The words tumbled out in an endless stream, half-muffled against Ariella’s body. And beneath the words, she could hear something else, in a frequency most humans couldn’t perceive. Lilani’s heartbeat was too fast and her breathing was too shallow. The shock of her near-death experience still haunted her, even as her mouth chattered on about stars and fish and forbidden swimming.
Without even thinking, she released her Song. The hum started low in her chest, below the range of normal hearing, but spread outwards from her core, through her body, into the small frame pressed against her. She adjusted the frequency, finding the resonance that would slow a racing heart and ease a shocked mind towards calm.
Lilani’s grip on her waist loosened slightly as her breathing deepened. The frantic chatter slowed, then stopped, replaced by a soft sigh.
“That feels nice,” the girl murmured. “Like being rocked. Like the ocean when it’s being friendly.”
Ariella kept humming, kept the vibration steady, and looked up to find the Vultor staring at her.
His expression was… she didn’t have words for it. But his golden eyes burned brighter and his body went very, very still. The vibration was affecting him too, though he fought against it. His massive hands unclenched and his shoulders dropped from their defensive hunch. His head tilted slightly, trying to identify the new sound.
“What…” His voice came out rough, uncertain. “What are you doing?”
She let the hum fade slowly, easing Lilani out of its effects rather than dropping it abruptly. “Calming her. She was going into shock. The body remembers trauma even when the mind tries to push past it.”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“You felt it though. Didn’t you?”
He didn’t answer. But the slight flare of his nostrils and the way his gaze dropped to her throat told her everything she needed to know.
Lilani had gone boneless against her, not asleep but deeply relaxed, her small body trusting in a way that made Ariella’s heart ache. When was the last time anyone had trusted her like this? When was the last time anyone had touched her without clinical detachment or scientific curiosity?
Too long,something whispered.Too long, and you know it.
“She should rest,” she said softly. “The cut isn’t deep, but she swallowed seawater and her body’s been through a lot. Keep her warm. Watch for signs of infection. And…” She hesitated, then pressed on. “Talk to her. Let her tell you what happened, even if she tells it a hundred times. The mind heals by repeating things until they lose their power.”
He was so close she had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes—she wasn’t short, but he had at least a foot on her, plus the breadth of a warrior twice her size. He smelled like rain and smoke and something wild, something that made her gills flutter.
“You speak like someone who knows.” It wasn’t a question.
“I’ve pulled quite a few people from the water.” Not that it had made the village any more accepting.
Something flickered in his expression.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Ariella.” She tried to disentangle herself from Lilani’s grip, but the girl clung tighter, making a small sound of protest. “I’m a diver from… from the village around the point.”
“A diver.” His voice flattened. “Working for the village.”
“Working for my father actually. He’s a researcher. We live here because he needs access to the deep water for his work.”
“His work.” His lip curled again. “Let me guess. Mining surveys? Finding new ways to strip this world’s resources?” His golden eyes swept over her, taking in her diving suit, the webbing between her fingers. “Was this your father’s work, too?”
She stiffened, the familiar defensiveness rising like a tide. She should have known. She should have expected the judgment. It was the same look she got from everyone who knew what she was—a mixture of morbid curiosity and faint disgust.
“My father saved my life,” she said, her voice hard. “I was dying, and he used everything he had to make sure I could survive. I’m sorry if it doesn’t meet your aesthetic standards.”
She hadn’t meant to reveal anything about the nature of her existence, but something about this place—this warm cave, this fierce warrior, this small girl who called her a star lady—had cracked her open in ways she wasn’t prepared for. He was watching her with those golden eyes, and she had the uncomfortable feeling that he saw more than she wanted him to.
“I’m not talking about standards,” he said stiffly. “I’m talking about?—”
“It doesn’t matter. I should go anyway.” She tried again to pull away from Lilani. “I know this is Vultor territory.”
“Not exactly. But it is my territory.” He reached down and gently but firmly, pried Lilani’s arms from around her waist. The girl protested sleepily, reaching for her new friend, but he lifted her against his chest and she subsided, burrowing into his warmth. “You should go back to your village and forget you found this place.”
She should have been grateful that Lilani was unharmed and he was letting her leave. She should have already been moving towards the cave entrance and the sea that was the only home she’d ever truly known.
