Page 60 of Whispers of the Starlit Sea
“I’m fine,” he reassured her, keeping his voice low. The drowsiness fell away as he pushed himself upright. She stepped back from him, and her touch left a quiet burn in its wake.
Sorcha limped to her father’s side while Arick circled to unlock the other manacle. With her here, he did not expect a reprise of the attack.
The merman sagged back against the floor as his second arm was released, his face even more haggard than before.
Sorcha broke off speaking to him to sign to Arick. “My father” — she paused to spell out his name — “Alasdair. He’s unwell. We must get him to the water.”
He nodded, taking a deep breath. The merman was as broad of shoulder as Arick himself, with a tail several feet longer. Arick knelt beside him and helped him into a sitting position. He then turned his back and drew the mer’s arms over his shoulders. With Sorcha helping him balance, he pushed to his feet. Arick took a staggering step toward the opening of the cave. The flooded tunnel wasn’t far, but if he fell now, he wouldn’t have the strength to lift himself and Alasdair. The mer’s long indigo tail dragged across the rough floor, but he made no complaints. Behind them, Sorcha began to sing, her song full of life and hope, so different from the lament the others had been singing. Arick pressed on, his muscles not aching as much and the lingering fire in his throat fading. He risked glancing over his shoulder at her. Was she…healinghim?
She gave him a quirk of a smile in reply, pausing to lean her hand against the cave wall.“I’m okay,” she signed in reply to his look of worry. “Breathing is different.”
He nodded and continued on. If she was lending him her strength in any form, he wanted to complete his task quickly to not draw on her too long.
He reached the edge of the flooded tunnel and knelt carefully. Lowering his burden into the water, he and Sorcha helped the older mer fully submerge. He saw the moment when oxygen once again filled Alasdair’s lungs, the grayness leaving him and his movement becoming stronger.
“He is well,” Sorcha signed after a brief exchange with her father. Arick’s shoulders sagged in relief, but he’d already known from the smile that lit her face.
A rumble of thunder drew his attention to the opening of the tunnel, where several mer were milling around. They hurried forward, Sorcha calling out.
He spotted the problem before she could relay their answers.
The tide was receding, and with the storm rising, the water wasn’t high enough for them to swim out. He saw no sign of the three he had unchained, and his suspicions were confirmed when the other merfolk pushed an elderly merman ahead. They were ensuring the ill and weak ones were rescued first.
He stepped down into the creek, the water immediately sloshing into his boots. Arick grabbed the older mer and pulled him along. His feet stumbled on the rocks, but he kept going, until the water reached his waist and the merman twisted free. The mer caught his eye and clasped his fist over his heart, then he was gone beneath the waves.
Arick hurried back over the rocks as quickly as he could, stopping to lift a younger mermaid over the shallowest part. She stared at him in fear the whole time, then slithered away as quickly as she could once he released her.
The final three mer were arguing, but there wasn’t time. He looked to Sorcha, who pointed to the woman. Arick caught her eye before lifting her under her shoulders, doing his best to keep as much of her in the water as he could. The other merman followed, propelling himself by his arms. Once past the rise, Arick set the woman down, then hurried back to get Sorcha’s father.
She was singing again, her voice wrapping around him, and he wondered again about the truth that humans had the voices that enchanted merfolk. When she sang, every part of him longed to draw near to her.
She sat at the edge of the tunnel, her feet in the water. Her father held her hand, and the look of longing on her face made Arick pause.
As much as he yearned for her to stay with him, she deserved to go home. To be with her people.
Chapter seventeen
Thewindsoughtherout before Sorcha stepped from the shelter of the cave, snatching her song away even as the words left her mouth. The rough rocks of the shore bit through her boots, and the hem of her skirt was soaked from the flooded tunnel. The Watcher and Sìne slithered down the beach to the ocean, their whoops of freedom mingling with the thunder and pounding waves. Sorcha pushed her dripping hair out of her face and laughed with them.They’d done it!
After all the heartache of knowing her people had been held captive, hope shone through. The storms didn’t matter. Her curse didn’t matter. She had spent her last night doing something worthwhile.
Arick was helping her father, and then the last of the mer would be free.
The storms could stop.
Her people would be safe.
“What is going on here?”
Sorcha turned to see her aunt bobbing at the edge of the large rocks.
“We’ve freed the mer from the humans!” Sorcha cried triumphantly.
“Everyone?” Maeve asked, her voice strange.
“Yes, even Ewan,” Sorcha said excitedly. She couldn’t help the joy and pride that seeped into her voice. “We rescued them all. It’s over.”
But Maeve didn’t smile. Her expression shifted, something unreadable flickering behind her eyes. Not guilt. Not relief.
