Page 25 of Storm and Sea (Storm and Sea Saga #1)
A treus was covered in gashes, and by the time they made it to the hospital, he cradled his left arm. Marina had never been inside the new hospital building and indulged herself by admiring the modern decor, sparkling floors, and pristine surfaces as a nurse escorted them into a private room. The cream-colored walls gave the space a warm, inviting feel, while the light blue furniture looked soft enough to sleep in. It was cozy compared to the white sterile buildings on the mainland.
Papà followed them inside, and once Atreus was settled on the bed, he rested a hand on his adopted son.
“Mayor Gianfranchi wants a word. I’m sure he will want to speak with you both as well. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”
He squeezed Atreus’s shoulder meaningfully before leaving the private room. Marina chased after him.
“ Papà , wait.” Marina buried her face into her father’s larger-than-life chest. “ Grazie , Papà . Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“Why do you thank me, Cucciola ?”
“Because you didn’t make me choose between my father and my brother.”
Brother. Atreus was her brother. Some part of her knew that was the spot he occupied in her heart. Now, she could say it out loud. And she’d never stop saying it.
“Watch over him. I imagine he is shaken.”
“I will.” She kissed her father on his bristly cheek and returned to Atreus’s hospital room. He looked tired, but there was a lightness to him she’d never seen.
Like some terrible weight was gone.
A chain finally broken.
“Where does it hurt?” Nyel asked, occupying the chair on the side of the white bed.
“Um… everywhere?”
“You’re going to have to narrow it down for us,” a woman said, entering the room. “My name is Irena. I am the senior nurse in this hospital.”
She observed them each with a warm yet stern gaze. Her no-nonsense blonde bun was streaked with silver, but her hard eyes were betrayed by the tell-tale smile lines around her mouth.
“Which of you is the Mer?”
Marina beamed at the boys. “They are, of course. ”
Irena inclined her head to Atreus and Nyel. “Welcome. We will do everything we can to help you.”
“Th-thanks,” Atreus stuttered and winced as he shifted on the mattress.
“The arm first, then.” She turned to Marina, “I’m sorry, but only family in the room while we work on him.”
“I’m his sister,” Marina said, lifting her chin proudly. She took Atreus’s good hand as though this settled the matter.
Irena’s eyes fell on Nyel.
“I’m the other Mer?” Nyel said as a question.
Irena sighed. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”
Marina waited for the door to shut before beaming at her brother. “You actually called me Rina.”
Atreus grinned, though it looked more like a grimace. “I did.”
“Oh, Atty!” she said, throwing her arms around him.
“Ow —OW! Wounded over here!”
When Irena returned, she was followed by a young man with mousy hair and big ears.
“This is a member of our staff in training; he will be helping us today.”
“Hi, I’m Stefano,” he said, raising a timid hand. Marina thought he looked too young to practice medicine, but what did she know?
They set to work undressing Atreus. Marina and Nyel stepped out while they fitted him with a gown and stitched up his more revealing lacerations. When they were allowed back inside, Marina was surprised that it was Stefano doing most of the work while Irena supervised. It seemed that once tasks needed doing, he left his timidness at the door. With gauze and a needle in his hands, he moved with confident precision. At some point, Irena was called to another room, leaving them alone with the young nurse in training.
“You sure we shouldn’t wait for her to come back?” Marina questioned as Stefano readied another syringe with a numbing agent .
“No need.”
Atreus hardly winced as Stefano numbed his forearm, and once the feeling was well and truly gone, he set to stitch the gash.
“Are your parents doctors or something?” Marina asked. “You look pretty young to do this.”
She thought he’d ignored her entirely while silently stitching the wound, his unblinking focus slightly unnerving. After five minutes, however, he cleaned the area with alcohol and lifted his attention to Marina.
“I’m fifteen. And no. My parents aren’t doctors.”
Like a spell had broken, once his work was finished, the timid boy at the door was back, making him look young and unsure once again. He fidgeted with a button on his uniform.
“I—I know Dr. Romano personally, and he offered me the training position. And I’ve been Irena’s shadow ever since.”
“And you still have much to learn,” Irena said, returning to the room.
“Ye-yes, ma’am!” Stefano said, rising so fast his rolly chair hit the opposite wall.
At the end of it all, Atreus needed over thirty stitches across his body and was sent for an X-ray of his arm—a luxury most hospitals couldn’t afford.
