Page 104 of Salt in the Seas
Then again, she had no idea how far out to sea they’d even been to begin with. Sylmar certainly hadn’t considered this possibility with all of his preparations. Did any of them even have the bags they’d packed? Hers had quickly been lost in the storm’s rage.
Lightning flashed, giving her a glimpse of at least six others struggling at the surface. She begged the lightning to return once more so she could find the rest, so she could know they were safe. Shouts rang out but were lost on the whistling wind. Her own cries came back to her, likely unheard by her companions, especially when the thunder returned the lightning’s call.
Velden would be fine, but what about the others?
Her body felt weighted, making her grateful she’d given up the skirts that would have instantly made her sink. Her short hair still whipped in her face, ripped from her braids, but she felt certain half of what she wiped off her face was seaweed. The waves dragged her down again, and exhaustion swept through her. They’d been doomed before they’d ever even found the starbridge.
Her arm latched on to someone else’s, maybe Kendalyhn’s or Iris’, but their slippery grips didn’t hold, and Aeliana felt herself sinking, her energy spent. She reached for the magic deep within her blood, and her starlock glowed green in the water around her from where it floated out in front of her. But her magic wasn’t equipped for this environment. It boosted her energy, but it couldn’t give her air, and eventually her energy would run out.
It would be the same for the other progenies, and if their magic couldn’t outlast the storm, it would be their end. And for those who weren’t progenies? Cyrus’, Holm’s, Riveran’s, and Iris’ faces came to mind, pushing her to fight harder, to survive so she could help them.
As she pushed again for the surface, another hand gripped her wrist. In the dark water she couldn’t see who latched on to her, but this grip was steadier, its webbed surface almost suctioning to her skin.
Velden.
As he pulled her to the surface, she felt a sense of relief, but he couldn’t save all of them. He should be helping those who didn’t have starlocks.
“What are you doing out here?” a voice screeched at her—a female voice that was clearly not Velden’s. “Why didn’t you transform? Do you have some sort of death wish?”
As the lightning flashed, it lit up a face patterned by scales and a neck boasting gills. The Sayhleen’s hair floated wildly around her, more reminiscent of kelp. The moment Aeliana recognized the Sayhleen for what she was, the Sayhleen seemed to recognize what Aeliana was not.
Her eyes widened, and she kicked and swept out her hands, pushing more of the sea between them as she sought space from Aeliana.
“Who are you?” She scanned the water’s surface, which was only slightly calmer than it had been. “Are all of you…human?”
“Half-lights,” Aeliana corrected, still fighting to stay above the waves while also straining to be heard. “Well, and one human.”
The Sayhleen’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t seem to be having the same trouble as Aeliana. Her body buoyed in the waves in an almost gentle, relaxing manner as Aeliana coughed and sputtered.
“Please,” she begged. “We can explain everything, but we can’t swim in a storm like this. Not like you can.”
The Sayhleen’s head whipped around, taking in the struggle of those nearby before nodding. Then she dove below the surface.
And stayed below the surface.
Aeliana’s breaths turned to gasps and near cries as she waited for the woman’s return. Where had she gone? Did she see their vulnerability as a sign to abandon them? Was she looking for those who struggled more than Aeliana?
As she slipped beneath the surface once more, she wasn’t sure anyone elsecouldbe struggling as much as her. It was humbling, knowing her starlock could do her no good in this place, and it made her realize how much she’d come to depend on the thing she’d once despised.
The kelp-like hair rose from the water along with two other Sayhleens, the skin around their scales rougher with age lines and their mouths twisted in frowns. Still, they split up, practically flying through the water to gather up her friends.
A smooth hardness brushed against Aeliana, making her yelp, then a dolphin rose beside her, cocking its head as if assessing her intelligence.
“You can ride Eyelee to the shore. Grasp her fin like this.” The Sayhleen demonstrated, then pulled Aeliana’s hand to do the same. “And swing your body over hers.”
Aeliana fumbled to do as the Sayhleen instructed, but the waves pulled her back down. When she was finally settled, the Sayhleen patted the dolphin, and the dolphin took off in the water, nearly making Aeliana lose her grip. She tried to look back, to see if the Sayhleen was helping her friends, but the dolphin dove deep, forcing her to hang on tighter and face forward, grabbing air when the dolphin surfaced and leaning her head close against the sea animal each time it dove.
Within moments the darkness beneath her shifted, slowly lightening as the sandy surface of the ocean floor sloped upward toward the beach Aeliana had been desperate to find. The dolphin came to a sudden stop, and Aeliana slid off.
“Um, thank you?” She patted the dolphin the way she’d seen the Sayhleen do, then flinched as the dolphin took off, hopefully to help someone else.
The waves still lapped at her waist, so Aeliana walked farther up the beach, hugging herself as the wind whipped her wet clothes. From her new vantage point, the storm didn’t look as severe, but she suspected it was still terrifying to those out in the water. She prayed to the Stars and then, for extra measure, to the Sun, begging for all her friends to be spared, thanking them for the Sayhleen’s willingness to help.
The moonlight revealed little on the wild surface of the waves, but the next flash of lightning showed her five more people being swum to shore, whether by dolphins or Sayhleens she couldn’t tell at first. As Cyrus, Holm, Iris, Riveran, and Kendalyhn were deposited beside herby chittering dolphins, she gave them all wet and exuberant hugs, even Kendalyhn. Riveran looked the most at ease, bending forward to rub his dolphin’s nose affectionately before sending them off to rescue the rest.
It seemed the Sayhleen had recognized who could withstand the waves a little longer after all.
Kendalyhn pushed Aeliana aside with a glare. “I’m going to kill that idiot for bringing us all over here.”
