Page 170 of Storm and Sea

A few paces later, when Atreus was well out of earshot, Nyel leaned in and whispered, “Atreus will need to have his arm checked again. As his sister, it’s only right that you tag along.”

Marina grinned and playfully bumped her hip into Nyel’s, both of them trying to hide their laughter as Atreus shot them a suspicious glare.

Nyel felt the dizzying relief of stepping down from a ledge. His legs trembled, still unsteady from narrowly escaping a fatal fall.

Somehow, they weren’t chased from Baia Vita. Instead, they were sitting in the mayor’s office. They weren’t running for the sea as the people they’d grown to love hurled harpoons at their hearts.

They were alive.

They were okay.

The same couldn’t be said for the mayor, who looked like a lobster fresh from the boil. He patted his balding head with a cloth as a layer of moisture accumulated in stress-filled drops.

“Well, as I’m sure you know, this is not what I expected from the Bayallon, and frankly, I have questions.”

“We are here to answer them,” Nyel supplied, his confidence growing with each second.

Marina and Giovanni sat behind them, while Nyel and Atreus sat directly in front of the mayor’s desk. Sheriff Fanti leaned against the wall behind him, her arms folded. Nyel suspected she was there as a guard. They still had a long way to go before they’d be completely trusted.

“Yes well… to begin, I… uh…” Mayor Gianfranchi wiped his upper lip now. “You see, we… our concerns…”

Sheriff Fanti rolled her eyes, straightening. “Are you a threat or not?”

The mayor flinched. “I wasn’t going to put it like that, but—are you?”

“No.” Nyel and Atreus said at the same time.

“Good. Good,” he said but appeared far from convinced.

“And what of the disappearing fish in the bay? Is that the Mer’s work?” Sheriff Fanti pressed.

“Of course we aren’t accusing⁠—”

“Yes, we are,” she deadpanned as the mayor turned to give her an exasperated look that she ignored.

“The Mer that live in the bay are my people,” Nyel said earnestly. “They’re like me. We call ourselves Sireni, and we are plant-eaters. We don’t eat meat of any kind.”

“And what about you?” she asked, jerking to Atreus.

Atreus cleared his throat uncomfortably, and Nyel had to resist the urge to place a reassuring hand on his leg.

“I am not Sireni. I am half Rusalki and… I’m not sure what else. I was separated from my people as a child. I am the only one of my kind in these waters.”

“And one Mer that eats fish is hardly enough to account for our losses,” the mayor said, and Nyel was glad for his defense.

Nyel was beginning to sweat under Sheriff Fanti’s scrutiny and, before he could think better of it, blurted, “We can help!”

All eyes turned to him.

“With what?”

“The fish. We can help if we⁠—”

He cut himself off. Atreus had been against his plan from the beginning. And now that he was faced with the mayor of Baia Vita, Nyel began to doubt its viability.

“Tell them about your idea, Ny. It’s a good one.” Atreus reached with his good arm, squeezing Nyel on the shoulder.

“I thought you⁠—”