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This piques her interest and she raises herself a little farther out of the water again, her glowing eyes fixed on mine.
“Do you know if any Mayima live on dry land?”
A shadow crosses her face, her brow furrowing.
“This is the important question the tiny one wanted you to ask me?” Her melodic voice sounds almost disbelieving. Then she laughs, the sound like chiming bells. “Surely that is not a mystery. Even the humans know we cannot breathe without the ocean to filter our air for more than a few moments.”
I consider this, wondering if coming here was a dead end, when another wave crashes against the pier. This one is strong enough to slam into the boat behind Natia, sending it flying toward her.
Before I can even utter a warning, her hand darts out, stopping the boat with a loud crack. She doesn’t flinch or swim away, just stops the boat with a gentle push.
The wood splinters around her touch, and the boat careens in the opposite direction, crashing into the one on the other side of it.
“Oops,” she says, her lilting voice a stark contrast to the display of strength she just demonstrated.
Her hand shows no obvious signs of injury, and she seems completely unfazed by what just happened.
It cements my earlier suspicion about Madame even more. Maybe she’s not full Mayima, but she must be something close.
I want to ask Natia what their weaknesses are, but somehow I suspect that would not go over well. So I frame it differently.
“That was a close call,” I say, giving her my most charming grin, the one that used to get Louis and me both out of trouble with Maman. “Don’t you worry, being away from the rest of your people when there are so many dangers around?”
I gesture to the ship.
She giggles. “We are not like humans. You are so fragile. Look at you, I could break your little bones so easily.”
A bitter laugh escapes me, and I shrug. “So you’re immortal, then?”
She shakes her head, a bit of solemnity entering her expression. “We are not. The Mayima kill each other all the time. My people can be brutal, more than even yours.” She tilts her head toward the ships, referencing the slavers.
I breathe a subtle sigh of relief at the confirmation that they can be killed.
“So really it’s when you’re away from them that you have nothing to fear,” I comment conversationally, fishing for further insight on that.
She peers at me for several, unblinking moments. It wasn’t quite a question, and I can’t very well come out and ask her what she’s afraid of. Finally, though, she speaks.
“We do not fear many things. The Mayima have no natural predators.” She looks away.
I’m prepared to leave with more questions than I had before when her dreamy voice floats through the air once more, her words rooting me to the spot.
“At least, not since the dragons left.”
CHAPTERFORTY-EIGHT
AIKA
The weight of Damian’s threats, of his proximity, weigh on me even after Remy returns.
He just barely scrapes by in time to avoid notice, no sooner in the room than a knock on the door indicates it’s time for our daily show to begin. Of course, it feels less and less that way by the day.
“Did you find her?” I ask quietly as he strips out of his clothes and musses his hair.
He nods, throwing a robe over his naked body. “I’ll fill everyone in tonight.”
“Good.” The word is quieter than I want it to be, but anxiety is brimming too close to the surface.
At least there’s something to fill us in on.
