Page 173 of Storm and Sea

“Mer and humans aren’t meant to exist together. There will be blood for this.”

Nausea crept up Nyel’s throat. “How do you know?”

“I’ve seen what happens when Mer and people come face to face. It isn’t pretty.”

“We’re going to help each other.”

“You’re going to kill each other,” Nephi pressed. “This little truce you and the Rusal have garnered is already about as stable as a sandcastle at high tide.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

“No, you don’t!” Nyel rounded on his brother, unintimidated by his flared red fins. “But you’d like that, wouldn’t you? You want us to hate each other. You want humans and Mer to fight, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.”

“Why!? You wanna know why!?” Nephi bellowed, getting in Nyel’s space. “Because the humans took everything from me!”

Nephi’s voice echoed through the water, and Nyel jolted at his undiluted fury. His brother’s milked-over eye appeared whiter than usual. His scars were more prominent as rage contorted his half-destroyed face.

Humans did this to him.

Now Nyel knew for sure, yet a part of him wondered if there was a deeper wound Nephi hid beneath the scars.

“Why are you still here?” Nyel asked once the echoes of rage dissipated. “Because it’s not for Dad. Or for me.” Nyel tried not to let the hurt show as he said it.

“I don’t know,” Nephi admitted.

He’s lying.

It was clear as day. The answer was in his eyes—the eyes they shared.

“Do what you want, Nyel,” Nephi hissed, turning to leave. But Nyel caught the end of his crimson tailfin, holding him.

“Wait,” Nyel’s throat filled with wool. “Don’t disappear again. Please.”

He held his brother’s stare before Nephi jerked his tail away and left without another word.

Ripple gurgled loudly, the sound like falling stones, as the sandwinder waggled his stubby tail. His antenna reached out to Nyel as he swam close, like an overgrown toddler asking to be carried. Nyel scratched him behind the antenna.

“Hey buddy, how’ve you been? Been a good boy?”

Ripple gurgled again, rolling to expose his white belly.

“I wish I could take you to Baia Vita; you’d love it,” he said, now using both hands to scratch the hippopotamus-sized beast.

“Nyel, is that you?”

The voice Nyel wanted to hear most greeted him as Sonia swam from the sand hut home, a lively Sabella in her arms.

“Hey, Sonia,” he said, kissing his aunt on the cheek before waving a finger for his cousin. “And hello to you, princess.”

She cooed at him with delight, her finless tail poking from her clothes.

“It’s so good to see you.”

Sonia was dazzling alongside her babe. There was a spark of life in her eyes Nyel hadn’t seen since his uncle passed.

“You look good, Sonia. But I need to talk to all of you. There’s been a change in situation,” he said, taking a reassuring breath.