“They won’t hurt you,” I whispered.
I was more concerned about the guards and black marlins on all sides.
The further we got from Utopia, the darker Meela’s aura became. I knew what she was thinking. Adaro was probably killing humans that very moment, and we were moving further from the possibility of stopping him. I understood she was worried someone else would get to Adaro first, but I wished she would quit letting this consume her. Her every thought seemed focused on how to hunt him, kill him, destroy him. I worried what the obsession was doing to her.
My stomach clenched, the hunger painful. How long had we been swimming? How much longer until we had to dive to get to the labour camp?
I knew better than to say anything. On the last breach, a merman made the mistake of asking the guards if we were going to stop to sleep or eat. He got a conch shell to the face.
The guards, on the other hand, shared the meals they’d packed along. Even the marlins received portions of shrimp and cuttlefish.
Our pace slowed as our energy drained. Several times, I caught my eyes closing and shook my head to stay awake.
The guards barked at us to move faster.
“If any of you fall behind, you’ll get a beating!”
The world above turned from black to a soft navy. We’d been swimming all night. Beside me, Meela grew limp, and I grabbed her before she could drift into anyone.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
“Are you feeling okay? Hold onto me. I don’t want you drifting into the marlins.”
“Lysi, I’m not holding onto you like a little kid.”
“But what if you—?”
“I’m fine!”
She tried to pry her arm from my hand, but I held on, afraid she’d fall behind.
Deiopea spoke, voice so quiet I nearly missed it. “The last thing my husband told me was to protect our son from Adaro. He did not know our son had been killed moments before.”
Her eyes flicked down to my hand. I let Meela go, realising I was probably embarrassing both of us.
“It’s terrible, what you went through,” said Meela.
Deiopea closed her eyes and let out a puff of air. I didn’t know what to say, so I waited. After a moment her aura seemed to lighten, and she continued.
“My son died stopping a school raid. Adaro’s soldiers were trying to take them to Utopia for military training. The children were fleeing through the back. My son stopped the army at the front door. That was where he died. His actions stalled the army long enough to give the children time to escape. We placed them into hiding.”
“You must be proud of him,” I said.
“Pride, adoration, love. Words are not strong enough to describe how I feel. But for a long time, I believed I had failed him and my husband. I let him die when I could have tried harder to protect him. Now I understand that sometimes you cannot protect your loved ones, no matter how hard you try. Life and death happen, and it is out of our control.”
I said nothing. Maybe that was true, to an extent. There was a permanent ache in the back of my mind for my parents and brother. I had no idea where they were, and nothing I did could control whether they were alive or dead, or whether I would see them again.
But Meela was here with me. As much as I could help it, her survival would be completely under my control.
“Adaro’s made sure everyone has lost someone they love,” said Meela.
Deiopea regarded her sadly. “I am sorry about your brother, Meela.”
There was that clenching feeling again. I had to tell her.
But today was no better than yesterday or the day before. I still didn’t know where Nilus was. I still didn’t know if Meela would get to see him again, or how she would take the news, if she would break down or be angry at me.
It’s never going to be the right moment to tell her,said a voice in my head.
