The Glimmering Sea

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Could she let go of her doubts? Return to the fold like a good merpup? Armida hardened herself with the awareness that conforming was already an impossibility.

Her future was no future at all.

✧✧✧

Paolo darted toward her like a seal on its dinner. ≈Armida! You're home!≈

≈Paolo! How happy I am you are here to greet me.≈

A whisper of distress flickered in Paolo's eyes. ≈I was afraid you wouldn't come back.≈

Armida hugged Paolo tightly. Her fingers brushed her necklace. ≈Your gift kept me safe and reminded me of you always.≈

Paolo laughed when she tickled under his chin.

Baskets of food rested on stone slab tables. Salvaged wineskins held freshwater and hung from ceiling hooks. The banquet was to celebrate the completion of the Rites and to honor the Initiates who had pledged their service as citizens.

Armida's mind cluttered with the earlier visions that had carried her from sea to land and back again. Apprehension about a Terran destiny coursed through her. Her chest was tight with doubt. Her appetite vanished; she did not eat the delicate white shrimp, so rare because they hid well, and their barbs made shelling them a cautious, tedious task. They were a favorite when served with tender seagrass shoots.

Until the Metamorphean Rites, Armida had never had freshwater, but on the Isolotto di Nuovi, she had learned to love it. Short sips calmed her stomach, so she finished the contents of one skin with dispatch and finally managed a few bites of shrimp.

Faro's gaze radiated contentment. Armida was glad she'd shared only a limited account of her visions. She was certain her parents otherwise would have drawn the same conclusion she had—that she was condemned to leave the ocean and find her mission on Terra.

≈Thank you for joining us. And thank you Mother and Father for this feast.≈ Armida threw her arms out to emphasize their dining hall, the largest in Marea, and now filled with guests. Over the past days, she'd seen her home in new ways, once the shelter of her childhood but now a prison of expectation.

Celestina smiled though Armida saw through it to the skepticism. ≈You are most welcome, Little Jewel.≈ Her smile broadened but seemed more pointed than usual. ≈If I may still call you that.≈

Armida said nothing because there were no good options. Either she'd voice acceptance of the false affection or add to the perception she was an inconsiderate daughter. A pinched face and rigid posture replaced Celestina's soft demeanor.

Celestina pulled herself away from the table. ≈The completion of Armida's Metamorphean Rites is not the full honor given to our home today. Her father and I have the great pleasure of hosting an important visitor from Thalassa. We were uncertain of his exact arrival, but we have learned it is imminent.≈

Armida sensed flutters of surprise, some troubled, from their guests.

Celestina drew her eyebrows together. ≈Armida, close your mouth lest a sea worm make a home there.≈

With both annoyance and embarrassment, Armida snapped her mouth closed.

Will she treat me as a child forever?

Everyone turned to the outer passage when the currents trembled enough to sway the water bags.

Celestina greeted the Thalassan. ≈Erastus! I am Celestina. Welcome to our homecave. Speaking for all Marea, we value your presence and thank you for traveling these many weeks from such a distance.≈

Erastus surveyed the hall. ≈ I am pleased to meet you after the many communications between Thalassa and Marea. It is I who is honored to be among friends such as the Mareans.≈

≈Let me introduce my husband, Faro, and my daughter, Armida.≈

Faro's nervous laughter pricked at Armida's mindpath. He prepared a small basket of food for Erastus. ≈Please join us. Sit here between Armida and me.≈

≈Thank you, Faro. It is my fortune to be seated by such a lovely mermaid.≈

Although he was a Thalassan diplomat from the colony in the Aegeano on the eastern side of Terre dell' Est, spikes of concern shot through Armida. Her mother had been behind efforts to ease tensions through a treaty with Thalassa but had shared little about the details. She did not miss that the handsome Thalassan took his place next to her with a finesse equaling her mother's.

Erastus engaged her with a friendly smile. ≈We Thalassans live in warmer waters, although it is not as cool here as I expected.≈

≈My father can provide you with a winter hammock for your stay should you want one. I will make mention to him. I am curious, have you any issues with warming temperatures?≈ His purple eyes—leaping from the background of his orange skin and scales—riveted Armida.

≈Issues? What do you mean? It's not too warm as to overheat us and we've adapted over millennia to our home.≈

≈And it's not changed at all?≈

≈How should we judge changes over such a vast span?≈ Erastus looked baffled.

Armida nodded to avoid further discussion. It had been pointless to raise the topic.

Erastus turned to Faro. ≈Might I ask your permission to take a tour of Marea later with Armida as my guide?≈

≈You need permission from Armida, not me. But I'm confident you will find her entertaining. You'll accompany Erastus, Armida?≈

≈Of course, Father. I am always eager for an evening swim.≈ Armida was not ignorant of what the suggestion meant. Her father was responsible for matchmaking. They were offering someone suitable. As a future bond-mate. As a diplomatic deposit. Thalassa would find it difficult to turn down requests for assistance if there was a marital alliance.

They think I'm blind.

She dared not glance at Rinaldo to study his reaction.