The massive X-ray machine was housed in a separate pristine room. It was the kind of equipment so expensive and advanced that many mainland hospitals didn’t even have it yet. Marina’s eyebrows shot up at the crystal clear black-and-white image of Atreus’s bones.
“I’ll be back with the results,” Irena said, taking the X-rays and snapping her fingers for Stefano to follow.
“It—it was nice to meet you,” he said but paused at the door, his eyes darting nervously between Nyel and Atreus.
“They don’t bite,” Marina said, rolling her eyes. “Even when you do this.” She reached over and pinched Nyel hard on the cheek .
“Ow!”
“See?”
“And this one”—she jerked a thumb at Atreus—“took years to figure out how to clean a squid without getting inked. I can’t tell you how many times I found him covered in sticky black goop in nothing but his mutande .”
“You promised never to bring that up,” Atreus barked.
Stefano nodded awkwardly and hurried after Irena like a nervous squirrel.
“I can’t believe you told him that,” Atreus grumbled, but Marina suspected he was more embarrassed that Nyel had heard.
“Oh, calm down, tiger shark, it’s what siblings are for.”
“You’re really playing into this whole sibling thing, aren’t you?”
“Abso-freakin'-lutely,” Marina said with a pop of her lips. “And I know you’re hurt and all, and I should be worried, but this is the best day of my life.”
“Alright, Rina,” Atreus said, rolling his eyes.
Marina squealed in delight. “Call me your sister.”
“You’re my sister,” he placated.
She squealed again, clapping her hands and wiggling excitedly in her chair. Nyel had to restrain her from jumping on him again.
After several long minutes, Atreus shifted uncomfortably on the bed, the pain starting to take its toll. Marina frowned at the door.
“What is taking the doctor so long?”
“Maybe he is with Edgar?” Nyel suggested.
“He can take his time,” Atreus said through gritted teeth, “The kid is more important.”
“And I’m happy to report the kid will be just fine,” said a voice from the doorway.
Marina’s head snapped up. Her mouth fell open as she shot to her feet so quickly that the chair toppled over with a clang.
“You!” she blurted, startling everyone in the room .
The doctor stepped inside, arms spread, white coat billowing open to reveal navy scrubs. “Me.”
He strode to the hospital bed, his eyes scanning the fresh stitches crisscrossing Atreus’s body.
Marina couldn’t believe it. It was him. The stranger. The one she’d danced with at the opening festival. The one she swore she’d never see again—though if she was honest with herself, she wasn’t sure she entirely meant it.
Heat flushed her cheeks as the memory resurfaced. She’d been curt, maybe even rude. But in her defense, she’d had a lot on her mind that day. Still, him? Of all people?
“You—I can’t—you never told me.”
“Speechless, I know. I have that effect on people,” he said, eyes never leaving his patient as he prompted Atreus to lift an arm so he could inspect the bruising along his ribs.
Marina’s face turned a deeper shade of red. A sound escaped her—something between a growl and a strangled screech.
“You’re unbelievable!”
“Why, thank you.”
“That wasn’t—I didn’t mean—” she sputtered, her words dissolving as he smirked at her with amused patience.
“Good to see you too,” he said with a wink, his shoulder-length hair catching the light like a polished halo as he straightened. Reaching for a yellow folder, he let it fall open and scanned the page. Without looking up, he added, “I like the earrings, by the way.”
Marina’s hands flew to her ears, pulling out the delicate blue earrings she’d worn for the Bayallon. She hadn’t even thought twice about them.
“I wasn’t—they’re not—it doesn’t mean?—”
“My dear,” he interrupted smoothly, snapping the folder shut, “as much as I’d love to continue this thrilling exchange, I have a patient to address. ”
“Am I missing something here?” Atreus asked, his eyes darting between the two of them. “Do you two know each other?”
“We’ve had the pleasure of an acquaintance,” the doctor replied, his tone effortlessly charming. “I am Doctor Romano, though you are welcome to call me Mattias. I don’t bother with formalities in my hospital.”
“So it’s you!” Marina blurted, her voice sharper now as realization dawned. Pieces of the puzzle slid into place—this was the infamous doctor all the women in town gossiped about. The smug, cryptic stranger she’d met at the festival. How had she not guessed?
He raised his arms again, flashing that infuriatingly white smile beneath his neatly trimmed beard.
“As we’ve established,” he said smoothly, “it is me.”
