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Jailah and her first mate, Diego, pull me up. “What happened?” she says, as she’s assessing me for injuries.
What would I tell my team? I heard random whispers and noises? There was some kind of shadow monster stalking the deck, mimicking my voice? That an oil slick blob thing was intent on finding me and doing God knows what to me? That launching myself overboard was the only thing I could think of to make sure that everyone else was safe?
Before I can come up with an excuse, Minato offers his perspective. “We were thinking of having a moonlight swim.”
Jailah folds her arms across her chest. “It’s a new moon. There’s no moonlight to speak of.”
“Well, some things are better in the dark.”
The way he says that makes it seem like our actions were more than it should’ve been. It has a desired effect, though. They stop asking more questions.
“Well, since we are awake already, might as well use this adrenaline that’s racing in my veins. Otherwise we’re going to waste.”
Jailah narrows her eyes at me as if I lost my mind. “Do you want us to push off now in the pitch dark?”
I try to capture nonchalant, but fail. “By the time we get everything ready, it’ll be late enough.”
I turn to Minato. I feel like I owe him something, but I don’t know why. “You saved me twice today. Once at the auction, and now this. I guess this is as good a time as any to show you around.”
* * *
Minato
I followher belowdecks as she gives cursory information about the direction of the sleeping quarters and main common areas. Once we are out of earshot of her crew, she motions to me to come closer. “I know you must have lots of questions. As do I. But I really don’t want to get into what happened right now, okay?”
“Sure. No need to talk about your fully clothed swan dive into the ocean on a moonless night. That’s a perfectly normal, everyday decision.”
She clenches her hands into little fists at her side. “Look, I don’t know or understand what happened, okay? That’s why I don’t want to talk about it.”
I work to keep the exasperation from my voice. “Just answer me this—are you okay?” Her heart-pounding terror called to me. I was afraid I would be too late to help her. As it was, I had planned on sweet talking my way on board, and so was nearby.
I saw her leap over the rail into the water, with two hunter-seekers behind her. Creatures from the other side of the rift, they would have dragged her to the abyss.
Her face relaxes into a smooth mask. “I am now, and that’s all that matters. If you go here, you’ll see the map room.”
I humor her, and let the topic go for now. But, I will be damned if I ever let Kaia feel that level of terror again.
While she changes into clean dry clothes, I look around the map room. It’s a catchall room that contains various mementos. And though it was a tribute to her parents in the family and different versions of them posing in front of the boat, or on it, what caught my attention was the necklace and the shell that hung from it.
No wonder I’ve stopped hearing her. She stopped wearing it. But why? She promised never to take it off.
And yet she did not know me. And I am wrestling with myself to figure out if I should be the one to tell her or let fate grant her some mercy.
She came up to me answered they’ve been out in the water for a while.
“Where are your parents? If you don’t mind me asking?”
A practiced calm settles over her features. I recognize myself in it.
She crosses her arms across her chest. “Everyone says they’re dead. I know better.”
“Oh?”
Her fist trembles at her side. “After so long, they’ve been declared dead.”
“But you don’t believe that, do you?”
She shakes her head, her lips in a firm line. “It doesn’t matter what I believe.”
