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I’m at the tapestry in an instant, pulling it aside and feeling the wall for a switch of some sort.
And I find one.
The wall swings outward, and my breath stops at the sight in front of me. Riden joins me at the opening.
A woman sits on another chaise, staring at a painting of the sea at sunset hung on the wall. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Her hair is a deep red, twisting around her shoulders as if it were tendrils of flame. Her skin is so fair, as if it has never seen the sun. Her lashes are long and as red as her hair. Her form hides behind a simple dress. And while she looks frail and somewhat sunken, I know she was once strong and beautiful.
She doesn’t turn as I step into the room, though I know she hears me. Her eyes close briefly, as though she’s irritated by the disturbance.
I feel tears prick at the sides of my eyes, but I don’t let them out. Not yet.
I try to speak, but it turns into a cough when the words stick.
She looks at me then, and those green eyes show such surprise, they confirm my suspicions that no one has ever seen her in this room aside from my father.
I try again. “What’s your name?” This time the words are clear, but they seem too loud somehow.
“Ava-lee,” she says in a voice as beautiful as the rest of her. She brings a hand up to cover her gaping mouth, then lowers it, fingers trembling. “Are you Alosa?”
This time the tears come. I can’t stop them, nor do I have a desire to do so.
“Mother?”
She stands in one graceful movement. Before I know it, she’sholding me so tightly I can scarcely breathe. The embrace is strange, something I’ve never quite experienced before, but it is exquisite. Such a simple thing, but it says so much without saying a thing.
A thousand questions fight their way to the front of my mind, desperately trying to be first.
How?
When?
Why?
Whyseems the most important.
“Why are you here?” I ask when I can calm my tears.
She steps back to survey me from head to toe. “You’re beautiful. You don’t look like him at all. Blessed ocean.” Tears fall from her own eyes, and she touches them as though she doesn’t know what to make of them before focusing on me once more. “Oh, my sweet girl. At last.” She crushes me to her again, and I marvel that something so frail can be so strong.
Someone clears his throat from behind us. I panic for a moment, until I remember it’s only Riden.
“I’m going to wait back in there,” he says, giving us some privacy. I’m sure he’ll be able to hear the whole exchange, but it’s kind of him anyway.
“Who is that?” my mother asks.
“That’s Riden. He’s… a member of my crew.”
“Your crew?”
“I’m the captain of my own ship.”
She smiles, but it looks painful on her. “Of course you are. You were always meant to rule. It’s in your blood.”
A silence fills the space, and I remember then how desperate I am for answers.
“Why are you here?” I ask again.
She brushes a hand over my hair, stroking its lengths while still clutching me to her. It’s oddly soothing. “He locked me in here after you were born. It’s been over eighteen years. Eighteen years without you or the sea.”
