“At least bring one of the other hunters with you! Tetwin or Xifi maybe,”Zellia begged.
“No. They’ve all been searching nonstop and need a break. It’s my turn.”I pushed off the sea floor and darted toward her. She turned to the side, making room for me as I dove off the ledge of the Kilkov. Zellia chased after me, a trail of bubbles behind her as she followed me. We swam through theforest of kelp, winding between the layers of slippery plants that protected the west side of our territory.
The cool water as I traveled deeper was a relief, but it was also a reminder of what I was: a creature of the deep sea, a predator made to protect these waters from those who didn’t belong, from those who wished it harm. I was a hunter—a warrior—because if I wasn’t, who would be?
Each family in the pod needed one designated hunter, and after my father died, I was the only one who could stomach it. So, here I was, on my way to the sunken ship we called home to grab my spear because I was my family’s killer.
Zellia darted up ahead of me, clearing the forest of kelp we had resorted to eating when there was nothing else to fill our stomachs. Once I was in the clear, my view opened to an expanse of deep blue water and shady sand.
When I was young, the Dreslee was full of life—colorful fish zipped around, giant schools filled the empty spaces, octopuses came and went, and the smaller sharks were our allies, working with us in our shared hunt.
Now, my home was barren. Empty, dull, lifeless. Every cell in my body craved to see it as it was when I was a child, to relive those memories of chasing fish, of swimming alongside fierce predators as they taught me the beauty of the chase. The sharks were still around every now and again, but we no longer hunted together. Instead, it was a competition to see who could satisfy our hunger with the few fish that remained.
The sunken ship my pod called home loomed in the distance. The wooden vessel had been swallowed by the sea three years ago and was now tipped into the sand, partially lost to the sea floor. As I swam closer, I trailed my fingers over the sign that read “The Ever Wanderer”. The paint was chipping, but we would never forget the ship’s name or the reason it was here.
I swam through the entrance closest to my dwelling, passing my pod members who attempted to harvest crustaceans brave enough to enter the ship. I didn’t care for socialization right now, swimming past everyone before someone could stop me to chat. Idle conversation would only delay the inevitable.
Once inside, I rifled through my spears, all made of different materials—bone, wood, cartilage, sunken metal—anything I could find on the seafloor that could be made into a weapon. I grabbed the bone spear with the sharpest tip, running my fingers along the swirling engravings my mother had insisted on adding for protection. I had about a dozen hand-whittled spears that looked just like the one in my hands, and over the years, I had broken twice that amount.
“Don’t do this, Sid,”Zellia begged as she swam through the room’s entrance. We shared this area of the ship with our mother while the rest of the pod claimed their own sections of the wreck. It was our place to store our belongings and stay safe from predators while we slept. That was the extent of the time we spent here in The Ever Wanderer; the rest of our home was a wide expanse of sea and sand, and that was where we spent our days and learned the way of the siren.
“What else would you have me do?”I asked.“You came to me on the Kilkov because you knew I was the only one who would cross the territory. Tell me this isn’t what you want, and I won’t go.”
She pressed her lips together, and the lack of her voice in my mind was all I needed. She didn’t want me to go, but ultimately, she was too hungry to stop me—too desperate for what I was after to put up a real fight.
“Then it’s settled.”
Zellia rubbed her temples, as if the sound I had just echoed through her mind caused an instant headache, as if my leaving inflicted physical pain on her. Her eyes were dark in the ship,as was the rest of her, but even then, I could see the redness in them. Tears were for humans, but those red eyes of hers told the same story.
I swam to her and placed my free hand on her shoulder. I pressed my palm into her silvery scales and cocked my head at her. Zellia was more familiar with emotion, but after twenty-two years of knowing her, I had grown used to her red eyes and puckered lips.
I had learned not to hold the innocence of her sheltered youth against her.Her heart was soft, and my mother and I did everything to shield her from the realities of this world. I had four years on her, but they were all I needed for our upbringings to be vastly different. I was my father’s daughter—a curious mind with a troubled tongue—but Zellia, she was my mother’s. She closed her eyes to the truths of this world and lived in blissful unawareness of our reality. That was, until a few months ago, when food became so scarce that there was no possible way to ignore it. She was now living in the truth, choking on it, like we choked on the kelp we force-fed ourselves to survive.
“Everything will be okay,”I said.“You have everything you need right here.”
I pressed one of my palms to her chest, reminding her of what lay underneath. Looped around her neck was a spiral shell with a small glass bead dangling from the tip. It was the only piece left from our father, a small reminder of him and his sacrifice. My mother had given it to Zellia after he’d died. My sister was a healer, after all, and her job allowed the piece to remain safe around her neck. I, on the other hand, would never risk my life for something as trivial as jewelry. I had my box of glass, and that had to be enough.
“How do you know everything will be okay? Everything is?—”
“Stop. I said everything will be okay, and so it will be. I promise you that. Have I ever broken a promise?”
Zellia shook her head, placing both her hands over mine. We stayed like that for a minute, silence in our minds but saying everything we needed to with our eyes. When she let me go, I dropped my hand from the shell around her neck.
“Tell Mom…”My words drifted off, the rest of what I wanted to say not willing to leave the comfort of my mind.“You know what, I’ll tell her when I’m back.”
I gripped the spear and gave her a nod before I darted out the door. I couldn’t stare at her anymore or spend too much time thinking about what I was about to do. If I let my heart feel the fear of never seeing her again, I wouldn’t leave. It was the same reason I wouldn’t say goodbye to my mother. I’d see her and tell her just how much I loved her when I returned.
Swimming through the wreck, I didn’t allow myself to make eye contact with a single soul. Xifi and Tetwin attempted to wave me down, but my eyes remained forward, oblivious to their calls.
Once I made it into the clearing and had nothing in my way but the distance between me and the end of our territory, I let my narrowed eyes relax. I fled with the tightness in my chest and let myself fall into the emptiness of my mind.
CHAPTER TWO
RAVENOUS AND THE ROPE
Hunger clawed at my belly as I darted through the water. I spent so much time thinking about how starving everyone else was, I forgot sometimes that I was just as ravenous.
As I approached the end of our territory, I stared out into the hazy distance. The area didn’t look any different from where I had grown up, but would it feel different? Would the weight of the hungry pod lift from my shoulders, or would I drown in the fear of the unknown?