Marina bristled. “No, I mean you’re the one! The doctor—the one everyone won’t shut up about.”
Doctor Romano placed a hand over his chest, bowing slightly in mock humility. “I’m honored.”
“I never said I was one of them,” Marina shot back, crossing her arms. “As if.”
“Oh, your words cut so deeply, Marina,” he said, her name rolling off his tongue with practiced ease.
She narrowed her eyes. “Remembered my name this time, did you? Or did you have to look it up before walking in here?”
“I wouldn’t be much of a doctor if I didn’t know the names of the family of my hospital’s very first Mer patient.”
“Well, don’t let me stop you, Doctor Romano,” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Please,” he said, his Cheshire smile widening, “call me Mattias.”
“No,” Marina snapped, crossing her arms tighter.
His smirk only grew, and she had to fight the urge to smack his stupid, handsome face. She didn’t miss the way his gaze lingered on her a moment too long before he turned his attention to Atreus .
“As I said, I am the attending physician, and I want to formally welcome you, Atreus. Even though we are not of the same species, I will do everything in my power to ensure your health and recovery.”
“Thanks,” Atreus said dryly.
Marina grinned. She wasn’t the only one Mattias had rubbed wrong.
“You have a hairline fracture in your forearm. I recommend that at least six hours of your day be spent in the sea to accelerate the healing. This will also close the wounds and dissolve all the stitches we put in. You should be back to normal in about two weeks. I’ll have my staff fit you with a water-safe sling in the meantime.”
Marina blanched. “How’d you know all that?”
Dr. Romano smirked. “Are you impressed?”
“As if! You wouldn’t impress me even if you had a massive?—”
“I’d like to hear the answer to that question too,” Nyel interjected.
Dr. Romano inclined his head to him. “Welcome, sireno ; I am also glad to see you here. And I have a vast knowledge about many things.”
“That answers nothing,” Atreus snapped.
“And yet it answers everything. Do not worry about the charge for this visit, as this hospital’s first Mer patient, consider it a courtesy.”
He turned to leave, but not before winking at Marina. She pressed her lips together in a harsh line, knowing her face would quickly match her hair.
“What the hell just happened?” Atreus exclaimed the moment the door closed.
Marina couldn’t tear her gaze away from where Mattias’s— no, Doctor Romano’s white coat disappeared. Atreus snapped his fingers in front of her.
“Hey, eyes over here! Don’t you be gettin’ ideas.”
She shook herself. “What?”
“Don’t what me. As your older brother, I forbid it.”
“Forbid what?”
He whipped his finger from the door to her. “Whatever the hell that was.”
“There wasn’t anything there.”
“There kinda was,” Nyel mumbled.
“You’re not helping,” she hissed at him.
“He’s got to be like forty years old, absolutely not,” Atreus declared.
“That’s a bit exaggerated, don’t you think?” Marina defended. Why the hell was she defending that jerk? “I seriously doubt he’s even close to that. What would you guess, Nyel?”
Nyel shrugged. “I can never tell with humans that have hair on their faces. It’s really confusing.”
“I’m guessing thirty, thirty-two max,” Marina said.
“It doesn’t matter because I forbid it as your brother.”
“You’ve been my brother for like an hour,” Marina said but couldn’t hold back the smile tugging at her mouth.
“And therefore, I have the right to monitor your love life.”
“That’s not how that works.”
Just as their sibling rivalry was about to ignite, the door creaked open, and Irena hushed them with a look. She gave Atreus a mild painkiller and was fastening his sling when another group appeared in the room.
Mayor Gianfranchi entered, followed by Sheriff Fanti and her deputies. The mayor looked ready to faint. Marina couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. After all, nearly losing a child during the town’s beloved event—and then the whole revelation about water people—must’ve thrown him completely off balance.
“ Uomo del Mare , how are you feeling?” he asked Atreus, his sweaty brow glistening. He clearly would rather be anywhere else in the world.
“I’ll be okay,” Atreus said as Irena fastened the sling around his arm. “And please call me Atreus.”
“Mayor, please, only family in the room,” Irena said with a huff.
“Forgive me, but we have urgent matters to discuss.”
“So, is that city hall of yours only for show?”
Mayor Gianfranchi cleared his throat, folding under the nurse’s intensity. “I’ll see you there then.” He exited with his officers trailing behind.
“Honestly, this is a hospital, not a circus,” Irena huffed, finishing Atreus’s bandages.
