Page 48 of Between Salt and Serenades
I stared at Rory as the two of them giggled like children. My eyes flicked back to the water and the netted enclosure he’d so easily captured dozens of fish from.
Twenty-three. There were twenty-three other enclosures, just like the one our ship bobbed next to. When my gaze focusedback on Rory, I said, “Have you ever thought about cutting the nets? Or releasing a haul of fish for every catch you make?”
Rory stood straight and dropped his dampened hand to his side. His eyes lost their sheen, dulling and darkening as he said, “I’ve never attempted to cut one of the nets, but yes, early on, I did ‘drop’ a few catches here and there. You could never be too careful publicly doing anything noticeably… purposeful. You never know where the hybrids have eyes, who they have under their control.”
“You don’t trust your crew?” I asked. “And why did you stop ‘dropping’ your catches?”
Rory made his way back to his captain’s wheel, rubbing his stubbly chin. He ran his thumb along the curved wood grain, his once proper posture drooping.
“I used to trust them, but not so much anymore, hence why the three of us are alone today,” he said. “And I stopped because while I was saving a few fish here and there, it wasn’t worth putting my mother and the safety of my crew’s families at risk. If I drained the nets, there were less fish for our catches. The hybrids weren’t satisfied with the number of fish we were hauling in each day, and well, that’s when their threats became more of a reality for all of us.”
“What did they do?” Breena asked, finding her spot once more on the stack of crates.
“Let’s just say someone’s brother was relieved of a thumb,” Rory said with a wince.
“A thumb? Depths, they could have at least picked another finger,” I said. Breena shot me a look that told me I was being insensitive again, so I pressed my lips together and blew a healthy amount of air from my nose.
“Well, it’s just the three of us now…” Breena trailed off. “Neither one of us will tell Tinelle if you just so happen to damage the net. Permanently render it useless, even.”
Rory’s unconvinced expression had me building on Breena’s argument before he could open his mouth. I tried to keep my tone neutral, but I heard the bitter sound of desperation slip into my speech as I said, “We’re coming back in five days; surely you could get enough fish from the other twenty-two netted enclosures in that time. No one will even notice. You could probably even destroy three or four on your way back to Barthoah. We’ll get the rest when we’ve secured our reinforcements.”
Rory pondered both of our words for a minute then mumbled something to himself and wandered off to the ship’s built-in fish prepping station. He swiped a large knife out of a wooden toolbox with shark-like, serrated metal teeth. The captain held it out handle side up and asked, “Which one of you wants to do the honors?”
Breena stuck her hand out and grabbed the wooden end of the knife before I could do anything about it. “It causes me no pain, and we’re close enough to my home. I’ll go.”
She pressed both her pelt and the knife flat against her chest, as if the two items were the singular most important things to her. Why did I want to be nestled among them more than anything?
“Breena…” I trailed off, my throat tightening before I could get anything else out.
“Tell me in five days,” she whispered, just loud enough that I could hear her over the sea winds and squawking birds overhead. Rory meandered away and pretended to fiddle with some odds and ends out of earshot. Paying him no mind, I stared into Breena’s telling eyes, wondering how I was ever going to permanently say goodbye. This goodbye may be temporary, but what about the next? What happened when the nets were gone and the hybrids were dealt with?
“Breena, I?—”
She silenced my wobbling words with a kiss. I leaned into her, all my worries vanishing. The thoughts that had plagued my mind just a minute ago were now faint whispers trapped somewhere in my mind, but they wouldn’t take hold of me now. Now, she had me, and while she did, I was untouchable from my own self-doubt. I was untouchable from anything other than her, and great waves, did it feel right.
When she pulled away, I felt an odd sound bubble out of my throat, like a plea that died on my lips. My chest constricted, as if she had sucked all the air out of my lungs, and I couldn't remember how to fill them once more. I wasn’t sure if Breena felt no ache in her heart, or if she was simply a master of deceit as she smiled back at me. A bittersweet emptiness rang through me, no matter her truth.
“Five days,” she said again before taking a step back from me. “Tell Rory I’ll see him soon, and thank him for me.”
“I will.” I nodded my head feverishly. “Please be careful.”
“Always,” Breena said, “And Sid?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m relieved Rory took me home first. Hearing the stifled screams that ripped from deep within you the first time I saw you transform was enough to last me an entire lifetime and then some. I simply cannot see you… I…”
“You don’t have to,” I whispered in a depraved, aching tone I hadn’t heard come from my lips in years. Breena looked at me one last time then turned her back to me. She stared out into the sea for a heartbeat, slipped both sleeves of her dress over her shoulders, and let the airy fabric drop to the sodden deck. She leaped off the side, knife and pelt in hand, and didn’t rise back to the surface for what felt like an eternity.
I scooped her dress up and held it close to my chest, much like she did her pelt. I suppose both of them were a part of us,a physical manifestation of the heart that beat outside of our chests.
I called Rory over to watch Breena with me as she slashed and sawed at the enclosure. She was magnificent, half-transitioned, utilizing her human upper half and swimming with ease with the help of her seal tail. As ropes loosened and frayed, creatures of all sizes flooded through gaps in the net, pushing their way in a frenzy to freedom. She continued until the entire inhumane enclosure was drained. Only then did she pop her head out of the water.
Her arm broke the surface, and she flung Rory’s knife with a little smirk on her face, spraying sea water through the air around her. The blade end sank into the side of the Indigo Tide, just below where Rory and I stood. The captain shook his head and uttered his disapproval as he yanked it free.
“I’d have preferred if she just kept it,” he grumbled.
“What use does a seal have for a knife?” I asked but kept my eyes on her. She waved at us then disappeared under the rippling water once more. When she next broke the surface, all parts of her human form were a distant memory replaced by a selkie indistinguishable from a natural-born seal. Most of her was blocked by swarming fish, but I did manage to see her swallow a few of the smaller creatures she’d just freed before darting off.
