"Tell me what happened with you." Taya demanded. Casey sucked in her breath lightly. They were in a room that had been given to the both of them. Taya's eyebrows shot up, "Casey, anytime now."
She nodded. "So, I sat next to that Brazilian guy - his name is Pedro. We talked and asked a few questions to each other. As the plane landed, I was coming to you guys and his bag burst open. I went to help him. By the time it was cleared up, you guys weren't there. We went out and the Amazons captured us. Also he is a Sotíra." Casey added sheepishly.
Taya gasped. "You knew and didn't tell us yesterday? What is this, Casey?"
"It slipped my mind!"
Taya scoffed. "Okay, fine. Where is he now?"
"In a room. And I met him yesterday." Casey grinned.
Taya slapped her forehead, "are you planning on giving me heart attacks all day? Why did you have to meet him?"
Casey turned red, "because I like him. He is different. He is all I can think about." She said dreamily.
Taya's eyes widened. "Okay, you are out of your mind. You met Pedro two days ago. You just like him because he is pretty."
"Do not!"
Taya rolled her eyes. "What's Pedro like?"
Before Casey could answer, someone knocked on the door. Taya opened the door and her hand tightened on the knob. Casey went and stood next to her to see who it was. "Hey, Matt." She giggled.
Taya shot a look that said what are you doing? Matt squinted and shook his head. He turned towards Taya. "We have to go start your training."
"Uh, what training?"
Matt rolled his eyes, "with all of this that has been going on, did you forget that you are a Sotíra with magic water powers?"
Taya shook her head. Matt beckoned with his hand and walked away.
Taya squeezed Casey's hand and went out, turning around to see that Casey had a smug smile on her face.
Taya caught up with Matt and he picked up pace. She cleared her throat, "Pedro is a Sotíra."
"Who is Pedro?" Matt glanced at her.
"The Brazilian guy Casey sat with."
Matt's steps faltered. "Really? When did you get to know?"
She frowned. "Just now. What are you going to do?" He arched an eyebrow. "Nothing. Yet. I'll talk with Stella first."
Taya scoffed and was about to retort but she saw the area in front of her and was mesmerized. It was a small blue lake, no ripples in sight. The clouds were reflected like mirror, a perfect scenery. The soft breeze blew Taya's hair into her eyes. She brushed it away impatiently. The leaves on the trees had turned gold and red, some of them falling to the ground.
"Wow."
Matt scowled, "yeah, it's nice. Let's get to work."
Taya squinted at him but did not argue. "What's first on today's agenda?" She asked.
He looked at her and saw that all the boyish-ness had disappeared. He looked like a strong warrior, who was not going to stand any nonsense.
"You have seen the Avengers right?"
She nodded. "So, I get to make magic shields like Doc, instead I use water?"
"No."
"Then why the reference?"
Matt shrugged and removed his jacket, placing it on the ground. Taya was now worried for his mental health.
He turned towards her flexing his thin pianist hands. The green shirt he wore brought out the color in his eyes.
He strode towards the water and cupped his hands in it. "Water is sacred. Wherever it is, in whatever form, you have to remember this. There might be water pixies so you have to be careful. Changing into mermaids is hard and anyways we cannot do it now, our abilities have been compromised. I think, it is because of the demons. Understood?"
She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off. "Excellent. Now we come to your basic powers. Try this."
Matt raised his hands slightly and moved them in a circle. The water rose and formed a mini tornado. Taya was impressed.
She bent down beside him and did the same, except the water did not move. She sighed.
Matt held her hands. "Focus. Concentrate on the water, feel it in your blood. You are the water. The water is you." He breathed in her ear.
Taya could feel his hard chest moving in and out. She so badly wanted to lean back into him but resisted the urge.
Taya shivered and focused. She closed her eyes and mimicked Matt's movements.
When she thought nothing was going to happen, the water rose making a bigger and faster tornado. She jumped back in surprise and it splashed on the ground, spraying her in the process.
"Good. It was really good for your first time." Matt complimented.
Taya smiled. "Thanks, should I try again?" Matt nodded. She made the same motion with her hand, twirling her fingers and then raising them slightly.
The water rose again, glittering and whirling. Taya's eyes reflected the water, it looked as if there was a storm in them.
Matt moved back a small smile tugging on his lips. Taya dropped her aching hands with a look of triumph on her face. He gave her a quick grin. "Don't get too excited. This is nothing, even a two year old should be able to do this."
Taya frowned, only yesterday he was kissing her and holding her; and today he was being a total butt.
"So, this isn't called water magic. It is Claeire."
"Clah-ere?"
He nodded. "I was telling you about water pixies." He paced, walking in front of her his hands looped behind his back. He looked like a professor giving a lecture, all he needed was a scale and a board.
Matt continued. "Water pixies or nixies are more commonly referred to as pixettes. They are small but very feisty."
Taya's lip curled in amusement, he ignored her. "They usually help us but keep to themselves. Next come the merpeople. We can change into them- wait, let's see you try. Maybe you can."
Taya shrugged and stood at the edge of the water and came to a stop, she didn't know what to do next.
Matt took her hand and raised it, making it come to shoulder-level. He did the same with her other arm.
"Take a deep breath and concentrate. The feel of the water. Think about Ariel and her friends, her tail and how it would it be to have a similar one. Become Ariel. I don't think it will happen, but there is no harm in trying."
Taya shut her eyes tightly, recalling all The Little Mermaid stories. Ariel had always been her favorite Disney princess. She saw in her mind's eye how she would look with a green tail, just like Matt's eyes; how wonderful it would be to breathe underwater.
