The Flaw

2

Carlotta's POV

I wake to a high-pitched scream.

My heart's pounding as I leap from the tree that I've been resting in. My boots barely touch the ground as I sprint in the direction of the scream. My mind races through different possibilities but none of them end well. The trees thin out as I near the edge of the kelp forest. The hard ground turns to sand beneath my feet as I run along the east coast of the island. I see a small figure crouched in the distance, dangerously close to the water. As I near the figure my heart stops; it's Kai.

Ignoring the pain in my ankle from running on the sand, I push myself forward. I reach him and swoop him up into my arms even though he's nearly as tall as me. "Oh my God Kai, what were you doing? It doesn't matter now. All that matters is that you're safe!" I stroke his head and murmur to him. He looks sheepishly at his feet then pushes me off. "Carly! I'm fine." He straightens his shirt and looks at me, "I was just playing with the otters! Why do you worry so much? I'm not a baby anymore!"

 "It's not safe, Kai," I say, trying not to yell. "This is the where the Latens are! At least for this week. You could have been killed." I turn away, not wanting him to see the tears in my eyes.

He comes and touches my shoulder gently. "I'm sorry Carly, I didn't mean to upset you. I know how you worry about the latens. I promise next time I'll ask you where they are before I come and play in the ocean." He gives me a smile and I have to give in.

No one can stay mad at Kai with that smile. I smile back and hug him close to me. As he snuggles his head into my shoulder, I look out to the ocean and promise myself one thing.

I will never let Kai get hurt.

 —-

We walk slowly back up the beach, my arm protectively around Kai's shoulders.

As we reach the collection of huts I see Cora leaning against the one closest to us, smirking. Ugh. She's the last person I want to see right now. Or ever for that matter. "Is that your face or did your neck just throw up?" she calls out when we're a few meters away.

"I couldn't help it; one look at you and I started to vomit," I retort. She scowls at me and I throw her a fake smile.

I hear the sound of her stomping off behind us and I smile to myself. I see Zac peeking out from behind one of the huts. I ignore it but soon after, I hear his quiet footsteps following us. I turn to Kai and tell him to go play or something. I need a moment to myself. I watch as his energetic puppy-like walk carries him away from me.

Zac following me is just getting on my nerves now. I swivel round with my hands on my hips and come face-to-face with him. "Ok, what do you want? Spit it out, I don't have time for this," I tell him impatiently. He mumbles something to the ground. I can tell I intimidate him. "What was that? Speak up would you?" I'm feeling rather exasperated with him right now. He starts to stammer but he manages to finally get it out. "I, um, I, there's a hole in the roof of my hut and I-I-I was wondering i-if I could use some of our s-s-spare materials to f-fix it?" he finishes and then meets my eyes for approximately 0.3 seconds before looking back down at the ground and shuffling his feet.

"Of course you can! You didn't have to come ask me. If you were looking for permission for something silly like that you could have asked anyone. Now look how much of my time you've wasted." He blushes, embarrassed.

I shake my head and then stride off. I bite my lip. Was I too harsh? I want the islanders to see me as a leader, along with Asher of course, but not some sort of tyrant or something. Then there's always Cora who's 'second in command'. I don't understand why she's a leader, she's hardly someone to look up to. I sigh.

That's the least of my problems right now.