I looked at the lights far in the distance and wondered just how long it would take Dani to swim there and back. Fifteen minutes later, I had my answer. Seconds after TS lifted his head and wagged his tail, Dani and Thomas were back. Thomas spat out a mouthful of water that narrowly missed Dani.

"I am never doing that again," Thomas groaned. "Hey, I'm still wet!" he cried as Dani started back into the room.

"It's a good look for you," Dani said with a laugh. But he did turn around and dry Thomas off.

"By the way, thanks Dani for taking the time to swim all the way to port and bring my ass all the way back to the ship. I really appreciate it." I couldn't even tell that it was Dani mimicking Thomas, until Thomas crossed his arms and glared.

"There's no need to keep thanking me, Tom," Thomas said with a smirk. "I already told you it's no problem. It was my idea after all."

Dani opened his mouth and then closed it again. "Touché," he muttered.

"Thank you," Thomas said.

"Anytime."

When we all settled in, Thomas explained what was being done with Mark. It sounded like they had come up with a plausible reason for why he wouldn't be returning to the ship. Mark was apparently settling in with some magics in Peru and was supposedly in high spirits.

The conversation moved to the wisdom of going to class in the morning. By the time I had finished my essay and gotten ready for bed, they had decided that we'd go, but play it safe. By then, it was late enough that we should probably have started thinking about going to bed so that we wouldn't be too tired for class, but nobody seemed ready, and I could almost feel the tension in the air. I wasn't the only one worried about what we'd do if Nathaniel was still on the ship. Mariana worked on her homework, Dani settled into his bed with a book that looked like it was in Greek, and Charlie, still working on his essay, moved from the table to join Dani a few minutes later. Thomas decided that he reeked from his dip in the ocean and took a shower. TS sprawled out on the floor, taking up most of it, and looked sound asleep. But from the way he kept changing position, he was probably still awake. I found a piece of paper and practiced my fire spell. My sparks seemed a little bigger, but even more exciting was the fact that my wand was starting to look less and less like a stick.

I got tired fast and crawled into bed early. One by one, the others put down what they were doing and tried to go to sleep, too. I woke up a few hours later. I fumbled in the dark for my wand and cast my night vision spell so that I wouldn't wake anyone by turning on a light or tripping on something in the dark. I crept to the bathroom and got a drink of water. On my way back to bed, I noticed that Thomas wasn't on the couch. I looked around in concern. But before I could get too worried, I spotted him out on the balcony. I eased the door open and joined him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked. He was making notes in a textbook.

"Not really. What about you?"

He shrugged. "I'm used to not sleeping during full moons. Figured I might as well get some studying in." He laughed. "Jon will kill me if I get bad grades."

I laughed and wondered if I'd ever used to how odd the idea of getting several degrees was. I couldn't imagine being sixty, taking classes, and acting like a normal college student. The ship rocked a little, and I grabbed the rail of the balcony to steady myself. The water looked unusually choppy.

"Looks like it's going to storm," I said.

"Yeah," Thomas agreed. "I heard thunder a few minutes ago, but it's pretty distant. Dani said it’ll hit us sometime tonight. It's going to be a big one." He frowned. "I hope it doesn't get too rough."

His comment reminded me of his strange moment of nausea earlier. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I don't need any blood, if that's what you're getting at."

“No, actually I was thinking about earlier and wondering if you're okay, now."

"Earlier?"

"You threw up," I reminded him.

"Oh. Right. No, I'm fine."

Thomas went right back to his studying. He'd sounded sort of short, almost dismissive. The fact he clearly didn't want to talk about it intrigued me even more. I decided to try another approach and satiate my curiosity about another matter at the same time. "Is it weird knowing that TS can always sense what you're doing?"

"Not really. For one thing, I've had more than enough time to get used to it. For another, it's pretty similar to a bond with a familiar, so it wasn't exactly a new thing for me."

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"So, can you sense TS?"

He shot me the oddest look. It was almost wary. "Soul-pack bonds don't work like that." He was being evasive. I was sure of it.

"But does yours?" I pressed.

Thomas actually closed his book. Then, he heaved a sigh and studied me. Just when I was about to demand an answer, he spoke. "I told you a lot of really personal things the other night."

I nodded.

"I'm not entirely sure why," he said with a soft laugh. "Half of it was details I've only ever shared with a couple of people. But you're easy to talk to. You... I don't know. You strike me as a good person. We haven't known each all that long, but you've been incredibly ...thoughtful. You seem trustworthy, too."

I wasn't sure what to say, and I was positive I was blushing. "Thanks," I muttered.

He sighed. "So... that stuff I told you... I figured that it went without saying that it was private."

"Of course," I said quickly. "I won't—"

"I know you won't. But this is different. This is something you can't tell anyone. Ever. With the exception of your familiar, of course." He regarded me for a few more long seconds and then said, "Yes."

"Yes? Yes, you can sense TS?"

Thomas nodded. "Yes."

