Page 10 of Secrets Among the Tides
I gulped, pressing my hands to my chest. I felt my heart there, pressing back and forth against my palm. Taking a deep breath, I lowered my hands and looked at him, looked at his uniform, at the colors of the kingdom. Ofmykingdom. When I saw those colors, all I saw was cruelty and death, the arc of a blade, heads drifting. Friends, family.
“Do I have a choice?” I whispered, tearing my focus from the memories to look at him.
“You do,” his answer was too slow. I wondered if he just wanted to give me the illusion of freedom. “You will come back.” His voice was softer now. As if he meant to comfort. “You’ll see your friends again.”
Little did he know I had no friends left. The crown had taken them all. “I—” I gulped, cleared my throat. “I don’t know.” This was too much, too soon. “I need time. I need to think…”
The captain nodded his understanding. And I wondered if he truly did. “I will give you until tonight. Until Selection. Meet me in Artisan’s Square by the nautilus shell before names are called.” I registered his words, nodded absently. I could feel his gaze on me, hard and unyielding. “Your kingdom needs you. Please, think about it.”
“Yes, um…I have to get back.”
“Of course.”
I started to swim forward, stopped and looked at him. “What’s your name?” I asked. It was strange. I’d never thought of any of them as anything other than soldiers. Murderers.
He gave me a formal bow. “Captain Tiberius Saber, at your service.”
“Maisie Fauna, Captain.”
~~
I GOT BACK TO WORK SLOWLY,offering Jo a small reassuring smile. Still, I found myself lost in my own thoughts, thoughts of what he’d said, about the Princess. My eyes wandered to the telly on the shelf. Her image floated in the bubble there and I found my gaze locked on her, looking for any sign that what he’d said was true.Didwe look alike?
The Princess was always in such long dresses that appeared to be made of the richest materials, of silk and gossamer. Her hair always appeared to be coiled beneath extravagant crowns, the shade of it was dark, the shading of her scales as well. Her eyes, like my own, were black.
I’d never looked too closely at her but now I analyzed her every detail. The angle of her chin, the curve of her cheekbones. Everything.
I tore my gaze away from the telly and focused on wiping down the counter. I scrubbed the rag vigorously across it, mind racing.
I didn’t stop until I felt a hand jerking me back to reality. I turned sharply over to Josiah. “You okay, Mais?” he asked, concern in his eyes.
I realized my knuckles were white, my grip tight on the strip of kelp. I released it slowly and laughed nervously. “Yeah, sorry Jo.”My mind is elsewhere.
His eyes roamed over me. “What did that soldier say to you?”
I knew he only meant well, but I couldn’t possibly tell him the truth. “He just wanted to apologize for his comrades’ behavior,” I lied.
“Huh,” he mumbled, as if he couldn’t quite believe it. Probably because it hadn’t been true. What apology took ten minutes? I bet he knew I was lying through my teeth.
“Jo,” I sighed and turned fully to him. Josiah had been my boss for so long, but even more than that, he’d been a mentor, a parent. And a part of me longed to tell him the truth, for his guidance. I wanted him to tell me what I needed to do, what Ishoulddo. “If you had a chance to make a change, would you?”
My question had so obviously caught him off guard by the abruptness with which I asked it. I hoped—prayed—he wouldn’t suspect a thing. I’d given my word, after all. But I needed guidance. What could I do? Even if I accepted, would there be a chance I could change anything?
“Of course I would. In the beat of a heart.” His eyes softened as he looked upon me. “Is this about the Selection? Are you nervous?”
“Yes.” It wasn’t a lie. I was nervous just not about the Selection. I was nervous about something that seemed all the more dangerous than fighting in a war somehow. “I just—” I broke off, running a hand through my hair. I found myself looking at the purple strands and thinking of the Princess. I quickly dropped them to place my hands on the countertop. “I just wonder if someone like me could ever make a change.”
He raised his eyebrows and I wondered if he was amused. “Someone like you?”
I nodded once. “Someone like me. Someone poor, someone from Lagoona someone—” I cut off again, gesturing wildly at my body, at my torn fin. “Me.”
“I think anyone can make a difference,” he said with certainty. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a fish, or a frog, a soldier, a king oryou. If we set our minds to it, if wereallywant it, we can make a difference.”
“But how can someone likemeever change anything?”
Jo sighed. “I think you need to stop asking yourself‘how?’and start asking yourself‘should I?’The how’s can be so easy and you know it. The hardest question out there is asking yourself if youshoulddo it.”
“But how do I answer those questions, Jo?”
