Chapter 48

  Exhaustion had cimed them both, so when dawn’s light trickled into their room, both lovers were still mostly dressed. Nereida leaned into her lover, kissing her ear to wake her.

  “Trouble,” Ael sighed contentedly. “The boys are going to wake up.”

  “They already are awake,” she replied softly, continuing her trail of kisses. “How quiet can you be?” Ael made a strangled noise and shivered. Nereida giggled into her hand, enjoying how she could make Ael blush.

  “Witch,” Ael managed, before she sat up. Her tone was fond, but she did push Nereida away gently. “I’m not pying this game today.”

  “Fine,” Nereida huffed with an exaggerated pout. “There’s always tomorrow morning.”

  With that, they began their routine. Feed the children, dress the children then themselves. Begin lessons, which today meant spelling for both boys and Epelda had to do more learning of traditions from Nereida regarding the Lagrian customs. Then lunch with just Nereida as Ael left to do Admiral work, whatever that meant when they were stuck, unmoving. Nereida figured that her beloved was just tired of being inside. Once they ate and took time to py, Nereida herded the boys outside to work on their physical py and training. Epelda was still teaching them to fight and climb. She taught them knots too, though they could hardly manipute some of the bigger, thicker rope.

  While the boys pyed with Epelda, Nereida sought out her brother. He was above deck for once, his face turned toward the light.

  “What brings you up here?” she asked, sitting beside him and leaning against the mast. He smiled sadly.

  “I came to make sure you were okay with what I did st night, what I promised.”

  “Bassi, it was sweet.” She leaned on his shoulder instead, shifting to be closer to him. She felt a sense of peace sitting like this, a feeling of home. “What if Father disagrees?”

  “Then I’ll adopt them all myself.” He smiled sadly, his tone far away. “Mina hasn’t had children yet.”

  “Your first wife?”

  “Yes. She… might not be able to. It has been a hard road for her.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “I can’t wait for you to meet everyone. My kids are going to love having more cousins.”

  “My boys too… they need children to py with. Children their own ages.” She sighed. “But… I don’t think I will stay.” He tightened his grip.

  “You don’t want to take the sea from her.” She could hear unspent tears in his voice. He has wanted his sister back.

  “I don’t want to lose the sea either, Bassi… I can be ME here. I… I can’t do that at court.”

  They sat in silence for a long moment, grief stretching between them.

  “You could see if your Admiral would swear her boat to us. We could use the help.”

  “That might hurt diplomacy with the Seliniaks.” He ughed.

  “Unlikely. They need us more than we need them. The demons have to go around the Cursed Waters to get to us. They tired of that a century ago.” She snickered.

  “I suppose.”

  A sudden horn bst came from the water. Nereida, Basiano and everyone on deck hurried to the port side to look down. There were seven new siren faces looking up at them. One had wild hair of deep blue, with shells and seaweed worked into it. He also had a crown of polished pink stone that was woven into his hair.

  “I am Councilor Milean,” he said, projecting impressively. “May I come aboard, I have words for the Admiral of the Moonfolk, the Dolphin’s Revenge and the Fire Prince.”

  “Come aboard and welcome,” Ael called back. She whistled and one of the crew brought a rope dder to the side, tossing it down. It cttered down the side of the ship, reaching the ocean.

  Nereida moved to Ael’s right side, and Basiano fnked the Admiral on her left. A united front, standing tall together. Ael produced Nereida’s thin silver circlet.

  “I figured you might want this today. Show them all of who you are, love.” She pressed the cool metal into Nereida’s hands. Nereida smiled, trying to avoid the tears that threatened to spill. She took a step closer to Ael, so that their shoulders nearly touched. Basiano towered over the two of them.

  “Greetings, Admiral, Dolphin’s Revenge and Prince of the Fire People.” The siren with shells in his hair came forward, a welcoming smile on his face. He was definitely a politician, with a wide, welcoming smile, a handsome, almost earnest face. His bright eyes seemed friendly, but she caught the way he looked around, took stock of them. His eyes nded on the circlet in her hair and the one in Basiano’s hair. They matched, both marked with engraved fire motifs. “I come with an offer from the Council, if you will hear it.”

  “We would,” the Admiral spoke clearly, trying neither to be too excited nor too wary. Nereida was gd that Ael knew the steps to the political dance they were in. Things would be much harder if she couldn’t keep up. “Would you like refreshments?”

