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Chapter Twelve
Aika
Astring of curse words flies through my head all the way to the bustling harbor, in part because Remy refuses to go away.
There isn’t enough time to lose him, not if I want a chance at getting Zaina back, so I do my best to ignore him instead.
Jessa.If I want to getJessaback.
You know better than that, A. Distractions like that will get you killed.
I block out Zai’s voice from my head and focus on everything around me.
Hundreds of ships are in the harbor, and several times that many people, but only one person I can be sure will have the information I need.
Though I’m not surepersonis really the word.
Mother forbids unnecessary contact with the Mayima. According to her, the people of the sea cannot be trusted, but even she has been forced to relent when I come here for information that’s impossible to find anywhere else.
Still, it’s not a source I’ll be able to tap again any time soon.
I take a deep breath, weaving in and out of the broad-bodied men who reek of sea water, fish, and over-ripe underthings, to reach my contact. Sadly, Remy is right at my heels.
Rounding the corner of the pier to the older section of the docks, I step over broken slats and busted beams, careful not to twist my ankle on the uneven walkway.
No one comes this far on the docks anymore, which makes it the perfect spot for Natia to hide. The siren is friendly enough, but she likes to limit who she interacts with.
Yet another reason to be irritated by Remy’s insistence on following me.
I spy her in the usual place, hidden behind a fishing skiff that hasn’t been touched in at least a decade. She’s half immersed in the water, playing with the sea foam surrounding her, like a child would in a bath full of bubbles.
Remy’s sharp intake of breath gives away his surprise at visiting one of the Mayima today.
A board creaks under my foot, and her unnervingly bright silver eyes dart up to land on me. A wider grin sprawls across her full lips before she waves me over.
“Gemma!” she squeals. “How lovely to see you today.”
Her smile fades as she gets a look at the man behind me, and her gaze stalks us the rest of the way down the dock. She slowly sinks further into the sea foam, only visible from the tip of her golden-brown nose up to her long, turquoise curls, as if she’s ready to bolt at any moment.
Damn him.
“It’s all right, Natia. He’s a friend,” I say, holding up my hands to show her we mean no harm.
It’s a good thing that lying comes second nature to me, because that’s the last word I would use to describe Remy at the moment.
“Oh, I’m a friend now, am I?” he says under his breath, and I resist the urge to elbow him in his perfectly chiseled abs.
“Not the time, halfwit,” I whisper back.
Natia’s head tilts to the side as she watches us. I’ve always marveled at how the Mayima can breathe underwater without gills or a spiracle. Other than their bright hair and wild eyes they seem human. Hell, with the fashion in Bondé being what it is, they would easily blend into the noble crowds on land if only they could breathe above the water for longer than a few minutes.
Natia’s eyes are solely on me as if she’s trying to read my expression.
“Where is the beautiful one?”
She asks this every time I visit and the question stabs at a raw, festering wound inside of me. I try and fail to shake the pain away.
“She’s gone,” I force the words out quickly, feeling rather than seeing Remy’s probing stare. “Natia, we really can’t stay long. We need this information now.”
