chest as he carried me to his mother's room and set me down on a padded couch. I let go of him only with great reluctance, and was gratified to see that he couldn't tear his eyes away from me. I did feel weak and ill, but for his benefit I added a little emphasis to my sigh as I nestled down into the soft cushions.
Lysander hovered over me. "Should I summon the physician?"
His mother shook her head. "We'll bathe and feed her, then let her sleep for a time. Leave us now, son." When Lysander still lingered, her voice turned crisp. "Go, Lysander. You may visit her later, when she's better."
Lysander obeyed. His mother brushed the hair off my forehead with gentle hands. "You'll be fine, child. Lydia, fetch water and a clean cloth. Hygeia, bring me some warm, honeyed wine."
I settled back, feeling safe and contented despite my throbbing head and the ache in my new legs. I closed my eyes and let myself drift away.
I dreamt of Father. He roamed the hallways and lofty rooms of the palace, just floating through, as if he were looking for something he could not find. Thetis appeared, too, and my grandmother, their faces as empty as their eyes. Thetis' lips moved, but no sound came out. I thought maybe she'd whispered my name.
"Here," I said. "I'm right here." I reached out and touched her shoulder. Thetis buried her face in her hands. She didn't turn around. In the dream, my voice echoed in my ears, but no one heard me. I moved through the water like a ghost.
Later, I felt a cold cloth against my skin. Someone lifted my head to help me drink something that hot and sweet. I lay down again. One moment I burned, the next I shivered and gritted my teeth against the cold. The blankets weighed me down and itched against my skin. I threw them off, but someone covered me again. Muddled voices played through my head. Faces came and went. The only one I recognized was the calm, kind face of Lysander's mother, and her comforting hands.
I slept. When I woke again I discovered a star come down from the heavens. It had settled on the table near my bed, where it flickered and shone with a buttery light. Too weak and awed to move, I caught my breath and stared. I'd never seen anything so beautiful. As I watched the star, its color deepened to orange, and all the while it bent and swayed like an anemone caught up in a current. Hypnotized by the movement, I lifted my hand and moved to touch it -- then gave a little yelp and jerked back in pain.
I stuck my fingers in my mouth and glared at the star. How dare it bite me! I stopped sucking on my fingers and examined them in the faint light. Instead of puncture wounds, I found a crop of tiny white blisters. Then, suddenly, I understood. This was something I'd heard of but never seen, something I'd barely believed existed. This was the element called fire.
Excitement eased the weariness clouding my mind. This was something truly new, something no mermaid had ever seen up close. Thetis had tried, once, to explain fire to me. "It's supposed to be like -- like the shock of an electric eel, but hotter," she'd said. "It's hot like water from the geysers near the kelp forest. Except fire eats up everything it touches." But I still hadn't understood. Thetis hadn't either, not really. Seeing fire was like discovering a new color, or opening an unexpected gift.
I curled up in my bed, under the scratchy blankets, and watched the little fire -- the thing called a candle -- until I fell asleep.
I woke with the sun in my face. Light glanced off the sea and reflected onto the ceiling. The wave prisms played across the whitewashed brick. Groaning, I flung up my arm to shield my eyes.
"Close the windows, Lydia," Lysander's mother said. She leaned over and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.
"Can you hear me, my dear?" she asked. She pronounced the words with the same odd, lilting accent that Lysander did.
I nodded cautiously, then more vigorously as I realized my headache had disappeared. "Y-yes," I
Lysander hovered over me. "Should I summon the physician?"
His mother shook her head. "We'll bathe and feed her, then let her sleep for a time. Leave us now, son." When Lysander still lingered, her voice turned crisp. "Go, Lysander. You may visit her later, when she's better."
Lysander obeyed. His mother brushed the hair off my forehead with gentle hands. "You'll be fine, child. Lydia, fetch water and a clean cloth. Hygeia, bring me some warm, honeyed wine."
I settled back, feeling safe and contented despite my throbbing head and the ache in my new legs. I closed my eyes and let myself drift away.
I dreamt of Father. He roamed the hallways and lofty rooms of the palace, just floating through, as if he were looking for something he could not find. Thetis appeared, too, and my grandmother, their faces as empty as their eyes. Thetis' lips moved, but no sound came out. I thought maybe she'd whispered my name.
"Here," I said. "I'm right here." I reached out and touched her shoulder. Thetis buried her face in her hands. She didn't turn around. In the dream, my voice echoed in my ears, but no one heard me. I moved through the water like a ghost.
Later, I felt a cold cloth against my skin. Someone lifted my head to help me drink something that hot and sweet. I lay down again. One moment I burned, the next I shivered and gritted my teeth against the cold. The blankets weighed me down and itched against my skin. I threw them off, but someone covered me again. Muddled voices played through my head. Faces came and went. The only one I recognized was the calm, kind face of Lysander's mother, and her comforting hands.
I slept. When I woke again I discovered a star come down from the heavens. It had settled on the table near my bed, where it flickered and shone with a buttery light. Too weak and awed to move, I caught my breath and stared. I'd never seen anything so beautiful. As I watched the star, its color deepened to orange, and all the while it bent and swayed like an anemone caught up in a current. Hypnotized by the movement, I lifted my hand and moved to touch it -- then gave a little yelp and jerked back in pain.
I stuck my fingers in my mouth and glared at the star. How dare it bite me! I stopped sucking on my fingers and examined them in the faint light. Instead of puncture wounds, I found a crop of tiny white blisters. Then, suddenly, I understood. This was something I'd heard of but never seen, something I'd barely believed existed. This was the element called fire.
Excitement eased the weariness clouding my mind. This was something truly new, something no mermaid had ever seen up close. Thetis had tried, once, to explain fire to me. "It's supposed to be like -- like the shock of an electric eel, but hotter," she'd said. "It's hot like water from the geysers near the kelp forest. Except fire eats up everything it touches." But I still hadn't understood. Thetis hadn't either, not really. Seeing fire was like discovering a new color, or opening an unexpected gift.
I curled up in my bed, under the scratchy blankets, and watched the little fire -- the thing called a candle -- until I fell asleep.
I woke with the sun in my face. Light glanced off the sea and reflected onto the ceiling. The wave prisms played across the whitewashed brick. Groaning, I flung up my arm to shield my eyes.
"Close the windows, Lydia," Lysander's mother said. She leaned over and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.
"Can you hear me, my dear?" she asked. She pronounced the words with the same odd, lilting accent that Lysander did.
I nodded cautiously, then more vigorously as I realized my headache had disappeared. "Y-yes," I
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