right. It could be nothing.”
“Then why won’t you let me go?”
“Because I love you too much to lose you again.”
Silence. Not even Micah broke the heavy tension.
This wasn’t working. Knowing her sister’s deep need for justice, Phoebe tried a new tack.
“When the merfolk were set free, where was repayment for the ship hulls they had fixed? For the fish they had caught during their slavery? They got nothing, except a promise that the oceans beyond the shore would be theirs alone to care for. But now more humans are violating the treaty, not even bothering to try to work with the merfolk. Just taking what they want. Some humans are even deep-sea fishing again. I was told a little seawee died in their nets, and we saw a boat today sneaking around past the coastline. It’s so wrong! And Tristan saved my life, Sierra. Without him, we’d never have even gotten away from Bentwood’s. You know that. I owe him my
life
! Twice. He saved me again today. Don’t you even care?”
“First of all, we did help his people. We arranged for the treaty, even though the merfolk elders didn’t even want to work with us. And of course I’m thankful for him for today, yes, but if you go to them, you’ll be in great danger, trust me. I don’t believe his actions are worth the possible sacrifice of your own life.”
Phoebe did.
When she was taken to Bentwood’s, Sierra had come to take her sister back, but to reach the dungeon, Sierra needed help. Tristan was the one who brought her across the waters. He was the one who brought them both back to shore. Phoebe would never forget that.
She’d spent long hours with the twins underwater during those first days and weeks after her rescue, letting the beauty of the sea wash away the anguish of the dungeon. During her captivity, the air had been thick with the stench of sweat and blood and death, but the ocean held the healing scents of rich minerals and tangy green growing plants. Even the whiff of decay along the ocean floor held the seeds of life inside it.
In the dungeon, the helpless sobs of the other new recruits slid into her brain like earworms as she tried to sleep and failed. But in the ocean, her ears were filled with the laughter of her friends and the powerful roar of the surf that boomed along the coast even below the water’s surface.
Nothing could ever replace what the merfolk had done for her. She owed them her sanity, if not her very life.
Sierra wrapped her arms around her sister, and buried her face in Phoebe’s hair. Phoebe’s heart melted.
Voice subdued, Sierra said, “I don’t get why you go down there, anyway. Why do you love the ocean so much? It smells like dead fish and is full of slimy seaweed.”
Phoebe shrugged, pretending annoyance she no longer really felt. “Why do you like the forest so much? It’s full of noisy screeching birds, biting insects, and it covers up the sky with all the jabby tree limbs.”
Micah and Corbin laughed.
Leaning back to look at Phoebe, Sierra finally relaxed enough to smile. Phoebe felt the tension run out of her sister’s arms like water. Maybe they’d get through this okay.
Sierra thought for a moment. “I guess I like the smells, the freedom, the beauty. It just feels… right when I’m there.”
“It’s the same for me and the sea. I don’t know… it just feels peaceful there. And now it’s in danger. Don’t you see?”
“No, I don’t see,” Sierra muttered. “I don’t see why you have to risk your life for what could be nothing. I won’t allow it!”
Sierra was asking Phoebe to abandon her closest friends. She struggled out of Sierra’s arms.
“The merfolk
are
in danger!” Phoebe insisted. At her sister’s continued silence, frustration pushed aside caution. There was one way to prove her point. She’d have to tell them about the skeleton. So much for keeping things from her sister. Her pathetic attempt at hiding the truth was like a giant rope coming completely unwoven,
“Then why won’t you let me go?”
“Because I love you too much to lose you again.”
Silence. Not even Micah broke the heavy tension.
This wasn’t working. Knowing her sister’s deep need for justice, Phoebe tried a new tack.
“When the merfolk were set free, where was repayment for the ship hulls they had fixed? For the fish they had caught during their slavery? They got nothing, except a promise that the oceans beyond the shore would be theirs alone to care for. But now more humans are violating the treaty, not even bothering to try to work with the merfolk. Just taking what they want. Some humans are even deep-sea fishing again. I was told a little seawee died in their nets, and we saw a boat today sneaking around past the coastline. It’s so wrong! And Tristan saved my life, Sierra. Without him, we’d never have even gotten away from Bentwood’s. You know that. I owe him my
life
! Twice. He saved me again today. Don’t you even care?”
“First of all, we did help his people. We arranged for the treaty, even though the merfolk elders didn’t even want to work with us. And of course I’m thankful for him for today, yes, but if you go to them, you’ll be in great danger, trust me. I don’t believe his actions are worth the possible sacrifice of your own life.”
Phoebe did.
When she was taken to Bentwood’s, Sierra had come to take her sister back, but to reach the dungeon, Sierra needed help. Tristan was the one who brought her across the waters. He was the one who brought them both back to shore. Phoebe would never forget that.
She’d spent long hours with the twins underwater during those first days and weeks after her rescue, letting the beauty of the sea wash away the anguish of the dungeon. During her captivity, the air had been thick with the stench of sweat and blood and death, but the ocean held the healing scents of rich minerals and tangy green growing plants. Even the whiff of decay along the ocean floor held the seeds of life inside it.
In the dungeon, the helpless sobs of the other new recruits slid into her brain like earworms as she tried to sleep and failed. But in the ocean, her ears were filled with the laughter of her friends and the powerful roar of the surf that boomed along the coast even below the water’s surface.
Nothing could ever replace what the merfolk had done for her. She owed them her sanity, if not her very life.
Sierra wrapped her arms around her sister, and buried her face in Phoebe’s hair. Phoebe’s heart melted.
Voice subdued, Sierra said, “I don’t get why you go down there, anyway. Why do you love the ocean so much? It smells like dead fish and is full of slimy seaweed.”
Phoebe shrugged, pretending annoyance she no longer really felt. “Why do you like the forest so much? It’s full of noisy screeching birds, biting insects, and it covers up the sky with all the jabby tree limbs.”
Micah and Corbin laughed.
Leaning back to look at Phoebe, Sierra finally relaxed enough to smile. Phoebe felt the tension run out of her sister’s arms like water. Maybe they’d get through this okay.
Sierra thought for a moment. “I guess I like the smells, the freedom, the beauty. It just feels… right when I’m there.”
“It’s the same for me and the sea. I don’t know… it just feels peaceful there. And now it’s in danger. Don’t you see?”
“No, I don’t see,” Sierra muttered. “I don’t see why you have to risk your life for what could be nothing. I won’t allow it!”
Sierra was asking Phoebe to abandon her closest friends. She struggled out of Sierra’s arms.
“The merfolk
are
in danger!” Phoebe insisted. At her sister’s continued silence, frustration pushed aside caution. There was one way to prove her point. She’d have to tell them about the skeleton. So much for keeping things from her sister. Her pathetic attempt at hiding the truth was like a giant rope coming completely unwoven,
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