“Is he done? Or does Doctor Romano need to check him again?” Marina asked, trying to keep her voice casual.
“No, he is free to go. Why? Would you like me to call the doctor back?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Atreus cut in. “I’m fine.”
Marina chewed the inside of her cheek, irritated with herself and her brother. As they left the hospital, she caught Nyel’s knowing smirk.
“And what are you so smiley about?”
“Nothing,” he said innocently. “C’mon, the Mayor’s waiting for us.”
A few paces later, when Atreus was well out of earshot, Nyel leaned in and whispered, “Atreus will need to have his arm checked again. As his sister, it’s only right that you tag along.”
Marina grinned and playfully bumped her hip into Nyel’s, both of them trying to hide their laughter as Atreus shot them a suspicious glare.
Nyel felt the dizzying relief of stepping down from a ledge. His legs trembled, still unsteady from narrowly escaping a fatal fall.
Somehow, they weren’t chased from Baia Vita. Instead, they were sitting in the mayor’s office. They weren’t running for the sea as the people they’d grown to love hurled harpoons at their hearts.
They were alive.
They were okay.
The same couldn’t be said for the mayor, who looked like a lobster fresh from the boil. He patted his balding head with a cloth as a layer of moisture accumulated in stress-filled drops.
“Well, as I’m sure you know, this is not what I expected from the Bayallon, and frankly, I have questions.”
“We are here to answer them,” Nyel supplied, his confidence growing with each second.
Marina and Giovanni sat behind them, while Nyel and Atreus sat directly in front of the mayor’s desk. Sheriff Fanti leaned against the wall behind him, her arms folded. Nyel suspected she was there as a guard. They still had a long way to go before they’d be completely trusted.
“Yes well… to begin, I… uh…” Mayor Gianfranchi wiped his upper lip now. “You see, we… our concerns…”
Sheriff Fanti rolled her eyes, straightening. “Are you a threat or not? ”
The mayor flinched. “I wasn’t going to put it like that, but—are you?”
“No.” Nyel and Atreus said at the same time.
“Good. Good,” he said but appeared far from convinced.
“And what of the disappearing fish in the bay? Is that the Mer’s work?” Sheriff Fanti pressed.
“Of course we aren’t accusing?—”
“Yes, we are,” she deadpanned as the mayor turned to give her an exasperated look that she ignored.
“The Mer that live in the bay are my people,” Nyel said earnestly. “They’re like me. We call ourselves Sireni , and we are plant-eaters. We don’t eat meat of any kind.”
“And what about you?” she asked, jerking to Atreus.
Atreus cleared his throat uncomfortably, and Nyel had to resist the urge to place a reassuring hand on his leg.
“I am not Sireni . I am half Rusalki and… I’m not sure what else. I was separated from my people as a child. I am the only one of my kind in these waters.”
“And one Mer that eats fish is hardly enough to account for our losses,” the mayor said, and Nyel was glad for his defense.
Nyel was beginning to sweat under Sheriff Fanti’s scrutiny and, before he could think better of it, blurted, “We can help!”
All eyes turned to him.
“With what?”
“The fish. We can help if we?—”
He cut himself off. Atreus had been against his plan from the beginning. And now that he was faced with the mayor of Baia Vita, Nyel began to doubt its viability.
“Tell them about your idea, Ny. It’s a good one.” Atreus reached with his good arm, squeezing Nyel on the shoulder.
“I thought you?—”
“It’s a good plan. I just didn’t think we’d get this far. ”
He smiled, and Nyel felt as though a cyclone of wind had stolen his breath. But far from being afraid of the storm, Nyel wanted to settle at its very core.
“You were right about this from the beginning. I should have listened,” Atreus said.
Nyel beamed and dove headfirst into his plan.
He explained how the Sireni were suffering from the polluted water. Explained that Sireni wanted the ships gone as much as the humans did. Nyel went into detail about how they could work together to accomplish this. With the Sireni working as shepherds to herd the fish away from the big ships and towards the bay, they could increase the local fisherman’s yields. And as the local fishing grew, the outsourced market would die off. Baia Vita would become less and less dependent on outside sources and return to its self-sufficient roots.
“This all sounds great. In theory,” the sheriff said after listening intently.
“What are your concerns, Sheriff? I think that Nyel has made an excellent case,” the mayor said, making Nyel’s chest bloom.
