Page 160 of Storm and Sea

“Let me go!” Leo shouted, hysteria catching in his throat.

Nyel gripped his hair, pulling it with both hands, standing helplessly on the beach.

“Nyel!” Giovanni rushed to him. “Was it Atreus? Did I see Atreus jump into the waves?” he panted.

Nyel couldn’t recall the tears pooling in his eyes as he nodded. “Yes, he jumped, I couldn’t stop him.”

“Dio lo protegga,” Giovanni whispered beneath his tousled mustache.

In a flash of red hair, Marina had her arms wrapped around his neck, and Nyel returned her embrace without question.

“Nyel, I’m so sorry, I⁠—”

She pulled back enough for him to see the devastated look on her face. Out of all the people shouting around them, only they understood what truly happened. What Atreus just sacrificed. Only they understood that they might never see Atreus on this island again.

“I couldn’t stop him,” Nyel broke.

Marina pulled him to her again, whispering so only he could hear. “Can Mer survive a fall like that? Will he be okay?”

Atreus had a much better chance than a human. Better than Edgar. Though the sharp rocks would cut through scale just as easily as skin with enough force.

“I don’t know,” Nyel said, shaking as he hugged Marina, seeking her comfort.

“Merda,” Marina hissed, pulling him even tighter.

The seconds crawled with agonizing slowness, each a ponderous weight dragging through the suffocating summer heat.

Leo had finally stopped trying to muscle past the other men and now knelt in the surf, arms hanging limp at his sides in defeat. He stared in the direction of the rocks with a hazed expression. Nyel wanted to comfort him, to place a hand on his shoulder and remind him he wasn’t alone. But Nyel couldn’t walk into the surf. With the eyes of the entire village watching the scene unfold, he was trapped.

Should I go after him? Should I sneak away?

Nyel could easily slip away in the chaos. Then what would he do? Even as a Mer, he’d grown up with cautionary tales and threats to stay away from the rocky shores. Even as a Mer, they posed a danger to him.

And what if I find them? What if…

Nyel hugged his middle, nauseated. If he found them… if he found Atreus’s lifeless body…

He was going to be sick.

“Over there!”

A voice shouted, and soon, a dozen hands pointed toward the sandbank. A figure rose from the surface, waves breaking over his back and knocking him forward. He emerged from the direction of the sun, its blinding rays forcing Nyel to blink rapidly as the onlookers shielded their eyes. But even through the glare, Nyel knew who it was.

His relief was short-lived. In a few breaths, Atreus would be near enough for everyone to see.

“Oh, Grazie Dio!” Leofel’s mother, Emelia, broke through the crowd, weeping as she waded through the water at a run. Nyel expected Thomasso to be at her heels, but he was nowhere in sight. “Thank god, thank god I prayed I⁠—”

She halted as Atreus came into view.

Nyel was frozen. The sand beneath his feet may as well have been wet cement. He couldn’t move.

He couldn’t breathe.

Atreus sloshed through the water, navy, and violet scales glittering in the sunlight. The light hit him so perfectly that his magenta fins cast specks of color on the white beach. A small, still boy lay in his arms, looking more like a doll. Edgar’s arm dangled, and his head flopped against Atreus’s chest, blond hair obscuring his face.

Nobody moved.

The island held its breath.