Submerging (Swans Landing)

by Norris, Shana

  Domnall blinked. “I thought you did not care for him.”

  “Not caring for him doesn’t mean I think you should amputate his leg!”

  “Then perhaps we can make a deal.” Domnall’s voice was solemn, his gaze burning into me.

  “What kind of a deal?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

  “I could be convinced to release Callum,” Domnall said. “Into your care.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Callum has already atoned for his earlier crimes. Breaking banishment is much more innocent than murder and treason. I could be convinced to overlook this incident and let Callum remain under your supervision during your stay here.”

  Domnall’s words swirled in my head for a moment. “During our stay?” I asked. “Does that mean you’re letting us leave the island? When we want?”

  He held his hands out to me, palms up. “I am not a tyrant, Sailor. I am merely trying to protect and lead my people into a brighter future. I will not stop those who wish to leave our shores. I only ask for the chance to bring back those who are lost, those who wish to return home.”

  His words sounded rational. There were others in Swans Landing who had mentioned wanting to go back to our ancestral home. Not everyone was happy among the humans. Shouldn’t they have the chance to come to Hether Blether if they wanted it?

  “The finfolk who don’t want to come here, you’ll leave them alone?” I asked.

  Domnall’s smile spread and he didn’t look away from me as he said, “You have my word that anyone who wishes to stay behind will have that opportunity.” He stepped forward and reached for my hand, squeezing it tight in his. “You have the chance to save both Callum and this island. We will forever be indebted to you. Think about it, Sailor. You could have anything you want in return. Money, power.” He stepped toward me, reaching up to brush his fingers over my cheek. “A family. Is that not what you came all this way to find?”

  I swallowed, taking a deep breath as I thought over my options. I could leave Callum to spend the rest of his life without legs, or I could free him. I could keep Swans Landing hidden from Domnall and let Hether Blether die, or I could help the finfolk race secure their future. I could live happily in Hether Blether with Mama, far away from the humans who hated me and memories of a life I was robbed of living. Maybe I could even convince Grandma to come here too, once she heard Mama was here.

  What had Swans Landing ever given me?

  I let out a long breath. There was really only one option.

  * * *

  Josh stood quickly when I entered the suite with Callum at my heels. His eyes widened as he looked between the two of us. “How?” was all he said.

  “Domnall agreed to let Callum go,” I said.

  The sun was beginning to set over the western sky. Through the window, I could see the clouds and mist turning red-gold. I had refused to leave Callum’s room until he could walk out with me. It had taken a couple of hours for the woodcarver to create and fit Callum with a new prosthetic. It was cruder than the one he’d had before; apparently, finfolk medicine wasn’t as advanced as the human world. But he could stand again and walk, and it filled me with pride that I could help him.

  Though Callum didn’t exactly look appreciative of that help. I glanced his away, but still, his face was twisted into a scowl.

  “She shouldn’t have freed me,” Callum said. He walked across the room and sat down at the table where Josh had been sitting before we’d entered. He stretched his prosthetic before him, rubbing the place where the wooden leg was secured to his flesh.

  “Sorry,” I snapped, crossing my arms. “I didn’t know you wanted to stay locked up forever. I’m sure Domnall will let you go back to your room.”

  Callum scowled through the hair that had fallen in front of his eyes as he leaned over. “Domnall doesn’t do favors. You had to give him something he wanted in return.”

  Josh’s gaze snapped to me. “What did he want, Sailor?”

  “He wanted to know where Swans Landing is,” I said.

  Josh gasped, his face paling of all color. “I can’t believe you did that.” He stomped across the floor toward me. “You’ve put everyone in danger, do you realize that? Do you ever even stop and think before you do things? Do you think about anyone other than yourself?”

  “I do think about something other than myself!” Tears blurred my vision, but I would not let them fall. I squeezed my fists at my sides, my jaw tight. “If I didn’t give Domnall what he wanted, he was going to sentence Callum for breaking his banishment.”

  “I’ve been sentenced before,” Callum told me. “I can deal with Domnall.”

  “He was going to cut off your leg,” I said. “He would make sure you couldn’t ever swim back to Hether Blether. Make it so you couldn’t swim at all.”

  Silence hung in the room after my words. Josh’s face had paled and he looked ashamed. Good. I hoped he was ashamed of what he’d said about me.

  Callum’s scowl had disappeared. He swallowed, opened and closed his mouth, then opened it again and finally spoke. “Thank you,” he said, “for what you did. But you didn’t have to sacrifice your home for me. I can’t live with the knowledge that my freedom comes at the price of your people. My life isn’t worth theirs.”

  My chin quivered slightly, but I gritted my teeth harder and crossed my arms tight over my chest. “Yeah, well, you’re welcome anyway.”

  I stomped to my room, slamming the door behind me. It shouldn’t have upset me, the way everyone automatically assumed the worst about me. I should have been used to it.

  I scrubbed my eyes at the sound of the knock on the door. It creaked open slightly and Josh stuck his head in.

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  I shrugged, keeping my gaze locked on the shells embedded into the wall near my bed.

