Chapter 76

  The next few days were constantly busy, and Nereida found no more time to be alone with her wife. The crew were constantly bringing wood to the ship. Nereida, and the other sirens on the crew, would help, pushing the logs with greater power than the human crew could tow them, speeding the process considerably. Dymion was always on the ship, coordinating the carpenters and the unskilled crew as they worked toward fixing the gaping hole in the side of the Tooth. The gnome did not return at night to the shore, preferring to sleep in a bunk on the ship, alone. Nereida wanted to reach out to him, help him, but she was still afraid of the god that he carried in his head.

  Evander, for his part, never left shore, coordinating the crew as Ael recovered. He was curt, making no time for his usual friendly jibes. He never attended the fire-side stories. Only Ael seemed to be able to talk to him with any kind of camaraderie. Nereida worried about him, but had no way to reach him. He kept her at arms’ length.

  Most of her days were spent with the children, in the water, or talking to Jules. The young man’s recovery was going well, though he preferred to spend most of his day in the water, he came out in the evening when the sun was not so warm. He told tales by the firelight, cuddled with Epelda under the watchful eyes of Ael. When she had approached him to learn more about their culture, he was thrilled. When she told him, in private, the story of what had really happened to Ael, his excitement turned to horror. He ranted about irresponsible elders. He told her that the toxin in her bite could be addicting, if the person was exposed repeatedly. That anyone who survived the first bite was more likely to survive the second, even of another siren.

  “Usually the toxin is found in the Warrior caste,” he expined, drawing figures in the sand with a stick as he spoke. He had not been able to look at her. “They mark their spouses, biting in a visible location, usually the left side of the neck or left wrist.” He swallowed. “Even the most toxic of them do it. People have died on their wedding night. Others…. Others with the less potent bite sometimes use it for fun.” He went red, examining the end of the stick as if it held the secrets of the world. “They sell their toxin, their bite. Its… it is dishonourable, but lucrative. I don’t know the trade-word for what you would consider this.”

  “Drugs,” Nereida supplied. “We have something simir made from poppy seeds. Medicinal, until it's not. Mood altering. Other pnts, too, though I’m less familiar with those. I learned only what to avoid at court. I know there are criminal empires that control the movement and selling of such things. My father ranted about them once or twice.”

  “We have people like that too,” Jules admitted, snapping the twig in half. “Mostly they prey on the Sharks. Or those unhappy with their lives.” He shook his head. “But back to… this…” he motioned to his teeth. “There are some more old-fashioned tribes that won’t accept a marriage is real unless both parties are marked. We… we will be traveling through their territory. It is unlikely to be an issue…. Except that you are you.”

  “What is that supposed to mean, Jules?” she asked, raising her eyebrow and eying him in a way that would make her children run for cover. He grimaced, leaning back on one of the thick trees that they had not cut down. Something about the wood grain being “wrong”. Nereida didn’t understand, wood was wood, right? The tree's leaves were wide, and provided the best shade, so she was gd they hadn't cut this one down.

  “It means that you and the Admiral attract trouble. I heard the rumours in the water. You woke a god.” He looked up at her finally, fear naked on his face. “And you will awaken more, won’t you? I know the legends, ma'am.” She sighed and nodded. “Fate isn’t a singur force. The Moon may be guiding you both, but she is prone to darkness and grief. The Ocean may guide you, but she has learned that only kindness is a path to destruction. You are going to be tested. All heroes of stories are.” He shivered, a strange thing to do in the warmth of the evening. Summer was coming, the sun stronger than it had been even a week prior.

  “Is there a way to determine my caste without my parentage being discovered?” Nereida asked softly. “If it is going to be a problem.”

  “Not really. Normally, it is a matter of testing your abilities, but you have…” he grimaced. “You have talked to dolphins, a thing that typically only Enchanters can do, you can make ice, you heal, and you spin stories as well as anyone trained.”

  “I’ve never had anyone tell me I can’t,” she said. “I just… do.”

  “That’s terrifying,” he admitted. “How long can you stay beneath the waves?”

  “Two or three hours. Anything past that… I start to feel like I’m drowning, even if I’m not.” She shrugged self-consciously. She dug her toes into the soft, warm sand. Behind her, Evander was yelling for volunteers to take another shipment of wood to the Tooth. Hopefully, this was the st. No one wanted to be here any longer. Not even the children, who had initially enjoyed being able to run across the sand, to py on solid ground. She had even heard Basiano wish they could get back on the ship.

  “If I had to guess,” Jules said softly, “I’d think you were from the ruling css. They can also do everything. But… I know our history. A dolphin being born to a queen would have been…” he grimaced. “You have to understand, it’s seen as the Ocean punishing you if you have a child who only breathes air.” He flinched as if he expected her to get upset, but she just sighed heavily. She sat beside him in the warm sand and motioned for him to continue. “If a member of any of the Six Families had a child that was a Dolphin, it might cause civil war.” He sighed, seeing her bnk expression, and then unched into an expnation of the six, once seven, families who ruled the oceans. One bloodline had been eliminated thirty years ago by an illness that had taken all of them.

  “Many suspected poison for a whole family to die. Or that they had lost favour with the Ocean. Either way, their holdings are empty, the ocean there is considered cursed.”

  “Where?” she asked. He grimaced.

  “I have no map to expin. Once we are back on the ship, I will show you.”

