audrey's incredible catching skills made up for it. I was mostly amused with Deynan's frustration.

I turned my attention back to Amarie. She was on the other side of the boat talking to Sierra. Or really, Sierra was talking to her. She didn't really respond much other than the occasional nod or short response.

"She's pretty."

I turned my head to Isaac next to me. "Yeah?" I looked back at Amarie. "I guess."

Amarie was striking in her own way. She was almost as tall Audrey, with a slender body and long fingers. Her dark skin was smooth and her long braided hair reached halfway down her back. The little clay beads at the end of each braid made a slight clacking noise when she moved suddenly. But it was hard to tell anything about her face, as she sat with her shoulders hunched and her head down, her hair sweeping over her shoulders and covering her face. So I agreed with Isaac in a way, but not so much that I thought it warranted a comment.

And besides, I thought the girl sitting next to her was much prettier.

Isaac shrugged. "I wonder what color her eyes are."

I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "And here I was thinking you had a thing for Abigail."

Isaac blushed furiously. "I do not! You guys are just...I don't know, paranoid."

I snorted. "I don't think paranoid is the word you're looking for. And your red face is currently betraying you."

Isaac blushed even harder.

The accusation didn't come without backup proof. Ever since the war had "started" with the note from Lee one month ago, Abigail had officially moved into the Myths' castle. The Legends' school had also joined up, so the island was busier than ever. The six of us, along with some of the adults, had been spending a lot of time planning and defending the island. The things that had been attacking us...

Anyways. About halfway through the month, we began to notice that Isaac was spending a suspiciously large amount of time with Abigail. Sitting by her at dinner, talking to her in the courtyard, seeing her sitting somewhere and going to ask her a question...it was constant. Audrey had pointed out this fixation as a joke once, but when he blushed and denied it far too intensely, we latched onto the idea like barnacles to a bridge.

Hey. We're his friends. It's what friends do.

"Come on, man," I said to Isaac, "just admit it. You like Abigail."

"No, I don't," he insisted. "Not like that. I mean, she's a great friend, but that's it. Friend. She just happens to be a very smart, talented, and irrationally kind and generous friend."

I raised my eyebrow again. "Okay, whatever you say. But I'm not giving up, just temporarily dropping it."

He gave me a side eye. "Maybe I should ask how you feel about a certain blonde haired girl sitting over there." He jerked his head to indicate Sierra.

I could feel my face growing hot. "Isaac, I swear, if you become like Deynan..."

He grinned good naturedly. "Nah. But now I know how to blackmail you."