Page 19 of Whispers of the Starlit Sea
He reached a hand and patted her shoulder, his hazel eyes full of concern. He stood, looking to the end of the beach. With a sigh, he offered her a hand. Shaking her head, she huddled deeper into her covering. His words came faster, and he motioned to where the sand ended.
He wanted her to go with him. But how could she leave the ocean behind? She dropped her head to her knees, sobs shaking her shoulders.
His hand slapped against his salt-stiff clothing as he sighed. He said something more, his tone full of resignation. When she didn’t respond, he turned and walked away, his feet shushing though the sand.
Her chest grew tight, and she raised her head to breathe better. The man continued to walk away from her.
Where was he going? The tightness in her chest grew. Why had he left her there? She knew no one else, and if she was bound to him, shouldn’t she go after him? Her breath came in short gasps as she contemplated being abandoned in the human world. Being stuck with him was far preferable to trying to navigate on her own. She rubbed her chest, trying to alleviate the pain. She had to go after him.
But how? She didn’t know how to walk. She tied the covering around her so it wouldn’t fall. Pushing herself upright, she stood wobbling in the sand, her arms out for balance. She could do this. She could follow him. Swallowing, she lifted one foot…and fell flat on her face.
Spitting the sand out of her mouth, she tried again. Stand. Balance. One foot, just like the humans she’d seen walking.
Sand in her mouth again.
She glared at her traitorous new feet. Experimentally, she told her left foot to move. Both feet flipped in unison like her fin underwater. She leaned forward and grabbed her right foot and moved her left foot again. Her right jerked in her hold.
She wiped away tears from the pain, then pulled her right leg up and sat on her foot. This time her left foot acted on its own. Her cry of triumph was lost in a sob.
Unable to stand it any longer, she folded over in the sand, her hands pressed to her chest, where her heart thudded in a desperate cadence.
The pain grew, as though part of her were being stretched and ripped out.
Arickglaredatthetraitorous blue sky as he hurried across the sand, dodging the plethora of broken pieces of ships. He’d already wasted too much time when he needed to find out what had happened to Thomas and all the others. But he couldn’t exactly abandon the poor woman.
Who was she? He didn’t recognize her from the party. Perhaps she’d been on one of the smaller vessels that had joined the regatta.
The sand switched from damp to dry beneath his feet, and he struggled to catch his breath. If he was so exhausted he couldn’t cross the beach, how was he to make it all the way back to his lodgings? Where was everyone else? Why were they the only two on this beach? The debris proved that the storm had driven whatever had been on the water in all directions.
He stopped on the edge of the bank to rest for a moment, sinking down into the sand. The woman was still huddled under the piece of sail he had found for her. Perhaps her friends would come for her, he reassured himself. Was she from one of the neighboring kingdoms, here for Thomas’s birthday celebrations? In that case, he really should try to bring her with him. But she had so adamantly insisted on staying near the water.
The ocean had calmed considerably, but the water was choppy. The rocks that protected the beach blocked the water, sending white spray towering into the air with every wave.
Sitting was doing him no good, so he got to his feet, wavering as the world tilted around him. He was not so out of shape that a short walk like that should wind him. The salt grass cut his feet with each step as he walked and tried not to pant.
Maybe water had gotten into his lungs. He reached the road and paused, his hands on his knees as he breathed against the vice around his chest.
A cry cut across the still beach. He turned in time to see the woman collapse in the sand. As much as he wanted to know whether Thomas was safe, he couldn’t leave her there.
He pushed himself upright, the world spinning even more. He took one step, then blackness washed over him.
MinutespassedwhileArickstruggled to push aside the blackness. The woman’s anguished sobs drew him back to her, and he stumbled forward. No matter how bad of shape he was in, he couldn’t leave her.
The sharp salt grass on his legs helped to center him, and as he crossed to the sand, his breathing grew easier until he was able to run the last few steps to her side.
She had ceased crying, though her chest still heaved. For the first time she looked directly at him. And he was lost in the depths of her sapphire-blue eyes.
“Are you alright?” he asked softly, his own pain forgotten.
She offered him a wan smile and sat up. Pushing her hair back, she took a shuddering breath. Her hair had dried and now fell in thick ringlets around her face, the rich red contrasting with her pale skin. She adjusted the sail around her, and he was surprised to see that she’d managed to turn it into a quite modest outfit. She’d tied the top around her neck and wrapped the longer sides around her, knotting them in the front.
“Can you walk?” He doubted that she understood him. He motioned in the direction he’d already traveled, hoping she would understand.
She nodded with a smile and tried to stand. He caught her arm to steady her. She wobbled, her feet close together. Tucking her arm over his, he drew her nearer to offer support. He was surprised to see how tall she was. Most women didn’t even reach his shoulder. She lurched forward, crying out in pain as her foot sank into the sand. Her fingers bit into his arm.
“Oh! Is there something there?” He couldn’t see anything, but perhaps a piece of shell was buried.
She clung to him, shaking.