I hadn't been entirely prepared for that answer, even though I had been right. "But you both told me that soul-pack bonds don't work like that."

"They don't."

That was a bit confusing. "Then what kind of bond do you have?"

"We don't know."

I glared. "Would it hurt to give me an honest answer?"

Thomas smiled weakly and shrugged. "I'm being honest. We've been trying to figure it out for decades. As far as we can tell, it's never happened before. We don't know how it happened, and we don't know why it did." He slid the door open, and TS lumbered out and sat down.

"So, you're just... bonded to each other for no reason?" I asked.

"We think the only reasonable, albeit farfetched, explanation is that Tethys soul-pack bonded to me at the exact moment Hylay died. And..." Thomas shrugged.

"Something went all wonky," TS finished.

I thought back on what TS had said about soul-pack bonds. "And nobody else has a soul-pack bond that goes two ways? Other than between two werewolves?"

They both shook their heads.

"You can't tell anyone. You can't even mention that it's possible." Thomas’ serious expression faded, and he laughed. "Honestly, I think the only reason you figured it out is because you don't know that much about it. Any other magic would have dismissed it and forgotten about it. Most people don't even dream about the possibility."

"Then, why can't I tell anyone?" I asked, confused.

"Most werewolves would do anything for a good soul-packmate. If word got out that it was possible to have one who could sense you back..." TS hesitated and flattened his ears against his head.

"If anyone found out how it happened to us, they might try to recreate it," Thomas said.

I swallowed nervously. "They'd ... kill someone's familiar?"

"We can get absolutely mental when it comes to our soul-packmates," TS said. "If even one werewolf out there thought they could have a two-way bond by killing someone and then tried it, it would be a right shame. But if it worked, then more would try it. Familiars would be dropping like flies. It'd be a tragedy. A disaster."

"And if the fact that I was turned has anything to do with it, then... Well, that would make it even more horrible. We've only told a handful of people," Thomas said. "I consider keeping this a secret just as, if not more, important than keeping the existence of magics a secret from non-magics."

"I understand," I said softly.

"My family doesn't even know," TS said.

"They don't?"

He shook his head. "I can't tell any werewolves. Ever."

I was shocked. "But you don't think your family would... would..."

TS shrugged and bowed his head. "I think that if I didn't have this bond, but I knew it was possible, I'd go pretty far to get it. And I can think of more than one scenario where... Well, I'd at least be tempted. I don't think anyone in my family would ever do it, but I can't risk it. And we, werewolves, aren't the best at keeping secrets. It's hard enough for me, and it's my bond. The more people I tell, the higher the chance that someone will slip."

"I promise, I won't tell anyone," I said.

"Thank you," Thomas said. He smiled weakly. "Sorry I didn't tell you about it. But please understand, it's not something we make a habit of sharing."

"I do."

"Get on to sleep," TS said. "We've got class in a few hours."

I was tired enough to not argue, but spent another hour wide-awake, just thinking about it all. Once the storm hit, I wished that I had gone to sleep, earlier. The ship pitched and rocked, and it took me ages to fall asleep.

The first part of the day went well, aside from the fact it was still storming. We stuck together in the hallways on the way back and forth between classes. The ship rocked the entire day, and I had never seen so many people using the railings. There was no sign of Nathaniel, at all, but we decided not to push our luck and went back to the room when our classes were over. I started to feel sick being stuck inside, so I went out on the balcony. Dani joined me and hopped up onto the railing. He closed his eyes and leaned out into the rain. I had to smile; it reminded me of a time, not so long ago, when I hadn't known anything about magics.

"How does it taste?" I asked.

"It's good. Fresh." He cracked an eye open and looked at me. "You don't look so splashy."

"It's rough," I said, gesturing to the waves. "It's making me a little sick."

"Why didn't you say something?" Dani jumped off of the railing and went inside. He was back a moment later with a little cube.

"Is that for sea-sickness?"

He nodded. I couldn't decide if I was excited or nervous about taking my first potion, but I reached out for it. It felt slightly squishy, and I hesitated, wondering if I was supposed to chew it. Dani answered before I could even ask.

"It might be bacon flavored."

I looked at him skeptically. "Bacon?"

He laughed and shrugged. "It's TS’s. You'll be lucky if it doesn't taste like old shoe or something."

The ship rolled again, and my stomach did, too. I popped the potion into my mouth and quickly ate it. It definitely tasted like meat of some sort. Seconds later, I started to feel better. In two minutes, I felt completely fine.

"Wow. How long does it last?"

"Forty-eight hours."

"Wow."

I went back into the room, and we all spent the next few hours studying. Our midterms were coming up before we reached Costa Rica. I couldn't believe the trip was already more than half over. Just before sunset, Thomas, Dani, and Charlie went to get dinner. When they got back, we found a cheesy movie on TV and settled in. The sequel followed it, and we decided to watch it, too. The movies were a nice distraction, and time flew by. Suddenly, Charlie called my attention back to reality.

"What's wrong, Dan?" he asked.