Page 50 of Enchantment of Silver and Sea
I relayed Larimar’s message, and none of them seemed surprised. Apparently, around the same time I saw the light beneath the surface, the group was abruptly pulled back to shore by an unseen force. And the Leviathan, in all its mammoth glory, seemed to be jerked by some unseen force back out to sea.
The message was expected. And yet, as we trooped the rest of the way back to the beach, Kieran still carrying me in his arms, I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were all eyeing me warily.
We made camp for the night amid the sand dunes. The beach would have been a more convenient spot, but after the events of the evening, everyone wanted to put at least a little distance between us and the water.
A few suggested we just go ahead and make the hike back to Ersa Estates. But Nya declared that the injured would benefit from at least one night of rest, and soon everyone agreed.
Only one man had died. The one whose death I had witnessed. Nya explained that the Leviathan had plucked the man, whohad been standing to her left, out of the water with its fangs. I had obviously seen the rest for myself.
I had expected a bigger reaction from the group to the loss of their comrade, but they were all surprisingly stoic. When you lived Outside, Nya had explained, the loss of companions, and even close friends and family, came with the territory.
“If you cried for everyone who died,” she had said. “You would never stop crying.”
However, everyone was quiet the rest of the evening. Somber.
The only outburst of emotion was from the boy I had tried to save. His injures—a broken leg and a slew of bloody friction burns—were from getting slammed by the tip of the monster’s tail. He was lucky to be alive, and he knew it. He gave me a giant bear hug and wept as he alternated between apologizing and thanking me.
That night, we settled onto blankets and sleeping bags. Spaced out enough to give each other room to breathe, but close enough to provide a sense of security.
I was thankful that Nya had reminded me to pack a change of clothes. The feeling of my dry cotton shirt and shorts against my skin was a comfort, helping to distance me from all that I had endured that day. I couldn’t even imagine how the others felt.
But long after the rest of the group fell asleep—or at least laid still and silent, trying for sleep—I found myself wide awake, staring at the stars. As utterly exhausted as my body was, my mind was overwhelmed. I ruminated on all the events of the day. I combed through the conversation with Larimar. Why would they think I, of all people, was the leader of the group?
The more my brain tried to make sense of what my life had become, the more I ached for my safe space. But where was that, anymore? The Library? My apartment?
The moon was high in the sky when I gave up on sleep. I tiptoed around Nya and the other women sleeping beside me. I couldn’t quite believe that my feet were carrying me back toward the ocean, but I let them.
When I reached the beach, I lowered myself to the ground in front of a dune. I ran my hands through the sand, letting it slip through my fingers. The sound of the waves breaking against the shore was rhythmic, soothing. It was hard to believe what all had transpired just a few short hours ago.
I closed my eyes. Focusing on that sound. Trying to clear my jumbled mind.
“There you are.”
My eyes flew open.
Kieran was standing in front of me. He had also changed into dry clothes, a black T-shirt and shorts.
“What is it?” I asked, starting to stand. I paused as he sat down beside me instead.
“Just making sure you’re not off trying to get yourself killed again,” he said, resting his forearms on his thighs. His tone had a slight lilt to it, as if he were trying to sound lighthearted but couldn’t summon the energy. “How are you doing?”
“I’m okay.”
It seemed like the right thing to say. I wasn’t sure if it was true.
I let my eyes travel then from the ocean, up to the stars, marveling once again at how different the view was outside ofCyllene. How could the same sky appear so changed just by me being in another location?
I remembered reading an old book years ago, from Pre-Awakening times, that explained the concept of light pollution. But that didn’t exist in a city with no electricity. When I looked at the sky Outside, I felt a sense of wonder, and a sense of…was it freedom?
It took a minute for me to realize that Kieran hadn’t responded. I glanced over and found him staring intently at me. As they so often did under the moon and stars, his eyes were shining silver. Framed by his long, dark lashes, their glow felt timeless. Ageless. Like the family he had inherited them from had lived long before humankind existed, and would live on long after we were gone.
“I’m glad you’re handling this okay,” he said finally. “Today was a lot. Even for us.”
We sat in companionable silence for a while, him gazing out to sea and me gazing at the stars. But as the silence dragged on, a knot began to form in the pit of my stomach. Before I could stop myself, I said, “Xiomara was really impressive today. During the battle. She’s so strong and agile.”
“She is,” he agreed.
The knot twisted, growing in size. That strange irritation that I sometimes felt toward Kieran resurfaced, with more intensity than usual. I wasn’t sure if it was the events of the day or something else, but I suddenly wished he would just go away.
