Cryssa stared at him for a moment. She didn't like the way that the Sharkites had treated Seek, but she thought that having a conversation with Bey might be a small price to pay for Seek's freedom.
"All right," she said. "We'll talk."
"Thanks," said Bey. He took hold of the cord that hung alongside the gate and pulled down on it. The cord was wound around a reel mounted above the gate, and the reel turned slowly as he pulled.
The length of cord attached to the gate moved upward, and the gate went with it. When the gate was high enough for Cryssa to slip under, Bey tied off the cord on a hook driven into the rock wall, holding the gate in position.
As soon as the gate was secure, Cryssa swam into the enclosed pool.
Seek was floating in the middle of the pool, and Cryssa stopped a few feet away from him. More than anything, she wanted to race right over and touch him, but she was still uncertain about how he would react to her.
"Hello, Seek," she said quietly. "How are you?"
*****
Seek stared at her for a moment. His dark eyes, which usually gleamed with inner light, looked dull and filmy.
"Not so good," he said.
The breath caught in Cryssa's throat, and she wanted to cry. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm sorry about everything."
"You don't have to apologize," said Seek. "I got myself into this."
"Oh, Seek," said Cryssa, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I missed you so much!"
Seek swam across the pool to her and slid his sleek, gray head under her hand.
"I missed you, too," he said softly.
Now that he was close, Cryssa could see his scars. His hide, which had once been smooth and undamaged, was covered with cuts and scratches. His back fin now had a large, triangular notch along its front edge.
"I was so worried about you," said Cryssa, gently stroking his head.
"I was worried about you, too," said Seek.
"Everything will be all right," said Cryssa. "I promise."
Seek lowered his voice, whispering so that only Cryssa could hear him. "Leave here if you can," he said. "Forget about me."
Cryssa leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his snout. "Never," she whispered, smiling. "I will never leave you again."
*****
Chapter Thirty-Four
"We used to come here all the time," said Bey as he and Cryssa stood on the hill overlooking the beach. "Remember?"
The wind was picking up. It whipped strands of Cryssa's red hair across her face as she gazed out at the water. "I remember," she said.
Bey had led her to the hilltop to talk after leaving Seek's prison. The hilltop had once been Cryssa's favorite place on the island; happy memories washed through her as she returned to it, briefly dimming the sadness and anger that had filled her since she had witnessed Seek's injuries and mistreatment.
"Come on," said Bey, sitting down on the grass atop the hill and gesturing for Cryssa to join him. "For old times' sake."
Cryssa dropped down beside him. She felt a twinge of nostalgia at the familiar scene. In years gone by, she had spent many hours sitting there by his side.
"The rain's coming," said Bey, pointing at the ocean. In the distance, a curtain of gray hung between dark clouds and seawater, the front edge of a storm that was bound to cross the island soon if the direction of the wind didn't change.
"What did you want to talk about?" said Cryssa.
Bey smiled. "I'm glad you're here," he said. "I'm glad you came back."
"I came back for Seek," said Cryssa. "He's the reason I'm here."
"I missed you," said Bey. "I've never stopped thinking about you."
Cryssa didn't reply to that. No matter what she said, Bey seemed to be stuck on the idea that she could still have feelings for him.
Bey thought for a moment, gazing out at the sea. "I knew we'd be together again someday," he said. "I knew it would happen."
"Look," said Cryssa, more sharply than she had intended. "I appreciate your taking care of Seek. I'm grateful that you sent word to me to come and get him. I appreciate everything you've ever done for me...but I don't feel the same way about you that you feel about me. I just don't."
Bey kept smiling, but his smile didn't look so confident now. "Maybe you just need time," he said. "After all, you haven't seen me for ages."
"I don't have time," said Cryssa, feeling exasperated. "Seek isn't well. I have to get him home."
"This was once your home," said Bey. "Maybe it could be again."
"No," said Cryssa. "Kee Island is my home."
Bey's expression shifted, becoming more serious. "Your people need you here," he said. "You're their queen."
"That's what you say," said Cryssa. "Not me."
"They really do need you," said Bey. "Things have been hard since King Ikaz and Queen Perza died."
Cryssa frowned. Bey's mood had darkened, and his voice had lowered and slowed.
"What do you mean?" Cryssa said quietly.
Bey stared solemnly out at the distant curtain of rain. "A terrible sickness struck the island," he said. "Many people died, including Ikaz and Perza."
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Cryssa.
"Then, there was a drought," said Bey. "We didn't have enough fresh water to drink or grow crops. More of us died from thirst.
"On top of all that, the fishing near our island petered out. We couldn't catch enough fish to feed everyone, and many went hungry."
Cryssa remembered how sad and tired and defeated the Sharkites had looked when she had arrived on Shark Island. She had guessed that something awful had happened to change them...and now she knew what it was.
"The people have suffered," said Bey. "They have become desperate and lost. It took all I could do to stop them."
"Stop them from what?" said Cryssa.
Bey turned and locked eyes with her. "From invading Kee Island."
"What?" said Cryssa, gaping in surprise.
