Breathless: A Firelight Novella (HarperTeen Impulse) Read Online Free Page B

crack in his voice almost undoes me. Almost .
    “I don’t think so....” Pulling myself together, I start walking again, pushing ahead with swift strides, telling myself that this is the last time I’ll ever return to this pond. The last time I’ll ever see him.
    The last time I’ll ever come so close to losing control.

4
    I spend the rest of the day with Mom and Dad. We fish off the dock, and in the afternoon we take a trip to the small grocery store in town to get a few things for dinner. Mom wants fresh vegetables to go with the trout wecaught. She watches closely as I talk to the cashier, her eyes sharp on me as I hand the woman money, thanking her and assuring her we don’t need help to the car.
    She wants to see me to do this—she needs to see me do this. It’s the only way she can feel right about me taking my tour next summer. She needs to know I’ll be okay interacting with humans. I feel her smile of approval on me as we walk to the parking lot.
    After we get home, I help unpack groceries, and then Mom suggests a swim while Dad starts dinner. She doesn’t need to offer me twice. I’m changed and out the door, practically running ahead of Mom, who trots after me holding our towels. For the next hour, I enjoy the water, enjoy being with Mom. As she swims alongside me, cutting through the water with swift strokes, it’s easy to remember that before she became my mother, she was one of the pride’s strongest athletes.
    Even dinner is nice with just the three of us. Back home, we rarely eat alone. Dad’s students are always traipsing through the house. My friends, Jacinda. We’re never really alone in the pride.
    After dinner, I stand at the sink, drying dishes like I’ve been set to slow motion, the buttery smell of broiled fish still heavy on the air.
    “You feeling all right?” Mom asks, taking the skillet from my hands and putting it away. “Been quiet today.”
    “Mm. Just tired.”
    “Why don’t you go to bed early?”
    I nod. “Yeah.” I finish up with the glasses.
    “Maybe we can swim again tomorrow.” She searches my face. “You’d like that. Your father will even get into the water, too.”
    I lift my eyebrows at that. “Really?”
    “Sure. I’ll make him.” She flashes a grin that makes me shake my head.
    Dad isn’t overly fond of the water. Ironic since his only child happens to be a water draki. And his wife is one of the few female onyx draki of the pride. Traditionally, they’re the foot soldiers of the pride, built for speed and strength. Naturally they’re great swimmers. They’re great at all the physical stuff.
    I slide a look in the direction of the living room, where Dad is either reading or writing one of his lectures. “For you, I’m sure he will.”
    One would assume Mom would have bonded with another onyx. Like herself. But no. She chose quiet, scholarly Dad. About as unathletic as you can get for a draki.
    “Not for me. For you, honey. We know you love to swim.” She gives a small laugh. “An understatement, I know.” She inhales deeply. “We know you love it, but we just …” Her voice fades. She doesn’t say the rest, but I hear the words no less. They don’t trust me in the water out here, unsupervised.
    Like I might do something risky. Something like yesterday. Or today, for that matter.
    She takes the last glass from me. I lean forward and kiss her soft cheek. “That would be great, Mom.”
    “Good night, Dad,” I call before taking the stairs to the second floor. He calls up a muffled response from the living room.
    In my room, I close the door and fall back on the bed. The springs squeak under me. Clutching a pillow to my chest, I stare at the wallpaper of tiny pink rosettes. My bedroom back home is covered in posters of the beach. The ocean that I long to experience.
    In less than a year, I’ll be old enough for my tour.
    Not every draki chooses to take a tour. But I will. A year abroad, alone, away from family and the pride—on your