“This all hinges on the idea that the rest of your people will want to help us. From the sounds of it, your kind went into hiding to stay away. Not work alongside us.”
“I’ll convince them,” Nyel said with so much conviction he almost believed it himself. “For the first time in a long time, our goals are aligned. I’ll convince them this is the best way. My village, Corallina, is risking starvation or being forced into colder waters. This is a more appealing alternative.”
The Sheriff opened her mouth to argue, but Mayor Gianfranchi cut her off.
“Camilla,” he reached into a drawer, throwing a thick stack of papers onto the desk. They landed with a ‘thump.’
Nyel couldn’t make sense of them but recognized the swishing script that the humans used to sign their names at the bottom of each sheet. All of them began with a letter that resembled an upside-down triangle with a missing side.
“Vincenzo has us in the palm of his hand,” the mayor said gravely.
At this, the Sheriff’s shoulders sagged. “I understand.”
“By spring, there will be nothing left of us.”
“We have good people here, Mayor. I left mainland life to protect people like them. These Mer…” Her gaze landed on Nyel. “I don’t know you.”
“Camilla,” the mayor implored, “the mainland is already here. Vincenzo has his claws in all of us. By the end of winter, he’ll be buried so deep there won’t be any hope of eradicating him.”
“I want to protect this place,” Atreus spoke up for the first time. “I’ll fight for it alongside you.”
Giovanni cleared his throat from the back of the room, and all eyes turned to him.
“If I may interject, I can attest to my son’s dedication to this island. He has done nothing but uphold our values and maintain our traditions since I’ve known him as a boy.”
The emotion pouring from Atreus was palpable as he reached for the shark’s tooth at his chest but shyly dropped his hand when he caught Nyel watching.
“Furthermore,” Giovanni continued, “My family has lived on this land for generations. Never before have I witnessed such a swift decline in who we are. Every night, I pray for a miracle to save us.” He opened his hand, gesturing to the two Mer. “And if the resurrection of one of our oldest legends isn’t a miracle, I do not know what is.”
“Alvise is vile,” Marina said. “He won’t stop until all of us are under his thumb or driven off. It’s bad enough that he took the valley from us, but now he’s after everything else. The law doesn’t apply to him. ”
At this, Sheriff Fanti’s jaw flexed, teeth grinding.
“Camilla, please,” the mayor pleaded, “this is our only chance.”
Nyel’s heart jumped like a frightened rabbit when the sheriff’s eyes landed on him.
“Get your people on board.”
“I will,” Nyel said, equal parts excited and terrified.
“Then let’s set up a meeting!” Mayor Gianfranchi declared before the sheriff could poke more holes in his delicate plan. “Would you be able to get a meeting with your leaders?”
“Uh, we don’t have a leader, but I’ll figure something out.”
“Excellent,” the mayor said, slapping the desk. He peeked around the boys to where Giovanni sat silently in the back of the room. “ Signore Marcello, are you in agreement?”
Giovanni nodded sagely. “I am.”
“Excellent, excellent,” the mayor repeated, a bit more energy in his movements. He mumbled under his breath. “We might just save this island yet.”
Marina offered him an encouraging wave as he marched into the surf. Nyel waved back, trying to exude a confidence he didn’t feel. He took a giant gulp of air. This was it.
“Let’s go.”
But Nyel stopped knee-deep when he noticed Atreus didn’t follow.
“I won’t help your chances,” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re about to ask a lot from your people. And your people are…” He hesitated before settling on, “set in their ways. It’ll be hard enough to get them to surface without a halfling by your side.”
Nyel bit the inside of his cheek. Atreus was right, of course, but that didn’t mean he liked it.
“It’ll get better, Atreus. I’ll make it better.”
Atreus smiled, though it was weak.
“I know you will.”
“I’m on your side, Atreus.”
He remembered the first time he spoke those words and truly believed them.
On that night, they stood before each other as Mer, beneath a sky awash in fire and light. And by the look on Atreus’s face, he was remembering the same thing.
“I know,” he said even softer.
“Say it out louder,” Nyel demanded.
Atreus smiled warmly. “I know you’re on my side, Ny.”
“And that I’m the greatest Bocce player there ever was?—”
“Get the hell outta here.” Atreus rolled his eyes, but not before adding, “You can do this.”
Nyel nodded and, without another word, dove into an oncoming wave.