Bey nodded. "The people wanted to take what the Sylva had," he said grimly. "It was a matter of survival. Us or them."
"Why not just ask the Sylva for help?" said Cryssa.
Bey raised his eyebrows. "Do you really think they would have helped us?" he said. "The evil Sharkites?"
Cryssa didn't answer. The truth was, she had her doubts that the Sylva and Key would have been quick to help their enemies.
"Fortunately, my people didn't invade," said Bey. "I convinced them that there was a better way to save us.
"I told them that I would return their rightful queen, and she would lead them back to greatness."
Cryssa sighed. "But I'm not their rightful queen," she said. "I'm not Ikaz's real daughter. He kidnapped me as a baby from Kee Island.
"Ikaz murdered my real father and mother," said Cryssa. "My brother, too."
"That's terrible," said Bey, "but it doesn't change the fact that you're the rightful queen."
"You don't seem very surprised that I'm not Ikaz's real daughter," said Cryssa, frowning. "But I didn't find out until I went to Kee Island."
Bey looked away. "I knew," he said, staring into the distance. "Everyone knew...except you."
Cryssa was stunned. "Everyone knew?" she said quietly.
"Ikaz brought you back from the invasion," said Bey. "It would have been impossible for anyone not to know where you came from."
"But...but why didn't I know?" said Cryssa.
"Ikaz told the Sharkites that you were now his daughter and heir," said Bey. "He ordered everyone never to talk about who you really were...especially around you. He wanted you to believe that you were his real daughter."
Cryssa shook her head slowly in disbelief. "How could you not tell me?" she said. "When I overheard Ikaz saying I wasn't his flesh and blood, you and I even talked about it."
"The penalty for telling you the truth was death," said Bey.
"Death?" Suddenly, Cryssa understood more clearly why the Sharkites had avoided her and treated her coldly when she had lived on the
island. She had always thought that it was because she was different, because of her red hair and lack of gills; now, she realized that the people must have been afraid to be around her, in case they said something about her true background and ended up dead.
"None of that matters now, though," said Bey. "Ikaz is gone. You know the truth, and the people can speak freely about it. They don't have any hard feelings toward you because of it. They still want you to be their queen."
"I could never be queen here," said Cryssa.
"But Ikaz and Perza raised you as their own daughter," said Bey. "As far as the Sharkites are concerned, you are the rightful heir."
"I'm not talking about that," said Cryssa. "I would never want to be queen after what Ikaz did to my family! What he did to me! I don't want anything to do with him! I don't want to be his heir!"
"But he loved you," said Bey.
Cryssa couldn't believe what he had just said to her. "Loved me? He killed my family and stole me from my home! He would have sent me out to die on my Rebirth Day if you hadn't helped me escape!"
"He wouldn't have let you die," said Bey.
Furious, Cryssa leaped to her feet. "You know he would have!"
"No," said Bey, shaking his head. "And you didn't escape."
"What are you talking about?" said Cryssa, boiling with anger and frustration. "You're not making any sense!"
Bey stood up and gazed into her eyes. "You didn't escape," he said. "Ikaz let you go."
"Bey!" said Cryssa. "You were there! You know that's not what happened!"
Instead of backing down, Bey squared his shoulders and continued to meet her gaze without flinching. "Ikaz let you go," he said calmly, "and I helped him."
*****
Chapter Thirty-Five
As Bey's words sank in, Cryssa stared at him blankly. Of all the times when she had been surprised in her life, this was surely among the most extreme.
"I don't understand," she said quietly.
"Ikaz was afraid that you would die on your Rebirth Day," said Bey. "He kept telling everyone that when you were put in the water, your gills would open and you would be fine...but he didn't really believe it.
"The problem was, if he didn't make you go through with the Rebirth Day rite, he and Queen Perza would have been disgraced. They might even have been forced to step down as king and queen.
"He had to insist that you undergo the rite," said Bey, "but he loved you too much to let you die...so he came up with another option."
Cryssa had grown to hate Ikaz so much that it made her uncomfortable to hear his name associated with loving her. However, when she thought back to her life on Shark Island, she remembered that Ikaz had sometimes treated her with affection. As hard and cold and stubborn as he had been, she couldn't deny that he had acted as if he had cared for her. Even though he had killed her family and taken her from her home and lied to her, she knew that he had treated her as if she had been his own flesh and blood.
"If you ran away," said Bey, "you could avoid the Rebirth Day rite. You would survive, and the disgrace to the royal family would be a lot less than if Ikaz had given you permission not to go through with the rite.
"That was why I helped you get away. Since I was your best friend, and you trusted me, Ikaz asked me to do it. He told me to protect you and take you in the direction of Kee Island."
Cryssa shook her head in disbelief. "And you lied to me?" she said. "You made me think that the escape was our idea?"
"You might not have gone otherwise," said Bey. "Or you might have told someone that Ikaz was letting you go, and that would have ruined the plan."
"So no one knew about this other than you and Ikaz?" said Cryssa.
"And a few sharks," said Bey. "The ones who attacked us. The ones you thought killed me. They had to make it look convincing without really hurting me."
