Chapter 6
Verity
It was dark when I woke, but the light of a fire flickered through the blackness. The smell of smoke mixed with the scent of salt and kelp coming from the dried seaweed still covering my naked body. And beneath the thick smoke was another smell, one that made my mouth water: freshly baked fish.
He was back, sitting with his back to me, stoking the fire. Shadows danced over his green skin, making him look even more alien.
Was that what he was? An alien? Or was he a merman from the legends come to life? My grandma had always said that all legends were rooted in reality. Maybe the stories of mermaids and sea folk had their basis in people like him.
But this was the twenty-first century. There were satellites, sonar, internet. I highly doubted mythical creatures could hide from view as easily now as they could have centuries ago.
"You're awake." He said it without turning around. "I have made fish. And I have brought you something warmer to wear. Are you cold?"
"Freezing."
He got up, stretching to his full length, towering above me. He was taller than I'd remembered. He pulled a simple t-shirt from a bag, followed by a bundle of fabric.
"I believe this is what you humans wear," he said, hesitation lacing his voice. "I am not sure if it is meant for males or females. And it will likely be too big for you..."
Was he really as insecure as he sounded in this moment? Or was this an act to lull me into a fall sense of security?
I took it from him. "It will do. Turn around."
The shirt was definitely a man's, falling down to my thighs, but I didn't mind.
It felt a whole lot better than the kelp covering.
Rainse wordlessly handed me the fabric. It turned out to be a sort of cloak, made from a shimmering, light fabric unlike anything I'd ever seen before.
I was looking forward to further inspecting it in daylight.
My mother had been a seamstress, and I'd grown up surrounded by cupboards, boxes, shelves full of fabric.
My dad had always said that she had an addiction.
I wrapped the cloak around myself like a blanket. Despite the thin material, I immediately felt warmer. But even better, I no longer felt vulnerable and exposed. What a difference clothes could make.
He still had his back turned to me. The flames threw enough light for me to see the play of muscles beneath the green sheen of his skin. Strange, beautiful, otherworldly.
When I sat down again, the sand was warm against my legs, the fire crackling softly between us.
He offered me a piece of fish, wrapped in a broad leaf that gleamed with oil.
I hesitated only long enough to test the smell—fresh, salty, cooked perfectly—and then ate.
It was delicious, far better than anything I’d expected to find on a deserted island.
I was ravenous. When I'd finished the fish, he wordlessly handed me another one.
"What about you?" I asked, still chewing.
"I have already eaten."
Now that my initial hunger was sated and I was less cold, I could think more clearly again. And something didn't quite add up for me.
"How did you get all this stuff?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level. I didn't want to turn this into an argument with a stranger on whom I was entirely reliant. Not yet, anyway. "Where did you get the shirt? The matches to make a fire? The bag next to you?"
He looked into the flames instead of at me. “From the island.”
“The island,” I echoed. “You mean this island?”
“No. The other one.”
My pulse picked up. “So there’s another island nearby?”
His jaw tightened, the faint green tendrils along his shoulders shifting. “Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you take me there?”
I pushed the words out too quickly, and a stab of pain caught me under the ribs. I winced, covering it with a breath that hurt almost as much. “You think I can’t handle it?”
For the first time, he hesitated. His eyes flicked toward me, dark and unreadable. “The sea is not kind to the wounded. You would not survive the swim. “It is not safe for you.”
“Wounded?” I shot back. “I’m fine.”
“You make a sound when you inhale too deeply.”
I let out a shaky breath just to spite him—and immediately regretted it as pain lanced across my side. He didn’t move, but the tendrils along his shoulders twitched as though reacting to my discomfort.
“I’m fine,” I muttered, mostly to myself. “It’s just a bruise.”
“Bruises fade,” he said quietly. “But water does not forgive weakness. It is not safe.”
“Not safe?” I laughed softly, the sound too brittle. “And here is? You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s nothing on this rock but sand, kelp, and coconuts. And even those coconuts will all be gone soon.”
“You would not understand,” he said quietly.
“Try me.”
"I am a finman. I was born underwater and I will die underwater.