  “No, thank you for the kindness.” He smiled, showing his teeth. They were not as sharp as Nereida’s or Jules’ teeth, wider as well. “It pleases us to offer you two options, and you, Admiral, must make the decision on which is more palpable to you.” Ael motioned for him to continue. “The first option would sadden us, but we offer it regardless. You are your boat and all aboard may return to your point of entry, and we will speak no more to you and yours. Or, come with us, follow us to our sacred isnd. There, we will celebrate the first full moon of spring. There will be merrymaking, food, beverages. It is open to all, though we ask that you follow our customs while there. No soled footwear. No weapons. Only lovers remain on nd after the feast and blessing.” He looked over at Basiano and Nereida. “You two are required to be in attendance for the feast and blessing, for reasons that I will expin should you accept.” He frowned. “You, Fire Prince, would be the first of your people to set foot on the isnd since the Shattering.” There was an edge to his tone, a worry. “Regardless, I will leave it to you.”

  Nereida pced her hand on Ael’s shoulder, gave a quick nod. Basiano nodded once as well, his rger hand pced gently on the Admiral’s shoulder.

  “It seems my people have spoken,” Ael said softly. “We will follow you to the isnd.”

  “Splendid.” He cpped his hands once, loudly, and a cheer rose from some of the sirens. “Now, as to why you are required, Fire Prince, the deal you struck came to pass. The little one is a Dolphin. Her parents wish to give her to you, to spare her from being recimed.” He said the word as if it meant something more than just the obvious, but Nereida was loath to ask. “And you, Dolphin’s Revenge, the Council requests you share your story in full with our storytellers, so that the wisdom of giving our Dolphins to the Fire Folk is undisputed.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” Nereida replied, bowing her head.

  The Councillor bowed and took his leave, returning to the sea by climbing down the rope dder. He cked Jules’ fir for the dramatic.

  “Are you two absolutely sure about this?” Ael asked once their deck was cleared. “This is… There is something to this that I don’t understand. But I know it is important.” Nereida slipped her hand into the Admiral’s.

  “There is something else at py here, love. But… I think we should see it through anyway.”

  “Agreed,” Basiano rumbled, looking out at the water. “To both counts. There is something in his words that makes me wonder what motivation they have.”

  “Are we safe?” The Admiral’s tone was low, likely so no crew would hear her.

  “They don’t want to hurt us. If they wanted us dead, we would be. We’ve been sitting here for nearly two full days. More than enough time to rip a hole beneath the ship and kill all aboard.” Basiano’s voice was equally low, though far calmer.

  “Well, then,” Ael grinned, her anxiety melting from her face. She grabbed her whistle and blew, a quick set of whistles that meant something. Nereida felt a fsh of frustration. She absolutely had to learn these things if she pnned to stay. It made her look silly to not understand Ael’s commands. “Raise anchor and be ready to set sail!” The Admiral’s voice echoed across the ship, her words met with cheers.

  Nereida pnned to retreat below deck with the boys, but she found Epelda with her sons, expining to them what each sail did, and the two boys were wide eyed and full of questions. And so she sat and watched, feeling useless and unneeded. Her brother had retreated below deck. So instead, Nereida stared out at the sea, letting the song of the waves flow through her. The sea was pleased today, no storms churning her about. The magic of it was intoxicating. She wondered how the others could stand it, living in the music of the waves always. Or had they stopped hearing it? Would she stop hearing the music of the waves if she lived on the ship? Sadness washed over her at the idea of it all. The gulls cried out, their ruckus adding a strange bit of harmony to the music.

  A hand on her shoulder jolted her from her revelry. Ael looked at her with concern in her hazel eyes.

  “Love?”

  “I’m fine,” Nereida replied.

  “You are crying, love.”

  “Oh.” Nereida lifted a hand to her face, felt the wet tears. Why hadn’t she felt them leaking from her eyes? “I was feeling maudlin. And useless.”

  “You are not useless.” Ael pced a chaste kiss on her head. “This is all because of you. Rest, rex. I have a feeling that we will both want to be well rested for whatever shenanigans await us on the isnd.”