"So you lied to me about that, too?" said Cryssa. "When you came to Kee Island and told me how you'd survived?"
Bey nodded. "I had to get you to go to Kee Island alone. I had to report back to your father...to Ikaz, I mean. Faking the shark attack was the only way I could get away from you and back to the Sharkites without you knowing that I was working for the king."
As Cryssa listened to Bey's story, her surprise and disbelief turned to anger. Everything that she had thought was true about one of the most traumatic events of her life was turning out to be nothing but lies.
"How could you?" she said, breathing hard and balling her hands into fists. "How could you lie to me like that?"
"I did it to save your life," said Bey. "I would have done anything to save your life."
"How can you expect me to believe anything you ever say?"
"Sometimes, you have to lie," said Bey. "Sometimes, there are more important things than telling the truth."
"I'm just so sick of being lied to!" snapped Cryssa. "I've been lied to all my life!"
"I've only lied to save you," said Bey. "And to save my people."
"Wait a minute," said Cryssa. "When have you lied to save your people?"
Bey shifted his feet, looking uncomfortable. "It was more like leaving something out than lying," he said.
Though Cryssa was almost afraid to hear what was coming next, she pressed him. "What did you leave out?" she said coldly.
Bey looked out to sea, then back to Cryssa. "We didn't find Seek by accident," he said. "We were waiting for him."
Cryssa clenched her teeth. Suddenly, she had the urge to hit Bey.
"I had told the people that I would bring them their rightful queen," said Bey, "and I knew that you would come if Seek was here.
"So we waited in the ocean around Kee Island, watching for Seek. When he finally left the lagoon, we captured him and brought him to Shark Island."
Cryssa couldn't remember ever being angrier with anyone in her life. It took all the self-control she had not to lash out at Bey with her fists. "You brought him here and threw him in that pen."
"The people needed you," said Bey. "I did it for them...and for us. For you and me."
"Oh?" said Cryssa, her voice almost a growl. "Really?"
"So we could be together," said Bey, taking a step toward her. "I love you, Raka. We belong together."
"You know what, Bey?" said Cryssa, glaring at him. "Maybe I could've felt the same way if you hadn't done any of this. If you hadn't kidnapped Seek and lied to me over and over again."
"But now we're together," said Bey. "Now we have a chance."
Cryssa slowly shook her head. "No chance," she said.
"Raka," said Bey. "I know you don't mean that."
"I do," said Cryssa, "and I'm leaving."
Seething with anger and disgust, she spun away from him and started across the hilltop.
"Raka, please don't do this," said Bey.
"And my name is Cryssa, not Raka," Cryssa snapped over her shoulder as she walked.
Then, she stopped. When she heard Bey's next words, she stopped.
"I'm so sorry, Cryssa," said Bey, "but I don't think you can leave."
*****
Chapter Thirty-Six
As Cryssa turned around to face Bey, she reached for the Kee pendant that hung from her neck. The stone felt smooth and solid and reassuring.
The Sylva called it the Talisman of Maturity, but it was much more than that. Grandpa Po had not just given it to her to signify that she was an adult.
The pendant had a secret purpose. At first, Cryssa had not been convinced that she would need to demonstrate that purpose...but now, she knew that she would have no choice but to do so.
Grandpa Po had been right about the Sharkites. He had been right about what they would do.
"Either Bey wants you to stay with him because he loves you," Grandpa Po had said, "or the Sharkites want to take you hostage because you're our future queen.
"Either way, you might never leave Shark Island."
Grandpa Po had been right about that. He had been right about the outcome of Cryssa's visit.
And he had been right to give her the pendant. He had known that she would need it.
As Cryssa looked at Bey, she forced herself to be calm. "So I'm your prisoner now?" she said, keeping her fingers on the pendant.
Bey winced and shook his head. "No, it's just...if you leave, I'm afraid the Sharkites will invade Kee Island. I don't think I can hold them back anymore if you go."
Cryssa nodded. "So what you're saying is, either I stay or the Sharkites invade."
"Yes," said Bey. "I'm sorry. I told you, they're desperate."
"I don't like being threatened," Cryssa said coldly.
Bey took a step toward her. "They need help," he said. "Can't you please just give it a try? This used to be your home, remember?"
Cryssa looked around. The curtain of rain had finally blown to the edge of the island, and scattered drops were starting to fall on the hilltop.
"I remember," she said, "but I never much liked it here to begin with."
Then, she raised the pendant to her lips. She took a deep breath and blew as hard as she could into the little hole drilled into its head.
A high-pitched whistling sound emerged, piping out over the beach and sea. Cryssa blew into the pendant again, and it whistled once more.
"What are you doing?" said Bey, cocking his head to one side and frowning at her.
Cryssa blew into the pendant a third time. Again, a shrill whistling sound rang out from the hilltop.
"Look," said Cryssa, pointing toward the water.
Bey looked in the direction that she indicated. Far away, three Kee leaped out of the waves at the same time, close together, crying out in unison with shrill whistles of their own.
When Bey turned back to Cryssa, he looked worried. "What's going on?" he said, his voice rising. "What did you do?"
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