Marvassa greeted him, and he flexed his tail muscles before they were truly there. The change came so naturally to him now that he marveled at how he’d gone his entire life without its touch. He wondered why so many of his people feared its tickling transformation. His stomach clenched in anxiety. Nyel was about to ask them to face that fear. That, and so much more.
“You’re making a mistake.”
Nyel flinched as a voice sounded far too close, swimming parallel to him in the water.
“Spirits, Nephi! Don’t do that.”
“You’re alarmingly easy to sneak up on. ”
“I have a lot on my mind,” Nyel said, plowing ahead.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“You said that.”
“Mer and humans aren’t meant to exist together. There will be blood for this.”
Nausea crept up Nyel’s throat. “How do you know?”
“I’ve seen what happens when Mer and people come face to face. It isn’t pretty.”
“We’re going to help each other.”
“You’re going to kill each other,” Nephi pressed. “This little truce you and the Rusal have garnered is already about as stable as a sandcastle at high tide.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“No, you don’t!” Nyel rounded on his brother, unintimidated by his flared red fins. “But you’d like that, wouldn’t you? You want us to hate each other. You want humans and Mer to fight, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.”
“Why!? You wanna know why!?” Nephi bellowed, getting in Nyel’s space. “Because the humans took everything from me!”
Nephi’s voice echoed through the water, and Nyel jolted at his undiluted fury. His brother’s milked-over eye appeared whiter than usual. His scars were more prominent as rage contorted his half-destroyed face.
Humans did this to him.
Now Nyel knew for sure, yet a part of him wondered if there was a deeper wound Nephi hid beneath the scars.
“Why are you still here?” Nyel asked once the echoes of rage dissipated. “Because it’s not for Dad. Or for me.” Nyel tried not to let the hurt show as he said it.
“I don’t know,” Nephi admitted.
He’s lying .
It was clear as day. The answer was in his eyes—the eyes they shared.
“Do what you want, Nyel,” Nephi hissed, turning to leave. But Nyel caught the end of his crimson tailfin, holding him.
“Wait,” Nyel’s throat filled with wool. “Don’t disappear again. Please.”
He held his brother’s stare before Nephi jerked his tail away and left without another word.
Ripple gurgled loudly, the sound like falling stones, as the sandwinder waggled his stubby tail. His antenna reached out to Nyel as he swam close, like an overgrown toddler asking to be carried. Nyel scratched him behind the antenna.
“Hey buddy, how’ve you been? Been a good boy?”
Ripple gurgled again, rolling to expose his white belly.
“I wish I could take you to Baia Vita; you’d love it,” he said, now using both hands to scratch the hippopotamus-sized beast.
“Nyel, is that you?”
The voice Nyel wanted to hear most greeted him as Sonia swam from the sand hut home, a lively Sabella in her arms.
“Hey, Sonia,” he said, kissing his aunt on the cheek before waving a finger for his cousin. “And hello to you, princess.”
She cooed at him with delight, her finless tail poking from her clothes.
“It’s so good to see you.”
Sonia was dazzling alongside her babe. There was a spark of life in her eyes Nyel hadn’t seen since his uncle passed .
“You look good, Sonia. But I need to talk to all of you. There’s been a change in situation,” he said, taking a reassuring breath.
“And will that change prevent you from seeing your own family?” a second voice huffed from the doorway.
“Hello, Mom,” Nyel said, obediently going to place a kiss on his mother’s cheek.
“This change in situation better not take you farther away; I barely see you enough as it is. Do you even realize how much your mother worries?—”
“Mom,” Nyel held up a hand, “If all goes to plan, you’ll actually see me more.”
This caught his mother’s attention. “Well, that’s more like it. Come in.”
“Actually, I need all of you.”
“We’re all here,” she said. “Your father’s inside.”
“No,” Nyel urged. “Everyone. I need to speak to everyone in Corallina.”
It took some doing, but with the promise of seeing her son more often, there was little that could stop Bianca Veritani. Soon, the settlement of Sireni crowded together in the center of their village. It wasn’t everybody, only those with farms close enough to come quickly, but it was enough that word would spread fast.
The center of Corallina was less of a ‘village square’ and more of an open plot of sand shaped in a perfect circle. Around the edge, various species of coral added vibrant splashes of color to their otherwise kelp-green world.
