Page 71 of Storm and Sea

“Good?” he called once the nail was in.

“You got it. Come down and help me with the rest.”

Atreus descended the ladder just as Nyel ran to join them, a stack of fliers in his arms.

“We have some left over. What should I do with them?” Nyel asked. Marina had sent him all over Baia Vita to hand out fliers to local businesses, reminding them of the Bayallon and encouraging kids to sign up.

“Start handing them out!” Marina clapped.

“Like, randomly?”

“Yep! Anyone and everyone needs to hear about this. This is gonna be the best Bayallon in years.” She pointed to a man sitting on a bench, reading the paper. “That guy right there, go get ‘em,” Marina said, shoving Nyel in his direction.

“I’m not sure that’s—” Atreus began.

“I’ll stay in town, promise,” Nyel said with a reassuring smile and took off.

The sireno had grown more confident in his time on the island, and Atreus wasn’t as nervous about letting him go off on his own. Still, he liked to keep Nyel close. He’d grown used to his company and⁠—

“He will leave you.

Like they all do in the end.”

“Nyel’s really good at this sorta thing, isn’t he?” Marina said.

“Huh?”

“Are you even awake? What’s up with you today?”

Atreus shook his head. “Nothing. Didn’t sleep.”

“Well, which is it?” she demanded, hands on her hips.

“Both. Neither. Anyways, what about Nyel?”

She eyed him but continued. “Well, look at him! He’s so excited. Honestly, I’m glad he’s around.”

They watched as Nyel approached person after person, giving them a flier. Every single one of them walked away with a flier and a smile.

“Yeah, he’s great.”

“Sounds like he’s sticking around too. He feels like he belongs here, you know? Like he was our hidden missing piece.”

“He does,” Atreus managed to say through the tightness in his throat.

“I wonder if he’s got anyone.”

Atreus’s neck stiffened so quickly it sent a sharp twang through his spine. “He has a girlfriend,” he blurted.

Marina turned to him, one eyebrow raised. “I meant I wonder if he’s got any family. He doesn’t talk about it much.”

“Oh,” Atreus said, unable to look at her.

“And how do you know he has a girlfriend?”

“He’s mentioned something. I don’t remember exactly.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. He remembered Nyel mentioning his parents trying to set him up with a girl. But that didn’t explain why he jumped to tell Marina.