  It took nearly a full two days of travel to get to the isnd. Not because it was far, but because there were many shallows on the eastern and southern sides of the isnd, and the ship had to travel around and then back in again. It was a peaceful few days. They moved lessons onto the deck, finding pces to throw down a bnket so that the boys could sit and enjoy sunshine while they practiced their numbers and letters. Epelda would join them for lessons, her own letters and numbers needing work so that she could fit in amongst the aristocracy. The girl hummed more often, and seemed to be re-learning how to eat with her tongue back in one piece. She was in a pleasant mood, more so after story nights when Jules and one or two of his siren friends would join them on the ship.

  Alejo was less harsh with Ael, and seemed to be slowly warming up to the Admiral. On the second night, she took him out to look at the stars in her spygss, just the two of them. When they came back that night, the boy smiled at Ael brightly, even hugged her leg briefly. When Nereida asked her beloved what they had spoken about, Ael was cagey.

  “Just the stars and stuff.” And while Nereida very much wanted to know what the two of them had spoken about in secret, she did not want to push for information. Not when they were finally connecting.

  The second night of storytelling, as they all parted for the night and Ael was occupied with Evander and his husband, Nereida caught Epelda sneaking into a heavily shaded area with Jules. She counted to ten before she followed, giving them time to themselves… but not too much time. When she peered around the mast, she saw Jules give a flower to Epelda. It was a rge, brightly coloured flower. She grinned and tucked it in one of her braids. He asked her something, and she nodded, reaching for him. Oh. Nereida ducked behind the mast. Let them have privacy for what was likely Epelda’s first kiss. But she knew she would need to interrupt before too long, mostly so that Ael did not see them.

  When she came into their view, Epelda looked at her feet in embarrassment, and Jules was looking anywhere but at her.

  “Rex,” Nereida said with a sigh. “I remember what it is like to start courting. Just be discrete. The Admiral is protective.” Epelda nodded briskly, and signed quickly.

  “Thanks water-mama. Could you leave? I want to kiss him goodnight.” Nereida smiled at her daughter.

  “I’m going,” she promised. “Boundaries, both of you.” And without expining what she meant, she slid off toward her own cabin. She trusted her daughter to be smart with the boy, at least on a ship where privacy was at a premium. And the girl deserved a chance to learn what falling in love could be.

  Two hours after dawn on the third morning, the isnd came into view. It was a lush, green pce, filled with trees taller than any Nereida had ever seen. The flowers in the brush were bright and beautiful as well. She was excited to explore the nd, see what marvels were there, but they were told they had to wait on the ship until the morning before the full moon.

  “The nd is sacred,” Jules expined to those who had gathered on deck to see the isnd. “No one but the Keepers are allowed there until the time is right. But there are marvelous things there, ancient ruins of a stone keep, pnts and flowers that are always plentiful. Animals of all kinds, though mostly birds, snakes and small furry creatures. Once, when I was young, we saw a fierce nd-whale, big as a man, with soft looking brown fur and horns that would make a demon wet its pants.” The crowd chuckled at the description.

  “White underfur?” Ael asked. When the boy nodded, she smiled. “Might have been a deer.”

  “Most of the isnd is uncharted,” Jules revealed. “We have seen no human life there, and wish to let it remain sacred. When it is time, you may send as many boats as you like, though if you could provide me with a rough number, so that I may tell the Keepers, it would be appreciated.”

  “I’ll speak to my people and tell your story this evening.”

  “All guests must stay until after the blessing, and then only lovers may remain. Everyone else must go to shore, and lovers are expected to uh… do lover things.” He flushed to the roots of his pale blue hair, looking suddenly much younger. Someone on the crew whistled lewdly, provoking ughter. Jules looked as though he wanted to die on the spot. “And.. uh… after… after we all eat breakfast in the morning, you will return to the ship… and uh… leave.” He mumbled his way through the rest of his speech, looking absolutely mortified, his eyes darting about and searching for an ally to get him out of being the center of attention.

  Ael took pity on the boy, and dismissed him, saying she had no questions that couldn’t wait for the evening. And so Jules did what he often did, running full tilt off the deck, leaping into the air and diving into the waiting ocean. There were still days until they could all set foot on the tempting nd just a short row away.

  Nereida just hoped it was worth waiting for…. And that Ael wanted to stay on the isnd. She needed to find her beloved, and make sure they were on the same page. Otherwise it was going to be a miserable full moon, hidden away on the ship like a love-struck adolescent.

  Oh no.

  Did Epelda want to stay on shore? She needed to find Ael. Immediately.