Page 5 of Whispers of the Starlit Sea
Too excited to wait for the captain to give Arick a proper tour, Thomas led the way, jabbering about the various aspects of the ship. Arick followed him. He’d ask the captain technical things later. For now, he tried to take in all the details, from the hand-carved railings to the elevated platform for the musical ensembles and the polished floor that could be removed and stored safely when a ball wasn’t in progress.
“This is my favorite part,” Thomas said, guiding him down a level to a large space that had been closed off from the rest of the deck. Cookie ran around the sparsely finished room, sniffing everything. Thomas opened a set of French doors on the side of the ship with a flourish.
Arick stepped out onto the small balcony and looked around. There were no railings, only two guide wires holding the edge of the balcony to the ship.
“It’s a swimming platform.” Thomas pressed his hands together, as if trying to contain his glee. “See, you can dive from here, and there’s the ladder to get back up.”
“And these wires?” Arick held onto one to steady himself as he peered over the edge.
Thomas sighed. “Da didn’t like the look of it with a full balcony, and the shipwright gave some boring explanation. So the platform has to fold up when we’re not using it. See, it tucks into the doorway, here. It blocks the bottom half of the door, and you can still see out the top windows.”
Arick studied the neat little system that worked the moving floor. The workmanship was impressive to have made it fit so well and not look out of place when closed. He bounced on the balls of his feet, testing the give of the platform. Despite everything, it had little movement, just enough springiness to be perfect for diving.
From inside the ship, footsteps and murmured conversation drew closer.
“I know what I saw,” a gruff voice said from somewhere behind them.
“You’re off your head if you think you’re seeing mermaids,” another retorted.
Arick stilled. He hadn’t heard anyone speak of mermaids since Daniel…
Evendeepbeneaththewaves, the early morning sun brought hope and beauty after the storm. Dappled light filtered through the waves, changing the colors of the underwater flora and turning Sorcha’s shelf of bric-a-brac into a glittering collection.
She turned the piece of malachite so it better caught the light, then picked up a jar that held jewelry she’d found on the ocean floor. The gold and silver had tarnished from the saltwater, but the gems still shone. Her favorite, a heart-shaped sapphire set in silver latticework, shimmered a pale blue. She fished it out and slipped it over her head. The faded ribbon was wearing thin, and she freed her hair as gently as she could.
Turning the jar in the light, she pondered what her Aunt Maeve had said about how the humans didn’t have their own magic. Instead, she’d told her, they imbued gemstones with it. Were any of her collection magical? Sorcha couldn’t help but wonder.
“Morning,” Ciara said as she poked her head through the opening to Sorcha’s cubbyhole. “A ship sank last night. Want to go take a look?”
Sorcha shivered. “Not until the Watchers have cleared it.”
Ciara tugged her hand, pulling her from the tiny cave. All traces of the argument from the night before were hidden behind a teasing smile. “Are you a cuttlefish?”
Sorcha shook her head firmly. “No, but I’d rather not come across a dead human, thank you very much.” One already this season was quite enough.
“They can’t lure you to shore if they’re dead.” Ciara rolled her eyes. “Come on. You’ve been cooped up for weeks. Time to have some fun.”
“I promised Aunt Maeve I’d help her in the infirmary today.”
“You can help her later.”
Sorcha started to protest again, but the pleading look in her sister’s eyes stopped her. Ever since Ciara’s fiancé, Ewan, had vanished at the end of the last storm season, she’d become increasingly chaotic. At first, she’d spent days scouring the ocean for him, but after weeks of no trace, she’d changed her focus. Their father had given into her pleading and allowed her to join the Watchers. If she hadn’t been the oldest, she would have joined when she was eighteen, as her song magic aligned with that of the undersea mammals, like many of the other Watchers. She and her dolphin had been training all winter to be ready to help this season.
No one wanted to give voice to their fears, but only one cause for his disappearance made sense. Humans.
Ewan and Ciara made a good pair, both of them being impulsive and longing for adventure. Mother had only approved the match because she had hoped marriage would encourage them to settle down. Sorcha had her doubts on that.
But would Ewan’s impulsivity have caused him to help a human directly? Would he have taken off his starfish ear protection and allowed himself to be lured to his death on dry land?
Sorcha shivered again at the thought. Surely not — he was a trained Watcher after all, and safety was drilled into them. Save the humans, but not at the risk of a mer life.
With a forced smile, Sorcha tapped her sister on the shoulder and swam away as fast as she could. “If you want fun,” she called back, “you’ll have to catch me first!”
“Tag? Isn’t that a little childish?” Ciara retorted, giving chase.
The sisters raced through the grotto, sending fish and merfolk fleeing. The massive underwater grotto was the perfect shelter for the merfolk home, providing the center for their aquatic life. Smaller caverns, tunnels, and caves opened off of it, forming homes for many of the citizens of Muirin. Sorcha’s own tiny cave, where she kept her treasures, was too small for anything else, and no one wanted to be tucked up against the cavern ceiling anyway.
“Caught you,” Ciara panted, brushing her hand against Sorcha’s shimmering blue scales.