My body is made for it." He tapped the sides of his neck.
"I have gills. I can breathe beneath the ocean's surface.
I have webbing between my toes to increase my swim speed.
I have greenskin that reads the currents and helps me plan my route.
I can hear, see, smell better than humans, both underwater and on land.
For me, swimming to the island was easy.
I could navigate the dangerous currents.
Sea creatures like the one that almost attacked you know I am a fiercer predator than they are. They won't dare to attack me."
"Well, you've just established that you're better than me," I sighed, frustrated at the lack of actual information.
"But not why you didn't bring me to the island that has shirts and blankets and food.
Or why you didn't bring me back to my ship, the Minerva. You didn’t know I had a cracked, broken, whatever rib when you first rescued me. "
He stared into the flames, not meeting my eyes. He was hiding something, I was sure of it.
"It would be too dangerous," he said eventually.
"There are sea creatures near the island that are much more aggressive than the one you encountered.
They would see you as prey, even with me by your side.
And besides, the currents are too strong there just now.
I could swim through them, but I couldn't drag you along. "
I didn't believe a single word of it. Yes, there were sharks in these waters. He'd already proven that he could handle them. And currents? Seriously?
But I didn't want to alienate him. Not yet. I'd find a way to discover the real reason why he was keeping me here. And then I'd escape. For now, I'd let him think that I'd accepted his excuses.
"Who are you, really?" I asked abruptly. "A merman? An alien? Something else?"
He looked relieved at the change of topic. "I was born on the planet of Finfolkaheem, which makes me an alien in your eyes - even though it is you who is the alien, to me." He grinned. It lit up his face, making him seem younger and less stern.
“If you’re an alien, then how come you understand me? How come you speak English?”
He tapped the side of his head. “I have a translator implant. But I have also spent some time learning your language. Without the implant, I’d be able to communicate, but I’d get lost in translation a lot, so for now, I’m relying on it.
Your Earth languages are very different from the ones we speak on Finfolkaheem.
Yours are made to carry through air. Ours are made to echo through water.
” He hesitated for a moment. “Would you like me to tell you about my world? "
I looked up at the moon, trying to judge what time it was. But then I decided it didn't matter. I wasn't tired. I'd eaten my fill of fish. And I wasn't going to get off this tiny island tonight. So I might as well listen to his stories.
For some reason, I didn't react with panic or shock at the revelation that he was an alien.
I supposed a lot of strange things had happened since this morning.
A whale had crashed into my boat. A shark had almost eaten me.
And now I was listening to an alien tell me about his home.
I rubbed my forehead. Maybe I'd cracked my head.
Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe I was in a coma.
Or maybe this was all real and I was just too stunned to react in a normal, scream-in-panic kind of way.
I nodded. "Please do."
He stared into the distance, and I imagined him picturing his home, remembering places I could only dream of.
"I grew up in the city of Eynhallow, brought up with two clutch-brothers called Fionn and Cerban.
I am the oldest of us three, but by less than a sunpass.
Still, as finboys, I would often make a point of being the oldest, and therefore in charge.
" He chuckled and once again I was struck at how a simple smile changed his entire appearance.
"My planet is beautiful. Most finfolk live underwater, in large cities or small hamlets at the bottom of the ocean.
Others prefer to travel as nomads, traversing the seas as traders and storytellers.
Life as a finboy was good, until we reached adulthood.
That's when... No, I need to explain some things first. Generations ago, the climate of Finfolkaheem began to change.
The oceans grew warmer. And that affected the gender of the finbabes being born.
Fewer and fewer females, more and more males. "
"Like turtles."
"Turtles?" he asked, confused.
"They lay eggs in sand and the sand's temperature determines the gender. Although for them, it seems it's the opposite way than for your kind. Warmer sand means more females. But I suppose the end result is the same."
He nodded, sadness now creasing his brow. "We reached a point where for every ten males, only one female was born. That's when the Matriarchs created a new system that would ensure the survival of our species. All finboys were to be tested and only the best would be assigned a female."
I could see where this was going, but I stayed silent.