Her mother had dragged her to this meal because Athena thought that Spark Walters would want someone his own age to talk to. Cassie hadn’t wanted to come. Athena had had to beg. Even then, Cassie would have preferred to be on the beach, working under the glow of car lights, trying to get rid of the oil that Walters’ company had spilled into her ocean. Besides, Daray was there. He had said he would take care of everything. The selkies, he told her, had an idea about ways to clean up the oil, provided the Buckinghams promised that nothing like this would happen again. Cassie had said they couldn’t make that kind of promise. The world was getting more unpredictable, and there was no way to control humanity. But Athena had thought that they might be able to keep the refuge protected. She would work on it, she said. But first things first. She had to deal with Spark Walters. Walters sat at the head of the table. He had changed into a darker suit with the same style jacket and even wider legs.
