I heard someone cross the room and open the door.

"Char?" Dani said in surprise. "What is it?"

I sighed in relief as I heard the door close, and Charlie replied, "I'm spending the night here."

Dani laughed softly. "Any particular reason?"

"Jen's a witch. Thomas and TS were worried that she might be targeted."

What? I felt a chill and edged closer to the bathroom door, hardly daring to breathe in case I missed a single word.

"Jesus," Dani groaned. "Has her blood already changed?"

"It's starting to. It's enough that Thomas thinks the biter might notice."

What did that mean? I yanked my pajamas on as fast as I could. I was not going to let this be another little thing they neglected to tell me. Whatever was apparently happening to my blood was something I needed to know.

"Well, we'll keep her safe. We're only on the ship for a few more hours, anyway," Dani said softly. "And hey, can't complain."

I opened the door, ready to demand answers. Charlie and Dani were still crammed in the sorry excuse for a hallway by the door. Before I could say anything, Charlie put a hand on the back of Dani's head and kissed him soundly on the lips. My jaw dropped, and for a split second, I was shocked. Then it made sense. It was a perfect example of what Mariana had told me earlier about fire elementals. I was certain that Charlie had more than a little crush on Dani. Being in close quarters with someone you really liked, especially if you were stressed out, would have been taxing on anyone's self-control. And that was without the apparent self-control problems fire elementals had. I hoped that Dani understood fire elementals well enough to not freak out. But when Dani reacted, it was not at all what I expected. He wrapped an arm around Charlie's shoulders, pulled him closer, and deepened the kiss.

My jaw dropped. There was no way that Dani was just going along with it. He was just as into it as Charlie. I didn't know how long I would have stood there in shock, but the ship rocked sharply, and all three of us stumbled. They noticed me, and their eyes widened. Charlie cleared his throat nervously, and Dani's cheeks turned remarkably blue.

"Are you two —" I realized I was being loud and cut myself off so that I wouldn't wake Mariana. Oh my god, Mariana. I stared at Dani for a moment in shock. Honestly, he and Mariana didn't seem to be having a very blissful honeymoon. They argued more often than not, and tonight was the only time I had seen Dani act tender with her. And that had been while she was afraid. Still, even though I didn't know him that well, I hadn't thought he was the sort of guy who would make out with somebody else while his wife was asleep not ten feet away! I lowered my voice, "Are you two fooling around?"

Dani ran a hand through his hair and grinned nervously. "Little more serious than that."

Charlie laced his fingers in Dani's. "We're dating."

"Little more serious than that," Dani said with a snicker. Charlie elbowed him and let out a small chuckle.

"Bu--but what about Mariana?"

"Yeah... We're not married..."

I was speechless.

"Why don't we sit?" Charlie said.

The two of them sat on the couch, and I settled down on the corner of the bed near them. For a minute or two, nobody spoke. I decided to break the silence with the only thing I could to say.

"Why?"

"We had to share a room," Dani said. "Mermaids have to get in the water every couple of days, otherwise they get sick. If they stay on land long enough, they die. Plus, they need to eat raw fish and seaweed and things. Mariana has to dive off the ship, and the best time to do it in secret is at night. We figured that if she had a non-magic for a roommate, they might get suspicious. Not only that, but I'm the only one who can get her back on board again. Then, I'd have the same problem." He leaned against Charlie with a smirk. "Unfortunately, we couldn't be roommates ‘cause this is technically a college, and the rooms aren't co-ed. Then, we found a loophole. Even though we're students, we can share a room if we're married."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It made sense. But still... "Isn't it awkward?" I asked.

"Yeah, mainly because I didn't think they'd be kind enough to give us a single bed," Dani laughed. "Really though, it's not that bad. I've known her since she was two; I think of her as my sister."

I studied the two of them. "I never would've..." Actually, I had guessed. At least about Charlie liking Dani. If I hadn't thought that Dani was married, I might even have figured it out.

"Sorry you found out like that," Charlie said. "We were going to tell you."

"It's okay." As I spoke, I regretted it. Yet another thing they hadn't told me to begin with. I had to wonder just what else I hadn't been told. A chill ran up my spine as I remembered the reason Charlie was there to begin with. "What were you saying about my blood?" They both sighed, and I had a feeling they had been hoping I wouldn't ask.

"Vampires drink human blood," Dani said. "Magical human blood, from witches and wizards specifically, is better."

"So... I taste better?"

