Page 8 of Dark Embers

“Oh, yes. How’s our little siren doing?” I asked.

Celeste’s lips thinned. “She’s struggling with transformation.”

I nodded. “She told me so a few days ago. I’d asked her to meet with me, so I could check in on how her first week went.”

Celeste frowned, her brow furrowing. “Her inability to shift at will doesn’t concern you?”

“She’ll get it down, Celeste,” I replied. “It’s been a little over one week. Arya’s entire world has been turned upside down. Between all the new experiences she’s going through here at the Dome and losing her mother, the stress she must be under could be limiting her abilities.”

“But we have no basis for believing she’s the prophesied mermaid,” Celeste countered. “Besides finding her late, she hasn’t shown any abilities out of the ordinary. In fact, as far as expectations go, she hasn’t even come close.”

“Again, it’s been just over a week.”

“I’ve begun one-on-one tutoring with her. The effort she puts herself through to shift is abnormal. Yes, such things take focus, but I know infant mermaids who have figured out transformation. For mer, these things come naturally. With Arya, it seems foreign and forced.”

“My recommendation would be to keep working with her,” I suggested.

“It could take a lot of time,” Celeste said. “Of all people, I’d expect you to be the most urgent about seeing the prophesied siren take power.”

Her words caught me off-guard.

Of all people?

Images of my slain parents flashed in my mind. Hadrian’s wickedly gleeful face. Hatred and anger boiled inside me, spilling through my veins like liquid fire.

Of course, I wanted the bastard dead, wanted him to pay for all the lives he’d stolen. But that couldn’t happen by pushing a broken young mermaid to perform. I was a teacher, not a drill sergeant. That was why I’d left the military, to form and nurture young shifters rather than command soldiers to their possible deaths.

When I didn’t say anything, Celeste continued.

“I think it’s worth mentioning that when I found Arya through vision, there were no fireworks or angelic voices indicating that she was the prophesied mermaid.” She leaned forward and rested her cheek on her hand. “I was hopeful then because she was the firststraymermaid we’d found. But more and more, I’m thinking we need to keep looking.”

I narrowed my eyes on her. “You want to give up on Arya because sparks didn’t fly during the vision you found her in?”

Celeste partially smiled. “And the fact that she’s been struggling with shifter basics for the past week. I understand that her life has been put in a whirlpool, but the qualities that would be expected of the prophesied siren… I’m not seeing them in Arya.”

I sighed and rested back in my chair, feeling heavier all of a sudden. “And so you want to continue your search for another stray mermaid.”

“With your permission, yes,” Celeste replied. “If the siren is still out there, we’re only hurting ourselves by focusing our efforts on Arya.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Just because I hoped and believed Arya was the siren didn’t mean that she was. And if the stray mermaid from the prophecy was still hidden, valuable time would be wasted.

“How would you feel about having one of the more advanced mer students take on her tutoring responsibilities?” I suggested, unwilling to give up on her just yet. “That would free you up to spend more time searching for another stray mermaid.”

Celeste considered for a moment, slowly nodding. “That might be very good for her. She’s having a hard time fitting in with the other mermaids.”

I nodded, rubbing my chin. “I’ve heard as much. But I know that she has been getting along quite well with Kendall Green. Perhaps he’d be a good tutor for her?”

“Kendall has taken a particular liking to her despite how the rest of the mer students have been acting around her,” she said. “But I’d like Kendall to continue focusing on honing his visions.I think it would be wise to involve somebody who has become skillful with their abilities. That way, they can focus on more than just transformation.”

“Who do you have in mind?” I asked.

Celeste tapped a finger to her lips. “Cora would cause too much drama, I’m afraid. And so would Adina.” She pulled her hand away and sat up straight, snapping her fingers in the process. “Letti. She’s an extremely gifted swimmer, and out of the rest of the mermaids, she’s the best at water manipulation.”

“Well, that sounds promising.”

Letti had been a good pupil in my history classes, and from what I’d heard from the other teachers, she was a well-rounded student in general.

“My biggest concern is how she will react to such an assignment and how she willacttoward Arya,” Celeste added.

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