“Well enough.” After wiping the blade on his trousers, he returns the dagger, freshly cleaned, to its sheath. Those gathered monitor hismovement, their small, pointed ears twitching as the metal slides into its case. “I hear we share an acquaintance.”
“The sailor.” She nods. “Ten years in Troy. Ten years at sea. The man was stronger than we first assumed, and clever. What was his name?”
“Odysseus.”
“Odysseus, yes.” A slow cant of her head. “That witch, Circe, warned him of our presence. She ordered his sailors to stuff their ears with beeswax. They tied Odysseus to the mast of the ship.” A few of the female sea-nymphs chuckle in response.
Annag smiles. Her teeth remind me of fragmented shells. “Oh, how he begged. We sang to him the loveliest ballad. A feast for us, it would have been. But alas, things do not always go as planned. They refused to be swayed.”
“I heard.” Zephyrus scans the crowd before retreating to the edge of the overhang. Harper and I continue to observe from the boat.
“I admit, I was surprised to learn you’d helped Odysseus.” She picks at something caught between her teeth. “Unless I am mistaken?”
“I did my best to steer Odysseus back to Ithica, but men are fools, as you know. His sailors released the bag of winds gifted to them, which sent them hundreds of miles back out to sea. They alone are responsible for their misfortune.”
“A pity.” The sea-nymph’s eyes track slightly to the left, unable to pin his exact location. “But let us discuss the present. You have brought company. It is not every day we encounter mortal women.”
Zephyrus angles toward us. Dark are his features, shrouded in secrecy. “One of the women is in need of a healer. Both require warm clothing.”
“And you expect my clan to provide this for you?” A smile sweetens her voice despite the lack of curve to her mouth. “You expect a lot, Bringer of Spring.”
“I understand this will not come free.”
“Indeed.” A long, insectile tongue pushes between her lips, fluttering with gentle undulations against the air. “One of the women tastes of fire. The other, salt.”
“We encountered the naiads a while back,” he explains.
“If it is a trade you seek, I would rather trade with the woman who tastes of fire.”
“No.” I’ve never heard a command so sharp from such a honeyed tongue. “Your business is with me.”
A small, serene smile graces the sea-nymph’s mouth. He’s revealed too much, I fear. “Very well,” she says as the crowd at her back spits out a guttural language I cannot understand. “Let us discuss.”
“And my companions?”
“I will allow them to take refuge in our guesthouse until an agreement has come to pass. They will be kept warm.”
Zephyrus catches my eye, and I give him a nod. “Thank you, Annag. I appreciate that.”
“I’m sure you do,” she says quietly.
As the matriarch draws him into one of the huts, two female sea-nymphs approach the boat, skinny arms laden with baskets of cloth. Their large, round, white eyes stare straight through us.
“We smell your filth, human women.” They speak simultaneously. “Come. We will show you to the baths.”
I disembark, thankful for the solid ground beneath my feet. Harper, however, hasn’t moved. I shake the boat to get her attention. “Come on.”
Her expression blurs into an unfocused vagueness. “I won’t,” Harper mumbles through chattering teeth. “Have you seen those things? They’re hideous. How do you know they won’t drag us off to some distant corner and strip the flesh from our bones?”
“I don’t.” The farther we stray in this dark realm, the less I know and the less I am certain of. “But you need to get well. They can help us.”
“You trust Zephyrus’ word?”
He has gone great lengths to ensure our safety. Maybe I misjudged him.
She scratches at the wood, then stops, her breathing shallow. “I feel the water on my skin. The voice in my ear… I do not think it is the Father’s.”
I lay my hand against the hunch of her upper back. “You hear a voice?”