"I'm not sure if there's a difference in taste," Dani said. "I suppose ‘better’ isn't the right word."

"More potent," Charlie suggested.

"Yeah, that's it. More potent. Drinking your blood would be the equivalent of feeding from two or even three non-magics."

I chewed my lip nervously. "Which means the vampire would come after me?"

"If he smells you, yes." Dani shrugged helplessly. "I'm afraid the fact you've started using magic is changing the scent of your blood. Nothing we can do about that, though. What's done is done."

"You'll be safe," Charlie said.

"Yeah. For all we know, the biter will be gone, tomorrow. No sense worrying. Okay?"

"Okay," I agreed. I stood and got ready to climb into bed, then hesitated. "You're sure it's okay if I take the bed?"

Dani laughed. "I'd be on the couch, even if you weren't here."

"Oh. Right."

Falling asleep was impossible. I tried to focus on Dani and Charlie instead of worrying about the vampire. I replayed some of their interactions in my mind, trying to figure out if I had missed any clues. But my thoughts kept returning to the fact there was a vampire, a real vampire, on the ship at this very moment. I pulled the covers up over my head, feeling only a little foolish. The vampire could have been sinking his fangs into somebody's neck right now. The fact that the ship rocked unusually hard made falling asleep even more difficult. I could hear things sliding around in drawers, as the ship pitched back and forth. After a particularly rough rock, I heard Dani laugh.

"Not funny," Charlie said. "It's a narrow couch."

"I'm not going to let you fall," Dani snickered.

"Why is it so rough?"

"We're going up river," Dani said. "It's just choppy here at the mouth."

We were almost there, then. The port was a few miles up the river. Maybe the vampire would get off the ship as soon as we docked. With that slightly comforting thought, I finally managed to fall asleep.

~~~***~~~

When the alarm woke me, I was still exhausted. I probably hadn't gotten more than an hour or two of sleep. I cracked open my eyes and grabbed my phone to cut off the alarm. I was tempted to hit snooze, but there was only half an hour before the bus for my trip boarded. For a moment, I couldn't figure out why I had set my alarm so late. I had missed the sunrise! Then, everything that had happened before I went to sleep came rushing back. I fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on. I really was in Dani and Mariana's room; last night hadn't been a dream.

"Morning," Charlie called. He looked wide-awake and rather cheery. "I warmed up some leftovers. It's not much, but it should be enough to tide you over."

"Oh, thanks."

"You want any, Mariana?"

Mariana sat up and shook her head. "I'll be fine. We're diving off pretty soon. Dani, when are we leaving?"

Dani was still lying on the couch. He groaned and rolled over to face the back of the couch. Mariana tossed a pillow at him.

"Dani! When are we leaving?" she repeated.

Dani fumbled for the pillow and used it to cover his head.

Charlie pulled off one of his shoes and threw it in Dani's direction. "Get up!"

"Yeah, yeah," Dani groaned, "I'm awake."

He didn't actually get up until we were all dressed and ready to go. The walk down the hall to the gangway was quiet and a little tense. Dani joked about going to get coffee, but I could tell he wouldn't risk it. The short walk down to Deck Two seemed to take forever. I wondered how good a vampire's sense of smell was. A chill ran up my spine as I thought about the fact a vampire could smell me. We made it to the gangway without incident, and I heaved a sigh of relief when we stepped out into the crowded port. We spotted Thomas and TS near the buses and joined them.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Dani asked.

"The port is going to be under surveillance, and the ship will be searched," Thomas said. "They'll let us know if they find anyone."

Dani hummed. "You've got your badge with you, right?"

"Yeah," Thomas said. "Doesn't matter, Teth and I are getting on the bus pretty soon."

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Galapagos hotel," TS answered. "I think you mentioned you were going there too, right?"

"I'm on one of the yachts."

He wrinkled his nose. "I couldn't take being on another boat. I've felt ill since we left the states."

"Guess everyone's going there but me," Charlie said. He grinned. "Quito and dry land, here I come!"

As he spoke, one of the buses honked its horn. The trip number plastered on the windshield was mine.

"I've gotta go," I said. "See you guys."

"Do you still have my number?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah."

"Make sure you save it, just in case."

"I will," I said.

"Have a good trip. We'll see you in a few days."

I sat down in a window seat and heaved a sigh. With the ride to the airport and the flight all the way to the Galapagos, I'd have way too much time to think about the vampire. What if he was still on the ship when we got back?