  I heard him shuffle across the floor and then his weight caused me to shift a little on the mattress.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have said those things.”

  “Yes, you should,” I said. “I’m a screw up. My entire existence is a mistake that should never have happened.”

  “That’s not true,” Josh stated. “You’re my sister. And I know you being here means my dad had an affair, but I don’t blame you. It doesn’t affect how I see you.”

  I snorted. “You’re the only one who thinks that way then.”

  “No, I’m not,” Josh said. “Miss Gale thinks that way. So does Dylan.”

  I closed my eyes, thinking about Grandma and Dylan, four thousand miles away on the other side of the ocean. I missed them so much. It had been too long since I’d seen them.

  “I wish I could open my eyes and be home again,” I said.

  “Me too,” Josh said softly.

  But when I opened my eyes, we still sat in my room in the palace in Hether Blether.

  It was just as well. If I went back to Swans Landing, I’d still be in the same situation I’d always been in. It would never change, never get better. Maybe Hether Blether was where our people belonged. Maybe Domnall could help us all.

  “So,” Josh said, “did you really tell Domnall how to find Swans Landing?”

  “I had no choice,” I said. “He wouldn’t have let Callum go if I didn’t.”

  Josh frowned. “What does he plan to do once he gets there?”

  I shrugged. “He wants to talk to the finfolk and ask them to come back to Hether Blether. That’s not such a bad thing. I’m sure there may be some who would like to come here.”

  Josh closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s not just us or the finfolk back home we have to worry about, Sailor.”

  “He promised he wouldn’t hurt anyone,” I said.

  “But what did he say about the humans?” asked another voice.

  Josh and I looked toward the door, where Callum leaned against the frame.

  “What?” I asked.

  “What did Domnall say he would do to the humans he found?” Call
um asked in a quiet voice.

  “Nothing. He didn’t say anything about the humans.”

  “Did you get his vow that he wouldn’t harm them?”

  Something prickled along my scalp, a coldness racing down my spine. “No, I didn’t ask about the humans.”

  Callum looked grave. “Remember I told you not to let anyone here know you have human blood? Domnall blames humans for everything that has gone wrong in Hether Blether these last centuries. The only reason he doesn’t go to Westray or anywhere else near here is because he knows he’s outnumbered. But in your home, if there are finfolk already living there, perhaps he thinks he has a chance.”

  “A chance to do what?” Josh asked.

  “A chance to rid finfolk of the human taint,” Callum told him. “Domnall wants to take over human lands, take back what the humans once took from us.”

  “And what will he do to the humans?” I asked.

  Callum gestured toward his leg. “Domnall couldn’t kill me because killing a fellow finfolk is the greatest sin our kind can commit. But that doesn’t mean he feels the same way about humans.”

  Josh’s face was so white he looked as if he might pass out. What would Domnall do if my directions led him toward a human city?

  And if Domnall found out Josh and I had human blood, how worthy would he consider us?

  Josh leaned forward, his fists clenched in his lap. “This isn’t good. We have to do something”

  “What can we do?” I asked.

  I looked at both Callum and Josh, but neither of them looked as though they had any answers.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Callum and I were quiet as we followed the path from the palace toward the village square. He had been desperate to get out of the palace and he sucked in deep breaths as he walked, lifting his face toward the hazy sun overhead.

  I couldn’t help watching him from the corner of my eye. I ducked my head a little so Callum couldn’t see the flush that crept up my neck. We hadn’t talked about what had happened between us, mostly because we hadn’t had time alone. It was hard to get any privacy with Josh around. He had stayed behind to try to catch fish on the beach under our suite again. This walk was the first moment Callum and I had been alone since Domnall had freed him.

  I cleared my throat once, but then I couldn’t think of anything to say. The words I wanted to say wouldn’t come out.

  Callum took a deep breath, and I thought he might speak. My heartbeat quickened as I waited.

  But he said nothing.

  I cleared my throat again. “How is your leg?” I asked.

  “It’s fine,” Callum said. “It will get me where I want to go.” He limped noticeably, and the tight line of his mouth let me know the crudely carved prosthetic was not like the one he was used to.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “For everything. It’s all my fault.”

  He smirked. “Aye, it is.”

  I clamped my mouth shut, stung. He didn’t have to sound so angry about it. I had apologized already. I’d gotten him out of his prison. Didn’t that count for anything?

  “But,” Callum went on, “what has happened has happened, and neither of us can change it. So there is no reason to dwell on it, no reason to keep apologizing. I could have left Hether Blether that day on the beach. I could have stayed in the water or tried to swim back to Westray. It’s as much my own doing that I ended up here as it is yours.”

  Birds chirped in the trees around us. The morning was still misty and gray, with a slight chill to the air. I wrapped my arms around myself for warmth.

  “So are we going to talk about what happened?” I asked.

  “I thought we were talking about what happened,” he said, with a small smile.

  My cheeks burned. “I mean, you know. The kiss.”

  “Ah.” Callum shrugged. “I thought you were unable to resist my natural charms.”

  I scoffed. “I think you’re the one with the problem. You practically threw yourself all over me.”