She remembered the taste of water, the feel of it, the salt in the seas, the waves on the beach, the strong current when she swam. How the water always could call out to her. She had always been able to swim better and faster than the others, she could hold her breath for a really long time. Taya thought it would be impossible, if she could become a mermaid, then she should have found out long ago.
She dove headfirst into the water, her legs tingling. She stayed under, holding her breath. Taya's lungs were screaming for air, but all of a sudden, the feeling stopped.
Taya took in a huge breath and was only slightly surprised to notice that she could absorb water. She looked down and gasped.
Her tail. She had a tail, not green but a light blue one. She spun around, her tail flapping.
She swum around, making the water churn. Taya went upwards and did a flip, pouring water over Matt. As she came down, she felt a sharp prick on her waist and fell on the ground as a heap, her tail gone.
She coughed up water, her nose feeling very weird. Matt sat down next to her and hit her backside, until she brought out all the water.
He looked awed. "I was not expecting that to happen. None of us could do it, how could you? It came more as a surprise that you did it on your first attempt. You looked like a nice mermaid." He grinned.
Taya gave him a weary smile, her face red and blotched. "If only I were wearing a seashell bra, then the look would have been complete."
Matt laughed and bent down, his lips brushing hers lightly, sending sparks throughout her. "Remember, you cannot tell this to anyone."
Taya nodded, she understood that it would be better if nobody knew she was the only one who could transform.
He stood up, holding out his hand. She took it and he heaved her up. Taya squeezed the water from her shirt and wrung her hair like wet washing. "I need to change but I have nothing to wear. Guess I'll dry myself by standing out in the sun."
"Don't be silly. You can wear one of my shirts. Come."
She opened her mouth but thought better of it and ran behind him.
*
Casey played with her hair, twirling strands around her finger. She was waiting outside a door with red chipped paint. The door was opened by a bleary eyed boy with chestnut curls. He brightened at the sight of her. "Casey! Hello, how are you?"
"Same as yesterday."
Pedro chuckled and opened the door wider. She gave him a smile and entered. It smelled like cologne. It was dark, the heavy curtains were closed and his bed was a mess. His bag lay open on the floor, spilling its contents.
Casey saw that Pedro was shirtless and barefoot and averted her eyes. He was so beautiful with a golden skin all over his body, long legs, small waist and muscles on his arms. A fine line of hair made its way from his belly to the waistband of his jeans.
Casey smiled to herself. She had seen many boys without clothes but Pedro was by far, the prettiest. She looked around and saw that the room was not so different from her and Taya's.
Pedro cleared his throat. "I am sorry for the mess."
Casey glanced at him and was disappointed to see that he was putting on a shirt. "No, it's alright."
"I am hungry. Do you want something?"
She shook her head. "When are you going to meet the others? You are going to have to, one way or the other."
He grimaced. "Yeah, I know. I am not sure how they will react."
"React? You all are Sotíras, what is the big deal?"
Pedro raised his thick eyebrows sheepishly. "Ah, yes. I forgot to tell you. I am Theo's brother."
Casey dropped her purse, her mouth open. "What? You mean half-brother? Adopted?"
He shook his head, "full blooded brothers. I knew about him from the beginning. He doesn't. I heard about him leaving for Brazil and I followed you guys. Here I am."
Casey picked up her purse slowly, the information still processing. If this was her reaction, what would Theo's be?
*
Taya stood in front of Matt's duffel bag. He was ruffling through all his shirts to find a smaller one.
She looked around, it wasn't really Matt's room but she could somehow sense that he had been sleeping here.
The bed had been made, the covers folded properly. Nothing was out of place. It made Taya want to push him to a level where he would get triggered and maybe break a few things.
"Here." Matt handed her a black tee that said, "Be You." She took it and thanked him.
Taya peeled off her shirt that was sticking to her body and dropped it on the floor. Matt's eyes flashed and he looked away, but he did glance once. Taya grinned.
Being a model meant she had to change her clothes at record speed and many of her personal staff had seen her half-naked. She had gotten used to it and was never bothered with changing in front of anyone.
Matt, though was a separate question altogether. She wanted to cover herself suddenly but also wanted to go stand in front of him, just to see his reaction.
Taya resisted the urge to do either and just pulled on his soft cotton shirt. It smelled like him - sharp scent of cloves and a hint of cinnamon.
"Why was I never able to do this before. It's not like I got baptized differently, that suddenly my abilities change. I have played with water all my life, why is it that I can do this only now?"
"Remember the drink I gave you, when I brought you to Mexico?"
"Oh, I had forgotten that you had kidnapped me. Nice of you to remind me."
Matt chuckled. "Yeah, okay. So, that drink is special. It gives us these 'abilities', as you said."
Taya scoffed, "why did you not bother to tell me this before?"
"It slipped my mind." He replied, eerily echoing Casey's earlier statement.
When she was done, he turned towards her. "We go meet the Queen now."
Taya sputtered. "Q-queen? What Queen?"
"The Queen of the Amazons. We came here for Kai. We got an audience with the Queen this evening. Please be at your best behavior."
Taya regained her composure. "I am always at my best." She drawled.
"Okay, then try something else."
She made a face at him and reached out to flick his ear. She stumbled and landed in his arms as he caught her.
Her breath hitched, "sorry. I slipped."
"It's alright." He quickly let her go.
Was it just her imagination or was his voice uneven too?