Chapter 41 #2
Eventually a woman with a tail almost as brilliant a mauve as Rhoda’s had been swam forward, two open clamshells in her hands. She placed them before Aeliana, weighing them out as if Aeliana was to choose.
She glanced at Nori, who nodded, and Aeliana studied the shells more closely.
The one on the left held a rose pink pearl the size of Aeliana’s smallest nail and the one on the right held a similarly shaped gem, but it was more transparent, its multi-faceted surface taking on the various shades of the bright coral around it like it reflected an entire rainbow.
Aeliana bit her lip, wishing she understood, wishing she could ask questions. Gellen swam beside her and placed a hand on her arm.
You can ask questions. And no, your questions aren’t rude.
She grinned uncomfortably. “Is this a gift? Am I meant to choose one? I have nothing to offer in return.” The words echoed back at her within her helmet, but she knew Gellen would likely hear them in his mind.
She glanced at Gaeren, but he shrugged, unable to hear her question or offer advice. He was probably used to these sorts of diplomatic affairs, but the choice had been offered to her.
Gifts are given without expecting anything in return. And while asking questions isn’t rude, refusing a gift would be.
She studied the two offerings again, unsure of their value or meaning. Why hadn’t she asked Velden more about Sayhleen culture?
She turned to Nori. “Which would you choose?”
Nori looked to Gellen, who narrowed his eyes but signed the question to Nori.
Her scales flashed in the light as a smile bloomed on her lips. She pointed at the one on the right, with its prism-like surface reflecting the azure of her fins.
Aeliana copied her motion, then bowed in what she hoped was an appreciative gesture to both Nori and the woman before her. The woman bowed back, then swam away with both shells, leaving Aeliana to wonder if it really had been a gift or some sort of test.
Then a small hand gripped her glove, and she kneeled down in the seagrass until she was eye level with someone in a tiny suit.
The child couldn’t have been much more than five or six, and when he grinned at her from behind his glass helmet, sharp teeth made her think of Felk.
Scales fluttered across his face, as if he had little to no control over which form he took in the water.
“Hello,” she said softly, even though she knew he wouldn’t be able to hear her.
His mouth moved and then his hands. It was a question she couldn’t catch, but she glanced at Nori, who nodded her approval.
Then Aeliana was being pulled through the water toward another archway, where her fear of accidentally harming the coral within its maze made her lose her sense of direction.
The boy brought her to a small section that clearly belonged to him, with various toys tied down to a table and a sea turtle in their midst. He reached for the sea turtle and brought its nose against his glass, making kissing faces at it until it licked his glass.
Aeliana laughed, then did the same as he brought the turtle up against her helmet.
For the next hour, she was led from room to room where the people showed off their families and homes, the unique experience giving Aeliana hundreds more questions.
Nori stayed with her, but she lost track of Gaeren and Velden until they all wound up back in the reef’s entrance, where Velden signaled that he needed to leave.
He and his guard swam to the surface, while Aeliana and Gaeren waved farewell to the submerged Sayhleens.
Before they left, the Sayhleen with the bright mauve tail tugged on Aeliana’s arm, placing a closed clamshell in her free hand. Was this the gift Nori had suggested she pick? She moved to open it, but the Sayhleen shook her head, then pointed to the surface.
“I understand,” Aeliana said, nodding at the woman. “Thank you.”
The woman smiled and swam away, leaving Aeliana and Gaeren to make the trek back to the beach with Nori, Gellen, and Gaeren’s guard.
It felt even longer than the first time as Aeliana’s questions swirled inside her.
Did those people all live there all the time?
Or did they rotate with the villagers? Did they work down there, or did its status as a refuge make it a place for only rest?
Was that where they would find Lady Merinnia?
When they rose from the water, Aeliana and Gaeren pulled off their helmets and the clothing that was even heavier now that it was wet. Aeliana wanted nothing more than to flop on the beach and stare up at the sky while begging Nori for information, but she suspected that wasn’t on the agenda.
Nori, Gellen, and Gaeren’s guard all made their shift from scales to skin, retaining minimal modesty. Aeliana’s face heated, and she looked away, wishing they’d kept more scales in place until they’d pulled on the clothes they’d left on shore.
Gellen chuckled, making Aeliana’s cheeks grow even warmer.
She turned the shell over in her hand, wondering if it was finally safe to open. Gellen snatched it from her grip and tucked it into his belt pouch.
“That was a gift,” Nori protested.
“She can have it back if she’s released.”
The two Sayhleens glared at each other, making Aeliana wonder what other disagreements lay between them. She had no use for a gemstone anyway. She’d trade it for the chance to talk to Lady Merinnia.
Gellen’s glare was replaced by confusion as he turned to study Aeliana. She ignored his perusal, not wanting to care what he might be pulling from her mind.
“Thank you for showing us Coral Cove.” Aeliana’s words for Nori were true, even though she now knew the real reason they’d been brought on this tour in the first place was for Gellen to access their minds.
Had they passed whatever test they’d been given?
She supposed he would report back to the elders tonight.
“You did well enough,” Gellen grudgingly admitted.
Nori’s eyes narrowed, and her hands went to her hips. “Got enough information? Maybe now you can stop telling my father to—”
“Nori!” the other guard hissed.
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. “Let’s take them back,” she muttered.
No more words were exchanged before they reached the hut, where Velden greeted them like a hospitable host instead of a co-prisoner.
“Come in, come in! What took you so long?” He grinned and winked at them, gesturing for them to enter. “I was beginning to think we’d never see your sorry hides again.”
“We couldn’t have beaten you even if we’d sprouted wings,” Gaeren said.
His words made Aeliana think of Durriken and how long it had been since she’d been able to reach the dragon.
She hadn’t thought to tell him goodbye before leaving Vendaras, hadn’t considered she might not be able to access him after crossing the barrier.
But ever since arriving on Sayhla Island, she’d felt like the brand connecting them had been temporarily severed even though it still looked solid on her palm.
The inability to sense his presence was uncomfortable, like when her bond mark would twinge if she sensed Lukai in danger.
But this was more like the phantom pain of a lost limb, and her efforts to reach him had become more of a desperate habit than true attempts.
She supposed that meant her noetic magic would be dulled.
Would her somatic skills automatically be strengthened?
Or was it a muscle she had to retrain first?
There was no way for her to test it with the Sayhleens guarding them anyway.
Before Aeliana could follow Gaeren into the hut, Gellen’s hand shot out to grab her wrist.
She stiffened, but then his question reverberated in her mind.
Who’s Durriken?
Her brows rose in surprise, but instead of answering, she let the image of Durriken fill her mind—not the docile creature in the woods playing hide-and-seek with a little boy, but the terrifying beast who’d annihilated thousands of soldiers in the Valley of Krahn.
Gellen stepped back and dropped her wrist, his face pale. “You’re trying to frighten me.”
She’d simply wanted to shock him, but frightening him felt equally rewarding. “Is it working?”
His brow furrowed and his color returned, along with a few sapphire scales. “Or you’re trying to make a fool of me.”
She sighed. “What would I gain from that? What is it you think we’ve come for? If not for the reason we’ve stated—to gain an audience with Lady Merinnia—then why?”
He pressed his lips together in a thin line, then stepped back just enough to slam the hut door in her face.