  “I am in perfect control of myself,” Callum said. “You, on the other hand, have already shown that you act without thinking.”

  I scowled and then walked faster, leaving him behind. I didn’t care that he struggled with the wooden prosthetic. Let him suffer while trying to catch up with me. I wasn’t some sex-crazed girl who threw herself at pathetic guys.

  “Sailor,” Callum called behind me. “I was joking.”

  But I didn’t slow down. I kept walking fast, and once we reached the village, I turned and headed straight for the market wagons. I refused to look back to see how far behind Callum was.

  The sight of the colorful rhubarb and berries in one wagon made my stomach growl. I breathed in the sweet scent, thankful to smell something other than fish, though there was plenty of it too in another wagon.

  I noticed a group of people in the center of the square and walked closer to see what had their attention. A hand on my elbow stopped me.

  “Stay back,” Callum told me. “Don’t draw attention to yourself.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  But I spotted a familiar face through a break in the crowd that made my stomach twist. Artair, Domnall’s guardsman, stood in the center of the group.

  “We are asking for all healthy, able-bodied finfolk to accompany us on this journey,” Artair said in a thundering voice. “It will not be easy, and you will be away from home for a long time. But it is our duty to find our lost brethren and to save them from the human world. Our survival depends on their survival. Bringing the lost ones home will make Hether Blether strong again. It will reopen the way to Finfolkaheem. We will ensure the survival of our race.”

  Cold sweat beaded along my skin as Artair’s words sank into my head.

  “Domnall isn’t wasting any time,” Callum said grimly.

  “So he really intends to go out and look for the other finfolk,” I said. A part of me had hoped Domnall would decide the trip was too dangerous to actually do and he’d never try it.

  “He does,” Callum said softly. “And that means your people are in more danger than you know. Either Domnall will actually find someone when he follows the directions you gave him, or else he’ll find out you lied and he will not let you go unpunished.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “So what should I do?”

  Callum turned me around, still gripping my elbow tight. We hurried back across the square toward the path to the palace. “You need to go home. As soon as possible. Get out of here before Domnall begins his journey so he can’t follow you. Go back to where you came from and warn your people about what may come. I don’t think Domnall will give up until he finds what he wants.”

  I stopped, pulling my arm from his grasp. “What about you?” I asked.

  “What about me?” Callum gestured toward his leg. “I’m not whole, Sailor. I can’t even change forms anymore. I could never make the swim with you. Get your brother and go. Don’t worry about me.”

  I dug my nails into my palms, trying to hold back tears that stung my eyes. “I’m not leaving you here. Not after what Domnall has already done to you.”

  “Sailor—”

  But Callum was cut off by the approach of an older man with thin graying hair. A deep scowl was etched into the lines on his face.

  “Murderer,” he said. Then he spat at Callum’s feet.

  A woman passing by stopped to glare at Callum. “Traitor,” she growled. “You are unfit to be called finfolk.”

  I stepped in front of Callum. “Leave him alone,” I said.

  Callum put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine, Sailor. Let them say what they want to say.”

  “No.” I glared at the man and woman. “They can’t treat you like this.”

  The two turned their angry glares toward me as other people passing by stopped to watch too. Soon there would be a crowd of angry finfolk around us.

  “Let’s go,” Callum said. I let him pull me away from the square. The finfolk parted to allow us to pass
, but when I glanced over my shoulder, they still stared after us.

  “Are you all right?” Callum asked softly.

  “What was that?”

  Callum shook his head. “Just their own fear.”

  I pulled him to a stop in front of me. I looked up into his bright green eyes, refusing to break his gaze. “Callum, if you want me to help you and get out of here, you have to be honest with me. You have to tell me exactly what happened to cause your banishment.”

  Callum studied me for a long time. Finally, he nodded. “All right. Follow me.”

  * * *

  We stood on a large dune, beyond the village. We had almost walked all the way back to where we had first arrived on the island. I wasn’t sure how long ago that had been. Weeks, maybe a month?

  Morning mist still hung over the ocean on this part of the beach. The cold wind whipped at my hair and the robe Domnall had provided me with. I looked like any other finfolk girl in Hether Blether. But my eyes scanned the hazy horizon far out at sea, looking for the place I knew I could never see from here.

  Maybe it was time to go home, but I couldn’t leave without Callum or my mama. Neither of them were in a condition to survive swimming that far.

  “I used to come here to watch the sunset with my sister,” Callum said.

  His cheeks were rosy in the cold air. “Pearl?” I asked, remembering the name of the person he had once compared me to.

  He nodded. “She was older than me by several years. Our parents died when I was seven. A virus hit Hether Blether back then and a lot of finfolk died. I almost died along with my parents, but Pearl nursed me back to health. Our grandparents, an aunt, two uncles, and a cousin all died as well. And so then, it was just the two of us. Pearl raised me.”

  “So what happened?” I asked. “What does this have to do with...” My voice trailed off as a thought hit me and I sucked in a sharp breath as a chill spread through me. “Did you...you murdered your sister?”

  “No.” Callum’s green eyes bored into mine. “No. She meant everything to me.” His voice cracked and his chin quivered slightly.