Nyel couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen so many of them gathered like this, nor could he remember seeing them so deflated. Scales that used to shine were now dull with a sickly gray hue. The Sireni reflected the health of their crop. And if the kelp grew gray and sick, so did the people. And given how many gaunt faces now stared at him, Nyel knew that this village was running out of time .
Nyel caught sight of Mr. and Mrs. Ernesti in the front of the group. Chel was beside them with a lanky sireno Nyel suspected to be Wyll. She waved, and he returned it, earning a glare from the sireno beside her. All eyes were on Nyel as he took his place high on a stone overhang.
A million ways to begin his impossible message raced through his mind. What if they wouldn’t listen? What if his strange human clothes marked him as an outsider? He should have changed into traditional sea-grass garb. Too late now. There was only one thing to do: say it.
“I have a message from the humans on the island.”
The chatter died instantly. Bodies were still, and eyes wide as fins swayed in the tide like the kelp they so desperately needed to save.
“They know we are here. They know what we are, and they have accepted us.”
Easy. Easy.
“I can say with utmost certainty that the ships harvesting fish outside the bay are killing our fields.”
“Humans also run those ships,” a sirena in the middle of the crowd called out.
“Yes, but they aren’t the same. The ones polluting the water and the ones living on the island are not the same humans. The people of Baia Vita are also suffering because of these ships. They can’t catch enough fish to sustain their way of life. They’re dying. Just like we are dying.”
“So what do you propose?” This voice came from Mr. Ernesti.
“The humans—” Nyel paused. “ I came up with the idea that would help everybody.”
Nyel dove into his plan, adding details for the Mer that he didn’t bother in the mayor’s office. When he was done, Mr. Ernesti spoke again.
“So you expect us to give away our precious daylight hours? We should be harvesting whatever kelp we have left. And you’re suggesting we play sandwinder for the humans? Herding fish like dumb beasts?”
“That’s not at all what he said,” Sonia snapped, Sabella sleeping in her arms.
“It won’t be like that. We only have to get the fish into the bay, not stand guard like shepherds. And once we coax the fish into shallow waters, Ripple can help push them forward from there.” Nyel said, expressing his willingness to share Ripple for the cause.
“I don’t like it. It sounds like we will feed the humans for nothing in return.”
Nyel clenched his fists. He didn’t have time to explain the complexity of human economics. They had to trust him.
“I know it sounds like a lot of work for no reward. Give it time; I promise the ships will leave once Baia Vita begins to heal.”
“So what are we supposed to do? Take your word for it?” Wyll spoke up, searching for an approving glance from his hope-to-be father-in-law.
“The mayor wants a meeting. They’re waiting for you right now.”
The crowd shifted at this. A tangible zing of energy. A primal reaction to the news that another being awaited them. Prey responding to the presence of a predator.
“It’s perfectly safe!” Nyel hurried, sensing them drawing away. “They want to meet us. I’ve been living there for weeks.”
“We can tell,” Wyll commented, eyeing his clothes.
The noise of the crowd grew, pushing Nyel back.
They won’t come. I promised I could do it and they won’t come. I’ve failed…
“I’ll meet them.”
Everyone stilled as his aunt swam up beside him.
“If Nyel says it’s safe, if he says this is our chance to save our crop and stay in the bay, I trust him. Me and Sabella will go. ”
Sonia’s declaration had an instant effect on the crowd. Mer children were rare and precious. If she was willing to bring a babe to this meeting, her trust in him wase unconditional. Nyel was suddenly very aware of the weight of that trust.
“I’ll go.”
Chel rose from the crowd, much to the shock of her parents.
“Oh, um, yeah, me too,” Wyll added, joining her. Nyel didn’t miss the way Chel beamed at Wyll and intertwined their hands together. Murmurs rose.
“The crop is dying.”
“If there is a chance to be rid of the boats, what’s the harm in trying?”
“I can herd fish.”
Voices of affirmation joined the throng.
“My son is the smartest sireno in the seven seas; if he says this will save our fields, then that is that,” Bianca said, joining her son.
Nyel was warmed, if not a little embarrassed. His father, Donato, joined with his wife. Pretty soon, Nyel had a team of two dozen Sireni ready to surface alongside him. Finally, Mr. Ernesti relented.
“It’s this, or risk the dangers of colder waters. I’ll go.”
The party agreed that Mr. Ernesti would speak for the group when they surfaced. Nyel led them away from the village, away from the safety of the bay, and towards the beach—towards Baia Vita.