I couldn’t suppress a shudder.
“You can face a shark hunt for Moheetla, but you fear an eel?”Therin’s eyes twinkled at me in a rare show of mischief.
I shrugged.“I don’t like snakes.”
“Brett, an eel is not a snake.”Before I could tell her I knew that but failed to see a real difference, she turned back to Nalu.“Do you keep her until you need food? You feed her to get her fatter for a meal at a different time?”
For the first time since he’d laid eyes on Lelas, an unpleasant look crossed Nalu’s face. In the silence, I assumed he was trying to explain the concept of owning a pet to Lelas.
As much as I loved Lelas, moments like this reminded me just how different she was from Sonia. Lelas, like the rest of the Chromis tribe, was nothing if not logical, efficient, and practical. Sonia had been extravagant and indulgent. Not for the first time, I marveled how my deceased best friend… vampire best friend… and my current best friend were so completely different from each other. Had they met in real life, I doubted the two of them would have been friends. Lelas would think Sonia wasteful and crass. Sonia would count Lelas as nothing more than a stick-in-the-mud. Actually, in a strange way, I guess it was possible for Sonia and Lelas to meet. The three of us were all immortal, in theory anyway. At some point, it could happen. Although it might be preferable for hell to freeze over before the two met. The last time I’d seen Sonia, I doubted Lelas would be able to survive an introduction.
“It seems disrespectful to the animal to keep it for your own. One creature should not belong to another.”Therin addressed Lelas, as if the whole concept of pet ownership was her fault.
“I agree with you, Therin. However, I must confess that I find the practice of hunting sharks for Moheetla, with no intention of consuming their flesh, to be more disrespectful.”She smiled at him, reprimanding him as she might an older uncle.“In fact, I do not believe—”
She broke off and looked over toward Nalu, who motioned silently toward Therin, Wrell, and I.
Lelas nodded.
Nalu’s eyes widened, and his gaze traveled over the three of us in awe before returning to Lelas.
She made a disgusted face.“No. I did not participate in the hunt for the Great Spirit.”
“Lelas, why doesn’t he speak to us himself? He spoke to us plenty before you showed up.”
At my words, Nalu’s already dark skin deepened, his cheeks nearly turning purple.
Lelas didn’t answer me. At first I thought she wasn’t sure, and then I realized she was having yet another conversation with Nalu. This whole new, private Lelas was going to take some getting used to. I was accustomed to her being all mine. I couldn’t say I was ready to share her with someone else. It wasn’t like there’d be a whole lot of transition time to ease myself into it.
“I apologize if my actions have been seen as rude or disrespectful.”Nalu didn’t look away as he addressed us, instead looking each of us in the eye.“I confess I am uncertain of the proper way to communicate with you. Our first interaction was that of hostility. I then discovered I am mated to one of your sisters, and then became guard over you once more.”His eyes flickered to Lelas before looking back at us.“And now to discover that you have taken part in a hunt of Moheetla… I did not want to presume equality by addressing you directly.”
I saw Nalu in my mind, rising within the stone columns, spears raised, his strong body taut, ready to fight in order to protect his people. For a moment, I thought I was having an unsought memory but then realized it was from Wrell—which should have been obvious since the view communicated a level of respect for Nalu I didn’t actually feel.
“I must agree with my brother, Wrell. Any mer who is willing to protect and die for his tribe is deserving of respect and honor.”Therin dipped his head toward Nalu in a small bow.
Respect and honor were too much as far as I was concerned, and bowing was bordering on preposterous. I noticed Lelas’s eyes flick toward me. I received the message loud and clear. My turn.“Ah… Lelas is my best friend. Anybody she loves is good enough for me.”She gave me a withering look but didn’t press the issue. I was pretty impressed with myself. I was nicer than I’d wanted to be. I forced myself to look the merman in the eye.“So… Nalu, I think I figured it out on the way here. Do the Scarus use mirrors to reflect the sunlight from somewhere up above? Is that how the tunnels and such are lit?”
A look of confusion crossed his face, but I could tell he didn’t want to ask, as if in so doing, he’d be falling into some trap I’d set to make him look stupid.
I tried to fix my mistake.“Mirrors. Uhm… glass that shows a reflection. You can see yourself in it.”
“Mirror? Mirror.”He tried out the word.“We call it reflecting silver.”He motioned up toward a small hole in the ceiling I hadn’t noticed.“Yes, we use reflecting silver to have the sunlight.”
That probably explained some of the reflections I’d seen at the top of the large chamber where we’d met Queen Akamaii.“What do you use at night?”
He looked at me like I’d asked what his fins were for.“The moon offers light as well.”
Smartass.
“The moon is bright enough to see in the tunnels?”
“The light is indeed dimmer, but there is enough to see by. Even when the moon does not shine, there is always light to be had.”
Lelas turned to him and started to say something none of the rest of us could hear, then looked over her shoulder, catching herself.“Sorry. I realize I have been caught up in this new discovery with Nalu. I have not meant to be secretive. I was not prepared to have such a rush of new emotions, nor suddenly feel like I no longer fully belonged to myself and my own tribe.”
A quick stab of guilt clinched around my chest. As much as I was struggling with the idea, I’m sure it was nothing compared to what Lelas had to be feeling.
Therin swam closer to her, then sank into a seated position on the surface of the curved wall.“There is naught to apologize for, Lelas. The world has changed in an instant. Not just for you, but for all of us.”He nodded toward Nalu, including him in the conversation.“While there are many questions, you have nothing but our love and support.”
