Page 10 of Dry as a Fish
Orcalia let her go, stepping back to clutch her hands together, bouncing on her heels in excitement. "I'm so excited to meet you! I'm Orcalia, Delphion's sister, but of course you know that already, and I don't know anything about you at all, not even your name!"
"I'm Sloane," she said, glancing up at me, then back at my sister. "I'm sorry, but I don't actually know why you are so excited."
"Because you're my brother's heartsooooong!" Orcalia hummed out. "I can't believe you're a mundane. This must be such a big experience for you, too! Who knew? Mundanes! You're from the school, right? That means you have a familiar? Can it swim? Can you swim? I guess it doesn't matter if you can't because my brother is like the best swimmer in the whole city, that's for sure. Not everyone can make it all the way upriver to the school, but he is there all the time trying to lurethe kelpies away; those poor dumb things don't even know how much danger they are in. Are you going to move in? Please tell me you're going to move in and not move out to your own place."
"I... what?" Sloane said, her voice going higher-pitched for a moment.
"I'm taking Sloane back to the mundane right now," I said. "We can talk about it later."
"Are you going to meet her parents?" Orcalia squealed. "Like in those movies? Do you need to ask her dad for permission to marry her, or is that just an old-school thing? Sloane, would you want someone to ask your dad first?"
"You think me and your brother are getting married?" Sloane choked out.
"Well, of course, you're a mundane, that is what you do, right? Here we have the heartsong ceremony, but it isn't a big deal like mundane weddings. Could we have the wedding here? It isn't safe enough to bring everyone over to the mundane, but I bet we could sneak your parents over here without much risk since we're much less exposed here," Orcalia continued.
"Orcalia, we have to go," I said softly. I needed to get Sloane out of here before Orcalia made things any more complicated.
"I'm going to go back to the mundane, and your brother is going to stay here," Sloane said.
I winced.
Orcalia frowned.
"But he'll die," Orcalia said.
"Hold up," Sloane said. "What do you mean he'll die? What does she mean you'll die?"
She put her hands on her hips and glared up at me.
"I won't know if I come to visit you," I said. "We can figure out a way to have it not impact your life."
Sloane let out a sigh and walked over to one of the armchairs. "Okay, I'm listening. What is a heartsong?"
"Oh let me tell her, please let me tell her please please please," Orcalia begged, launching herself into the chair next to Sloane. She didn't wait for me to respond; instead, she reached out and grabbed one of Sloane's hands in both of hers. "A heartsong is the most special connection one can have with the person who is perfect with you, whose harmonies complement you in a way that you can never find with anyone else ever again and when you find them your heart sings the heartsong only for them and if you find them and they refuse to sing the song with you then your heart will slowly wither and die and it is the worst thing you can possibly do to another."
"So fated mates," Sloane said, her voice devoid of emotion except for the slightest quiver in her voice, like she was holding back a flash flood.
"Definitely fated to live a long life of happiness with someone who is perfect for you in every way you can imagine," Orcalia said.
"It doesn't have to be anything," I said. "If we just visit with each other every so often, it will be fine."
"You were going to take me home to the mundane, when I don't have the ability to get back here, and let me wither away and die if you got hurt on one of your forays into the school?" Sloane asked, her tone still flat. Her hands clenched into fists.
"You're a mundane," I said. "It won't affect you the same way it affects me."
"I can feel it," Sloane said, putting her hand over her heart. "If I can feel it, then won't it work the same for me as for you?"
Her confession stole the breath from my lungs.
She could feel it?
"Yes! That's amazing! It will!" Orcalia interjected. "Ithought maybe with a mundane it would be one-sided and only he would feel it, but if you can feel the heartstrings thrumming, then it is a real heartsong connection."
I thought the same as my sister, that maybe as a mundane, my heartsong was one-sided.
"Delphon," Sloane said, her voice soft. "Were you really going to take me home without explaining any of this?"
"I thought I would take you home and you'd agree I could visit you and then eventually I wouldn't have to explain it," I said. "Because even if you didn't feel it, I would do everything in my power to win your love."
