Page 44 of Between Salt and Serenades
“I am. What do I have to do with it?” I asked. Breena stared at the side of my face, and I was thankful I no longer had to rely on longing gazes to feel her on my skin. I kept my eyes fixed on Rory but stretched my fingers around Breena’s thigh and gave her a squeeze. She was warm even though her skin was only covered by a thin cotton dress. “I didn’t tell people to put up a net andsteal all the fish in the sea. What are you even doing with all those fish, anyway?”
“You may not have anything to do with the nets and overfishing, but your people do. Never made any sense to me. You’re killing yourselves, don’t you realize? We move so many fish from those enclosures every single day, it’s only a matter of time before?—”
“Enclosures, plural? My people? What are you talking about?” I sputtered. My other hand clenched against my thigh in a tight fist. I tried to hide that it shook, but Breena placed her hand on mine anyway. The fact that she was able to keep it there without causing either one of us insufferable pain calmed me in itself.
“The hybrids,” he said with a scrunched face. “They are the ones who put up the nets. And yes, there is more than one netted enclosure. Far more.”
“That’s not possible. The humans started this war between us, and they wanted to finish it by starving us out because you’re all a bunch of cowards! Can’t even come to the sea and do it yourselves,” I barked at the man before me, who shifted as if he wasn’t sure if he should cross his legs or not. I’d been waiting three years to finally get in front of a human again so I could tear them apart for what they did to my father, my pod, my home. HereRorywas, and I didn’t want to harm him. I wanted to tell him to sit up and have a little confidence. How was I supposed to avenge my pod and sea when the person responsible for stealing the fish was, well,Rory?
“We agree on one thing: the humans did start the original war, and for that, I’m deeply sorry. The fishermen’s backlash over their hybrid children back then never sat right with me. But I suppose these days, the hybrids are the ones who want you dead, not the fishermen. Why, I don’t know. They keep their secrets closely guarded,” Rory said.
When I took my time to answer, he picked his mug off the side table and took a long pull. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed his warm tea, and I heard the clatter of Breena picking her mug up as well. I suppose he did make the beverage look quite tasty on this chilly morning.
I stared at the gentle steam rising from the fisherman’s mug as I contemplated his words. It wasn’t impossible to think the hybrids could have planned the nets, as they knew better than anyone how that would impact the sea fae. But the question was, why? And was I really supposed to believe the humans were innocent in this?
Not likely.
“Even if I did believe you that the hybrids were the ones behind this, why would you listen to them and go against your own wishes? What do they have on you?” I asked.
“Everything.” As he set his mug down, a solemn expression plastered itself across his sun-tanned face. “They may be half of what you are, but that doesn’t make them weak. My mother is only breathing because they allow it.”
I dropped both my gaze and my tone and said, “That’s why you asked me to spare your mother. You thought I was one of them.”
“Do they visit you often? Threaten you and your family?” Breena asked. As her question left her lips, it hit me: of course, they threatened him. They didn’t have the skill to take what they wanted. None of these hybrids would have their song. Try as they might to use the language of our people, the sound that emanated from their throats would never bend the fisherman’s will.
“Often enough to not let me forget why I’m going against my values and draining the sea of its very lifeforce. If I could retire from this life as a fisherman and move on to just about any other vocation, I would. That's why I don’t live by the sea anymore,”he said. “The mere sight of it makes me sick these days; I could drown in my own guilt. But the life of my mother has to be worth all of this mess, this death and pain.”
“One person in exchange for the entire sea,” I grumbled, my jaw clicking.
“Wouldn’t you do the same?” His gaze flicked to Breena, and then he stared down to where our hands met, and for the first time, I understood this human man. He knew of sacrifice, as did I. He also knew what he wasn’t willing to sacrifice, and I too was beginning to understand my own limits, where I drew my line in the sand.
I cleared my throat and thought it best to move past our little side conversation. Knowing about his mother and what he would and wouldn’t give up wasn’t going to help me take down these nets or the hybrids who put them there.
“Tell me more about the hybrids,” I demanded. “Most of the hybrids in my pod left years ago or were killed by your kind. Human fishermen.”
“They’ve taken up a home here on land over the past decade, though I couldn’t tell you where that home is. They never come around town, and they only visit me here after dark. Their words come in the way of demand, and they make each one of those demands short and to the point. The one who leads them wastes no breath on me.”
“Interesting. They’ve formed a new pod here on land. Tell me about this leader of theirs. Because whoever it was certainly wasn’t a leader of my pod,” I said.
“Her name is Tinelle, though I haven’t yet met with her, only her little henchwomen.”
Breena stole my attention as she rubbed her hand up my arm, as if to warm my chilled skin. The bumps that covered my flesh soon after caused me to finally relent. I picked up the mug Rory had offered off the table and peered inside. The liquidwithin was the darkest tea I had ever seen, like the sea under the stars. As I pulled the ceramic cup away from my lips and swallowed the steamy drink, Breena asked, “Do you know her?”
“Tinelle? I’ve never heard of this hybrid. She must have grown up here on land, or at least she’s been here a very long time.”
“So you really have no idea what their motivations are for setting up the nets and stealing the fish? The hybrids, I mean,” Breena said.
Rory answered this time. “No. All I know is what they have demanded of us. My men and I have set up enclosures all along the coast on their behalf, twenty-three of them in total, all massive, all trapping the sea’s creatures within their rope walls. We deliver fish to a neutral site for the hybrids, keep a portion for Barthoah, and then sell the rest to nearby inland villages, giving the hybrids almost all the profit. Even then, there are far too many fish. So much waste, I…” The fisherman cleared his throat and shook his head. “I dread the day my future children have to bear witness to what we have done, the irreparable damage to our home, your home. I’m not sure what awaits me after I perish, but I know it will be my own form of tort?—”
“Alright, alright,” I said, holding my hand up. “Save the wallowing self-pity for someone who cares. If you really feel as poorly about it as you claim, then you will help us right your wrongs.”
“I won’t risk my mother’s life.”
“How old is she? You’re human, most likely in your twenties, so surely, she is close to death. Is she really worth destroying the sea for?” I asked. Breena dropped my hand and nudged me with her elbow, muttering words of disapproval in my direction.
“She’s only sixty-two, and yes, she’s worth it,” he said, annoyance slipping into his tone.
“Well, how about this? You help us, and we’ll promise to protect your mother,” Breena said. “You can have the chance to make the sea a beautiful place again, a place you can be proud to share with your future children.”
