Blood of a Mermaid Read Online Free

planned, and Kae had to follow her to the new castle. His friend John had only been able to visit for a long weekend, and then had to fly back to Oklahoma for baseball camp. Now Hailey was abandoning him. He was going to be all alone again. His gut twisted into knots at the thought.
    “Not New York.” Hailey seemed oblivious to Shea’s misery. “Andreaopolous is the Greek shipping heiress, you know, the one on the cover of Vogue magazine last month? Her family owns, like, most of Santorini for goodness sake!”
    Shea shook his head, still not understanding. “Why would I read Vogue ?”
    “I’m trying to tell you we’re headed to the Greek islands for the rest of the summer! Can you believe it?” She grinned as Martha placed full breakfast plates of steaming eggs and bacon on the table. “Thanks, Mrs. MacNamara! This smells great.”
    “Congratulations on your good news, young lady.” Martha smiled at her, and looked over at her grandson. Shea sat there staring at his plate like he wasn’t sure what to do with the food. “Shea? Aren’t you going to eat?”
    He picked up his fork, and pushed at the scrambled eggs until Martha turned back to wipe down the stovetop. He watched silently as she quickly put the kitchen to rights and headed down the basement stairs to do her morning load of laundry. As soon as she was out of earshot, he put the fork down, folding his arms over his chest and staring at Hailey, who was happily crunching a slice of bacon. “When are you leaving me?”
    She looked up at him, her eyebrows shooting up. She put her own fork down, swallowing the food in her mouth. “I’m not sure,” she said quietly, reaching for the orange juice in front of her. “ I think Mom’s trying to arrange flights for next week.” She paused to take a drink before adding, “I’ve always wanted to go to Greece, though. Ever since we studied mythology in school, back in New York.”
    He relented a little. “I’m happy for you, really, it’s just going to be a lonely summer here without you.”
    “You’ve still got Kae, right?” Hailey’s eyes were locked on her juice glass as she lowered her voice. “You guys would be swimming off without me anyway, kissing and playing mermaid games and whatever.”
    He bristled at the jealousy he heard in her voice. “Hailey, what I have with Kae, what she and I share is…different, that’s true. But you’re still my friend.”
    She blew out a long breath before picking up her fork and stabbing at her scrambled eggs. “Friends. Right.”
    “Besides, she has to leave on a journey too.”
    Hailey’s laughter sounded bitter. “So, what? She’s allowed to leave and I’m not? Some friend you are. You should be happy for me!”
    Shea inhaled deeply, trying to tamp down on his frustration. “I am happy for you. And why can’t I be friends with both of you?”
    Hailey sighed, her scowl dissolving. “I’m sorry I’m being a jerk about it. I just feel a little…left out when she’s around. You know?”
    The doorbell rang, interrupting the conversation. Martha’s voice wafted up from the basement. “Shea? Can you get that?”
    Shea stood, still looking at Hailey. “You’re both my friends,” he said simply as he left the kitchen to answer the door.
    The mermaid in question stood on the front steps.
    “Kae!” Shea cried, throwing his arms around her small waist and pulling her into a close hug. He buried his face in her mop of unruly blond curls, letting her fresh scent of sunshine and saltwater fill his senses. Boy, was he going to miss that smell. “I thought we were meeting on the beach this morning.”
    “I got held up by the…oophff! Shea, stop squeezing me so hard! I can’t breathe!” Kae smiled as Shea relaxed his grip and took half a step back. She was wearing what looked like board shorts and her usual woven halter-top. Her transmutare medallion dangled from her neck openly, looking like the beach rock necklaces that seemed so popular in the