Read The Equinox for Free Online Page A

of community is Weeki Wachee if it’s not a
Solstice settlement?” I look back at the photo in my hands and feel a tingle
spread through my body.
    I look back up and catch Arabella’s eyes;
her pupils dilate when she sees what I’m holding.
    “You told her?” She looks to her sisters
but I can’t tell if the look is anger or happiness.
    Latuana shrugs. “Should it be a secret?
Everyone else here knows. Rose did invite us here.”
    “Kat should know what we are,” says Zanna.
Sophania, Marabella, and Latuana incline their heads in agreement.
    Arabella shrugs. “Okay.” She doesn’t seem
to hesitate long. It makes me wonder what her reservations are. What are they
holding back? “That flyer you’re holding…”
    I’m not as confused as I look. Something
has already clicked but I don’t allow myself to agree with my thoughts.
    Arabella just nods, agreeing with the
realization I’ve come to. “We are descendants of King Triton, Messenger of the
Sea.”
    I shake my head now, feeling as if
another wall of my world has crashed in on me. “Like the Little Mermaid?”
    Arabella grins, apparently proud of the
parallel. “Exactly like that. Except we have what Ariel always wanted.” She
wiggles one of her feet. “See. We can live on land or in the water. The sea is
our birth place and where we spend the majority of our time, but most of us have
evolved to enjoy the comfort of a mattress.”
    Part of me wants to run, the other part
is too curious to leave. “So you’ve always had powers?”
    Arabella shakes her head. “Sea
descendants get fins at birth, but we don’t have those kind of powers until our sixteenth year, like you.”
    My heart rate picks up speed as I stare
back at the girls in front of me—six real life mermaids. Obviously I’ve
learned that this world isn’t a normal one, but mermaids? This one might take
more time to grasp.
    If they are descendants of Triton then
who else is out there? I look around at the fast emptying hallway. Again, Rose has
kept something from me. She owes me an explanation.
    “I can tell you more,” Arabella says,
distracting me from my thoughts. She must see my discomfort.
    I notice now that she’s not far from my
age, and perhaps the youngest of the other girls. Yet, she probably understands
much more than I do about all of this. “But not here,” she continues. “Come to
Weeki Wachee. We can talk there.”
    I watch the girls walk off, frozen for a
few moments in time with my unstructured thoughts. What more could Arabella
possibly have to tell me? And how on earth am I going to come up with an excuse
to get to Weeki Wachee? I don’t even know where it is.

C hapter T hree
    The girls have gone by the time I make my
way outside the meeting center. I crave the feeling of the moonlight filtering
into my veins.
    The night’s events have drained me and I
feel as if a million new locked doors have been added to the world that I
belong to. There’s still so much more that I don’t know.
    The warm night breeze feels comforting as
it takes hold of my hair and swishes it gently to the side. As it lifts a
tendril of hair from my neck I feel air prickling me and a hint of citrus left
from my shampoo enters my nostrils. I release a sigh as my temperament returns
to normal and my shoulders relax.
    As if tonight couldn’t get more confusing,
I catch sight of Alec perched against the black wrought iron gate that
surrounds the meeting center. He must be waiting for his parents.
    His eyes are already on mine before I can
decide whether or not I want to be seen. I probably would have chosen to run,
or hide, anything but face him after everything I’ve learned. Especially since
I’ve been avoiding him already.
    He pushes off the gate effortlessly and
slides his hands into his pockets as I approach. Wearing an unreadable
expression and by his shifting stance, I gather that he’s surprised to see me too.
    With a squeeze of my amethyst I’m
comforted slightly, but my mood