I stopped and squinted. It was a small glint. A shine brighter than the surface of blue water rolling under the sun.
But as soon as I caught it, it was gone.
Nori and Olinne followed my gaze, the three of us dropping into focused stillness. The waves carelessly stretched over the beach, sending seashells cartwheeling over my feet. A seagull glided overhead as it hunted for fish below the water’s surface, and my interest began to wane. I glanced over my shoulder at my rows of herbs, planted in the volcanic soil just beyond the sand.
“There,” Olinne said, her voice suddenly low.
“Man,” Nori agreed in the same tone.
I peered over the water again. My eyes couldn’t see anything across the glittering sea, but Nori slid under the waves like a deadly serpent, ripples trailing her copper tail as she cast for the horizon. Olinne followed, disgust warping her beautiful face, leaving me alone on the beach.
Hands on my hips, I waited for them to return after investigating from underwater. But neither came back. Gazing over the turquoise sea, I could only see the expanse of ocean.
I didn’t have time to waste today.Mihaunabegan tonight, and I’d need to work in my garden from dusk till dawn. Myva’ajostled in the water, and I lifted an empty bucket from inside, darting my eyes once more out to sea.
Curiosity won over.
I climbed for a better view, working my way up the pale beachside cliffs. Wind swept around my fingers, brushing dust into my face and lungs, the sun hot on my back. Reaching the top, I dusted my hands against my hau skirt and gazed out, hands shading my eyes.
A rowboat trudged through the waves, a man pressing his oars with a strange slowness, his figure leaning over one edge of the boat.
I watched him warily for a few minutes, wondering who would row here in such a thing. No one in Leihani owned a boat like that. He might’ve been a sailor, but he came from the north,the wide-open sea. Not the docks from the south, where the merchant ships moored.
It didn’t matter, really. Whoever he was, he was a stranger. An outsider. He wasn’t welcome.
Not on Neris, the cursed island.
I should’ve left before he landed. Myva’awas fast. He probably wouldn’t even see me.
But an odd flicker in my gut told me to stay. Something felt off.
I sat down to watch instead.
His shoulders strained as he paddled through the waves, and though the tide was calm, his arms shook like an old man’s. He stopped often to rest, chin tucked into his collarbone, then burst out another stroke that quickly waned into agonized labor.
The rowboat drew under my cliff, and I realized he was young—perhaps younger than me. He wore white ruffles tied around his head, and saltwater had plastered his dingy shirt to his body, his face and neck vivid red. His freshly varnished boat reflected the sun so brightly, I couldn't watch without shielding my eyes.
He rowed onto the sandy beach below and huffed with relief, though he paused as his gaze landed on myva’a. The undertow lifted his boat as he drew a leg over the edge, and he rolled shoulder-first into the water with a clumsy splash. His rowboat rocked away from him, tilting side to side like a weighted scale released of its burden. As he worked to stand erect, he reached a shaking hand behind him to catch the rim of the boat—and missed.
The man exclaimed in surprise, twisting around as his boat floated just out of his fingertips. He whipped his arm out to catch it, but the surf had already pulled it away. Stepping toward the floating vessel, he slid, fell and disappeared under the water.
I snorted under my breath and crossed my arms, waiting for him to resurface. The rowboat hovered over the water,indifferent to the person below. Leaning into the curve of the cliff, I watched.
Thirty seconds passed.
My fingers drummed against my leg, eyes hard on the water.
Thirty seconds more.
He was still under there. The waves rolled, sea foam stretching and condensing. Nothing happened. He wasn’t coming up.
Eyes wide, a dawning urgency propelled me upright.
I glanced at the rocks below. Jumping from here would kill me if I hit them, but I didn’t have time to climb down if he was somehow trapped. I didn’t have time to think. I didn’t have time to do anything at all except decide. Stay here or jump.
I aimed my feet, sucked in my breath, and dove.
A cloud of white bubbles surrounded me as I broke the surface, the crash vibrating in my ears. Fish darted away, bright shapes flashing by. A turtle sunbathed in a nest of seaweed, watching me streak under him.
