Dash and I used to play chicken with them as boys—diving down to the reef to the west of the palace, daring each other to see who could get closest before one snapped. Bravery, stupidity—there wasn’t much difference between the two when we were young. Mother would scold us, but there was always a glint in her eye when she did, like she knew that we wouldn’t listen to her reprimands anyway.
My brow pinches as I glance around, trying to find something to keep the clam from snapping my arm off clean through the bone when I attempt to retrieve the key. I need leverage.
Without too much thought, I place the box down, my sword joining it on the seabed as I swim around, searching for something I can use. I spot a jagged stone—sort of square in shape, heavy enough. Itwould have to do.
A wave of nausea passes over me, causing my vision to blur at the sides. Surely my body hasn’t grown so accustomed to the world above that it’s rejecting the sea. I shake my head, focussing as I lift the rock into my arms.
I ease forwards, slow and careful. The clam stirs, shell creaking as if it senses me. One wrong twitch and it’ll snap shut on bone.
Very slowly, I raise the rock and jam it between the shell’s gaping halves.
Crack.
It slams down with enough force to rattle my arm, but the stone holds, wedged just deep enough. I don’t wait. My hand darts in, fast and sure. Cold slime coats my knuckles as my fingers close around the key.
Got it.
As I dart for the box, and my sword, something blue in the corner of my eye catches my attention. I didn’t notice it before. Blue kelp, the kind my mother carried on her wedding day. I would remember it anywhere. Father used to fill the palace with it every anniversary. It only flowers once a year.
The sight of it tugs a thread in my chest. A thread that is tethered to the memory of her, but I don’t have time to visit that place. I have a crew up top who are waiting for me, expecting me to come back in one piece before sundown.
As I head up towards the narrow opening, another barb from the olive green sea foliage catches in my scales, sending a sharp pain through my hip. I tug free but the barb comes with it. My hands are too full to bother with it now, I’ll remove it once I break the surface.
I flick my tail into motion, forcing myself up. Thankfully the only creatures I’ve come across were fish. Otto would be disappointed that I didn’t bring him back something he could experiment on. He’ll have to be satisfied with the bag full of creatures' legs that he’s collected.
Shadows melt into shapes. Ugly ones. Creatures with yellow eyes, and red gleaming teeth. Cold water enters my mouth and exits my gills as I suck in, filling my lungs with oxygen. I’m seeing things, but why?
Something’s wrong.
The water pulses too loud in my ears, like a drumbeat from inside my skull. My limbs feel heavy—slow, like they’ve forgotten how to belong to me. Every stroke takes more effort than it should, and my vision’s starting to smear at the edges again.
Seconds feel like minutes, and minutes feel like hours, but I know I’m nearly at the top. I can see the orange glow from the setting sun seeping into the thin layer of murkiness above me, so I push harder. I break the surface with a gasp that sounds more like a choke.
The sunlight above glares down, too bright, too far. But I see them—my crew, their shapes clustered at the rim of the cenote. A rope already swings down towards me, coiled like a lifeline.
From above, Odi’s gaze finds mine and I swear I see her pinched brow relax.
“Grab the rope, Rune!” Tavi calls out.
I clamp the iron key between my teeth, tucking the box under the arm that holds my sword. Cursing undermy breath, I grab the rope before my strength gives out completely. Then I see it. Tentacle sucker marks ring my left forearm, the skin raised and welted, raw like something tried to taste me alive.
“Pull me up!” I manage to yell through gritted teeth.
As I ascend from the cenote, my siren form flickers, the shimmer of magic slipping like wet cloth off my skin. No one wants to see me half naked, half fish, so I let the shift happen, my trouser covered legs forming just before I’m hauled completely into the open air.
My limbs feel heavy after all that time in the water. It would take me a minute to find my feet again on the dry land. The rope jerks, and I rise. Every shift of the climb is a scream in my muscles, but I keep my grip. I keep the box. I keep breathing.
Barely.
Soon, I’m grabbing the edge of the rim, the box, my sword, and the key tumbling onto the grass. Elio doesn’t waste any time, he reaches my side and drags me onto solid ground. I lay there on my back for a moment, catching my breath. A white braid, threaded with tiny bones and gold rings appears above me.
“You don’t look so good,” Tavi grunts, her brow pinched together.
I sit up, then shift to all fours as I slowly push off the ground to stand upright. Many sets of eyes just stare at me, wide eyed, like they know something I don’t.
Water slips off my body, pooling at my feet. “I’m totally fine.”
Tavi shakes her head. “No, you’re not.”
