“Flatterer.”
“Truth-teller.”
The sunset painted the sky in layers of purple and rose, the colors bleeding into the calm sea until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. A month had passed since their meeting with Seren—a month of slowly learning what it meant to have a future instead of just a survival strategy. To her surprise, her father continued to show up every week. Their conversations were brief, and frequently stilted, but as long as he kept making the effort, she was willing to meet him halfway.
The shelves carved into cave walls now held supplies from both the pack and the village, proof of the bridges they were building, one careful exchange at a time.
And in the deepest part of the cave, on a ledge where the morning light caught it just right, the echo-pipe waited.
She could feel it even now, a gentle hum at the edge of her consciousness, like a second heartbeat. The connection had grown stronger over the past weeks, though she still didn’t fully understand it. Seren’s promised elder hadn’t responded yet, but somehow that didn’t bother her as much as it once might have.
Some mysteries were meant to unfold slowly.
“Mama! Papa! Look!”
She turned to find Lilani pointing at the horizon, where a pod of sea creatures had surfaced to ride the evening swells. The colonists called them dolphins although, based on the pictures she’d seen in her father’s books, they bore very little resemblance to the original Earth creatures other than their sleek grey bodies, now arcing through the water in perfect synchronicity.
A family,she thought.That’s what they look like. That’s what we look like.
Without quite meaning to, she began to hum.
It was a simple melody, something that had been forming in her mind for days, born from tide pools and sunset light and the particular way Lilani’s giggles harmonized with Valrek’s rumbling laugh. The notes rose and fell like waves, soft at first, then stronger as she gave herself over to the song.
And from the cave behind them, the echo-pipe answered.
Its voice wound around hers like an old friend joining a familiar tune, adding depth and resonance to her simple melody. The harmonics shivered through the air, making her skin flare with soft blue light. Lilani gasped in delight. Even Valrek went still, his golden eyes fixed on her with an expression that made her breath catch.
The dolphins changed course.
They swam closer, drawn by the sound, their curious clicks and whistles weaving into the song until the entire cove seemed to vibrate with music. Lilani scrambled down from her rock and splashed into the shallows, reaching out her hands as if she could touch the melody itself.
She let the song fade slowly, the echo-pipe’s voice lingering for a heartbeat longer before settling into silence.
“That was…” His voice was rough. “I don’t have words.”
“You don’t need them.”
She leaned into him, and his arm came around her shoulders, solid and warm. The dolphins circled once more before disappearing into the deeper water, but Lilani stayed in the shallows, splashing and spinning in some private dance only she understood.
“She’s going to sleep well tonight,” she murmured.
“She’d better.” There was a dark note of promise in his voice that made heat curl low in her belly. “I have plans for you once she’s in bed.”
“Plans?”
“Many plans.” His lips brushed her temple. “Detailed plans. Extensive plans.”
“I’m intrigued.”
“You should be.”
By the time they coaxed Lilani out of the water and up the cliff path, the stars had begun to emerge. The little girl was chattering about the dolphins—Did you see how close they came? They liked your song, Mama! Can you teach me to sing like that? Can I have glowy skin too?—but her words were coming slower, her steps heavier.
The cave embraced them with its familiar warmth.
She helped Lilani change into dry sleeping clothes while Valrek stoked the fire, and by the time the girl was tucked into her nest of furs, her golden eyes were already drooping.
“Sing me something?” A sleepy request, barely more than a whisper.
