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Halen rushes over. “Is he a good kisser?”

“The best. Which is why it sucks that he ran off, saying he never should’ve done that.”

“Oh, Marra. Really?”

I find a hoodie way in the back and yank it off the hanger. “His loss.”

She hugs me. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not. It was fun, but I’m not looking for anything serious. I’m heading back to land, so I don’t need anything holding me in Valora.”

Halen stares at me. “You’re leaving?”

“That’s my plan.”

Her expression falls. “But you just got here.”

“My parents dragged me here against my will. My life is up there.”

She frowns. “I see. What’s so great about life on the land? What do they have that we don’t?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“Well, I don’t want to keep you here if you don’t want to be here. I’d better plan on moving back into my old dorm room. Earwyn and her dogfish will be moving back in the moment you leave.” She spins around.

“Halen…” I want to say so much, but my headache is pounding even worse now.

“No, I get it. This isn’t your life.” She glances back at me. “You’ve been gone since we were kids. I stupidly thought it was like you were away at boarding school, and that when you returned, it’d be for good. My bad for getting my hopes up. Thinking my best friend was going to stick around once it was your choice.”

“It’s not like I’m choosing my friends up there over you. You could come with me!”

“To the land?”

“Yeah. Why not?”

She takes a deep breath. “My home is here. Valora is my future.”

“That’s how I feel about life up there.”

“But you’re a mermaid, Marra! Your father is king. Even more than me, you’re meant to be here.”

I take her hand. “I’m not trying to hurt you. In fact, you were the only one I was looking forward to seeing when I came here. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have come at all.”

She crosses her arms. “I thought your parents forced you to come.”

“I was thinking about running away where they couldn’t find me.”

Halen snickers. “Your father could find you anywhere. He gets whatever he wants.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She holds my gaze for a moment. “It’s always been that way. Even when we were little.”

“So, he wanted to be banished for over ten years? That’s why I grew up on land?”

“It didn’t stop him from coming back as king.”

“Don’t tell me you think he killed Tiberias too! I thought you were the one person who would always be on my side.”