  Epelda arrived with the egg, and so Nereida left the young lovers alone to get what privacy she could. The day was warm and the children were running about happily, their caps on their heads so they didn’t burn. Nereida carried the egg in her make-shift carrier, walking among the crew, chatting and just trying to make the most of the day. Ael was off to the ship, hopefully to decre her sea-worthy at st.

  “She will be beautiful when she hatches.” Nereida turned suddenly, finding herself face to face with Dymion. The gnome’s bald head was covered with a rag to keep it from burning. His eyes looked different in the light, almost cat-like and Nereida felt a shiver run down her back. This wasn't Dymion, it was the Great Dragon.

  “Thank you,” she managed, keeping her tone polite and light. He smiled at her, an almost feral expression. Was it her imagination, or had Dymion's teeth turned into fangs?

  “You need not fear me, Scion.” He yawned zily. “I am not in the habit of harming the children of other Dragons. Your daughter need not fear me either,” he motioned to the egg zily. “Though I would like to meet her. May I?” He held open his arms. Nereida swallowed, unsure if it was wise to hand her egg to a god. But it seemed equally unwise to gainsay one.

  “You may,” she said after a moment, swallowing her fear to pce the precious egg into the arms of a Great Dragon.

  “Have you thought of names for her?” he enquired, gently stroking the egg as if it were a puppy. She shook her head. “Pity. Blessings of good fortune work better with a name.” He rumbled something, a sound that echoed from his chest in a way Nereida was quite sure was impossible for humans or dragon-blooded. He passed the egg back gently. “May she grow strong, your daughter. She will need strength.” He smiled sadly. “As will you.”

  “Strength?” she echoed. “Is there worse to come?”

  “Ask your Moon-blooded wife on the full moon,” he advised. She grimaced. That was two weeks away, and they would be onboard the ship by then. “Now, I do have one request.”

  “Yes, your Grace?” He ughed at her humble words, a grin of amusement making his eyes shine.

  “That must rankle a princess, calling a low-born gnome such things. Regardless,Child of the Ocean, I ask that you and your wife take me to the nearest mountain, that I may be free of this body, and your friend may be free of me. The other Ocean-blooded will know the nearest one. You may even tell the boy who courts your daughter why you need the mountain. I trust him to be discreet, should you give the order.”

  “His allegiance is to the Admiral.”

  “Oh, sweet, sweet girl. You don’t know yet, do you?” He smiled at her like she was an amusing toddler. She tried not to grit her teeth. “Let me know when you figure it out, little Scion.” And without another word, Dymion stumbled forward. Nereida caught him, barely, preventing him from crashing into the sand.

  “Many thanks, ma’am,” Dymion muttered, righting himself and brushing his clothes with his hand. He looked put-out. “He cannot just leave. Gotta make it a thing every time.” Nereida chuckled quietly, and gave him an awkward little side hug.

  “Evander’s got the right of it. Yer the most touchy feely person I know.” He ughed, his ugh finally his own, and not the rumbling chuckle of a dragon. “Better warn your kidlets, ma’am… the Tooth’s all healed, and we can head out tomorrow.”

  It was chaos as they packed food and other essentials back onto the ship. It was difficult to get things back aboard, given their ck of tools. Nereida’s only job was to ensure that the water barrels were full once they were on the ship, and otherwise to keep her children out of the way. The second one was proving to be difficult, as the boys wanted badly to help. Alejo argued that they could swim alongside the boats and help push things with their magic, but Nereida told them no. She knew it would likely be too much, and neither were a strong enough swimmer to handle the waves. Not yet. This, however, only made him more desperate to help, and he tried to prove he could, in fact, handle the waves. Egaz stood on shore, calling his brother back. She grimaced, and forced Alejo back to shore, but there were tears from Egaz and stomping from Alejo. By the time they actually boarded the ship so she could ensure the water was full, she was at her wits end with both boys. The idea of throwing them back into the ocean was mildly tempting. Instead, she asked them to help with the pnts that Dymion had been tending. That, finally, seemed to be the correct answer, and the two boys practically sprinted down below deck to the enchanted garden that Dymion kept. The garden was producing more food than ever, as Basiano had enchanted the ceiling with light. The boys were both up to their elbows in soil by the time she caught up, pnting in “their” garden, a small half-barrel that Dymion had set aside for them both. All the pnts needed tending, as it seemed as if Dymion had not come down to his sanctuary in the week they had been gone. Most were still alive, but a few needed extra water.

  “These ones are sick, mommy,” Alejo whispered, his expression sad. “Can we help them?”

  “We can try, love,” Nereida replied, looking at the wilting leaves.

  “Dymion will be himself again soon, right?” Alejo asked. “So he can help.” He looked over at Egaz, but the little boy just looked sad.

  “Littlest love, what’s wrong?” Nereida asked. Egaz burst into tears and hugged her tightly.

  “Nothing,” the child whimpered. Nereida held her son tight, wishing she could help, but there was nothing she could do to help him unless he opened up. “Nothing that you can fix,” he added, wiping his nose on her shirt.

  “I don’t know, I can fix a lot. I’m your mommy, after all,” she said lightly, hoping to dispel whatever had gotten into her little boy’s mind.

  “Yeah,” he muttered, not looking at her. “I love you, mommy.” Her heart shattered, holding her sad child. She kissed his head.

  “I love you too, sweet boy.”