"Mira. We're heading South," I say, keeping my voice low. "Will you come with us?"
Her milky eyes lift to meet mine.
"No.Take me back," Mira rasps, her voice like shells grinding together. "Please... to the Witch. Before you go."
Vaelis rises from the net in one fluid motion, his crimson tail flicking against the strands.
"I don't think that's wise, Mira," Vaelis says, his voice strained with concern. "The Witch is dangerous, and we have nothing to trade. It's best you come with us. The Witch can wait—"
"I helped you," Mira whispers, shrinking further into her blanket. "For Kael. I led you to her.You promised.The Witch can wait, but I cannot."
"Kael made that promise," Vaelis says, softening his tone.
"Vaelis!" Mira shrieks in disbelief. The name tears from her throat, a ragged, desperate sound that vibrates against the iron hull.
"After what happened—after what you did to him—Mira, you can't ask this of us. Come with us. We return later, when we have something to trade. That's the only way we can help."
Mira flinches, pulling the blanket tighter around her fragile form.
I meet Vaelis's eyes and see the desperate protectiveness burning there. He would sacrifice anyone, anything, to keep me safe. My chest tightens at the thought.
Vaelis scowls. He hates the thought of this.
He glares at the broken Vael on the floor, but he leans into me and presses his cheek against my shoulder.
He knows my choice. He yields.
"Fine," Vaelis says. "But I am staying right here with Bolt and Pip. As soon as you return, we head South."
Mira lets out a ragged breath. She is clearly displeased that Vaelis refuses to accompany her, but she doesn't argue.
I turn to the glowing copper cage.
"Bolt," I command. "Turn us around. Take us back to the Silt District fissure before we venture onward."
Bolt sparks blue in the gloom. "Mers are the definition of exhausting. Pick a direction. Good fuel burns for nothing. You ignore the eel in the engine. I want my freedom from this cursed cage, not that anyone has bothered asking me what I would prefer to do—"
The giant eel continues to mumble as he shifts the gears. The shell groans and slowly changes course.
Anhourlater,wereach the edge of the toxic smog. I leave Vaelis and the others safely hidden in the clear water.
I pull the kelp curtain aside. I gesture for Mira to follow me.
She struggles to swim, each movement a painful effort. Her gray tail is weak, lacking the strong, elegant thrusts of a Vanguard soldier that I remember from our encounters in the deep trenches. It drags behind her, useless as dead weight.
I swim close to her, letting her grip my forearm for support as we navigate the maze of rusted pipes and dead coral that leads to the Witch's domain. Her touch is trembling against my scarred skin, fragile as the sea foam that dissolves against the shore.
"Vaelis hates me," Mira whispers, her voice barely disturbing the water around us. Her breath tickles my scarred skin, warm against the cold ocean.
"Vaelis loves me," I correct her, my voice rumbling low in my chest. "You hurt me. He does not forgive easily." The words feel foreign on my tongue, this admission of Vaelis's fierce protectiveness, this claim on his devotion.
Mira goes quiet for a long moment, her grip on my arm tightening.
We travel past a cluster of unexploded proximity mines, their metal shells covered with barnacles and algae, silent sentinels of a forgotten war. The darkness here is absolute, broken only by the faint bioluminescence of distant creatures.
"I admired him," she confesses softly to the dark water, her voice cracking with emotion. "Even when he was a young mer in the upper spires. I admired his beauty, yes. But I admired his bravery more. He never fit in their perfect little boxes. I wanted to protect that. I wanted to be like that."
Her admission hangs between us.
