Page 23 of She Who Was Once the Sea

He wasn’t much taller than me, and as I moved closer, our noses almost touched in the diminishing space between us.

"Did you want to thank me?" I whispered, close enough now that I could feel the sharp exhalations he was trying so hard to disguise. "I think you should thank me."

"I think you’re forgetting." His voice was choked, and I had to fight the urge to smile in triumph. "I saved you first."

I couldn’t stop the laugh as it tore through my throat. The harsh sound cut through the taut silence around us, echoing against the tall walls. "They were never a threat, as I’m sure you well know."

"I distracted them." His mouth set in a firm line, his hand never leaving the dagger between us.

I sighed and leveled my eyes to his. "If you say so, Fratello."

We stood like that for a long while, the shared promise of violence hanging between us like overripe fruit.

Finally, he let out a long exhale, releasing the knife and raising his hands as if in surrender. "I’m not going to kill you," he said quietly, taking a step away from me. In his absence, the air in front of me grew noticeably colder.

I snorted. "I don’t think you could even if you wanted to."

He glared back. "We can agree to disagree."

A long pause. "Fine."

We watched each other warily.

"My name is Garrett," he said, lowering his hands once more.

"Marella."

He nodded. "So, I’m assuming I was right, wasn’t I? You’re one of them."

I stared back at him. "And you’re one of them."

"I am," he answered plainly. "So the question remains: Why didn’t you also kill me in that alley? Surely the Fratelli have killed enough of you to justify the murder. Why save me?"

I thought back to that afternoon in the square, just a couple of days prior, but somehow also separated by a lifetime of decisions.

"It’s a long story." It was a simple answer, spoken quietly and hanging in the air, met by a long stretch of silence. I half expected him to accept the response and move on. But then—

"I have plenty of time."

Chapter 11 - Garrett

Marella relayed her family’s story as we walked through the streets of Rossaia. I was surprised, and maybe a bit ashamed, by how easily I believed her. After all, I came to this city to work with the Fratelli, to join in their endeavor to find and kill people—creatures—like Marella.

But she’d had an opportunity to kill me, to rid the world of one more member of the Fratelli… and she hadn’t taken it. Perhaps this was penance. Perhaps it was simply curiosity. Perhaps, as I’d always feared, I was simply a disloyal little weasel who jumped ship as soon as a new opportunity appeared.

Whatever the case, I felt myself drawn into her story. I saw the glittering waters of Rossaia’s canals, saw the sharp hooks of villagers as they pulled Marella’s people ashore one by one. It felt as though I was watching with her as she described the moment her mother approached the Stone Witch, as her family was pulled into the statues surrounding the central fountain.

And after what seemed like hours, I felt her disgust as she relayed her experience with the American man. She described his hands on her frozen body, and I felt bile rising in my own stomach as a flash of shame flickered across her face—there for a moment, then gone just as fast.

When she arrived at the point in her story where our paths truly crossed, she trailed off and shrugged. "And you know the rest."

We stopped walking. High, warm-colored walls and rows of windows stretched down the street on either side of us. The low hum of traffic buzzed in the distance, but where we stood was quiet. I was constantly surprised by the city’s ability to insulate noise.

I turned to face her. It was late afternoon, and the absence of direct sunlight made the air around us feel chilly in comparison to the heat from earlier in the day. Her face was turned to the sky, eyes tracing back and forth as if searching for something.

"Do you think it’s going to rain tonight?" she asked suddenly.

I could have pulled out my phone and checked the weather forecast, could have answered her question beyond a shadow of a doubt. But that would have also quenched the hope shining on her striking features, and I simply couldn’t bring myself to do that.