The Glimmering Sea

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

He wore Oriana's necklace. She had left it in Thalassa and it had become Cassia's bond-necklace. Torquato and Rinaldo agreed it should be hers again. Neither wanted the memories it held.

≈Without your effort to bring the Terran threat to our attention, Marea might not have survived. I need you to know how much we—I—appreciate your decision to come here before you knew how Thalassa's fate was tied ours through the villainy of Stavlakis. Isabetta told me of the strength you provided her and my mother. It comforts me to know they were not alone.≈

≈I would do it again without hesitation. To witness your success was what I hoped for. I had many conversations with Celestina. I'm afraid she learned I had another reason for traveling to Marea. When I heard from Torquato that Rinaldo would be forever Terran, I assumed, perhaps...but then a miracle happened for him.≈

Armida kissed him on the cheek. ≈Not a miracle. Just our nature. But whether his return is a joyous thing for Rinaldo is unknown. He grapples with his actions and has not found peace. He will perhaps aid you in rebuilding Thalassa.≈

≈It has brought the two of you back together. He will find happiness with you.≈

≈Rinaldo will always hold a special place in my heart but much has happened. We are not...≈ Armida couldn't finish the sentence. She wasn't ready to say the words. Her peace remained elusive as well. She had been through too much loss.

≈I will not push you to travel to Thalassa with us. Though Delfina would've been happy for a visit. You will always be welcome in my home. And Cassia will want to wrap you in honors once she learns she can return to merform.≈

≈ And you will be welcome in Marea. Let us return to have our final meal.≈

They swam in companionable silence as the sunlight traced a dappled path through the kelp forest.

Armida dreamed of what she might do next. She had learned much about the immense lands of the world when she was in Venice. Maybe she'd go to Africa, to Egypt. She'd heard of their written language etched into stone like in the Library of the Antichi. Or perhaps she'd venture past Spain, leave the Mediteranneo, and scout for others like Liath. She had time but not forever. She had been asked to step into the role of Custodian and would need to give the Tribunale her answer.

✧✧✧

Armida had intended to travel with Rinaldo and the others until reaching Ziphra's homecave. But she and Rinaldo were not ready. They'd had a moment, a shared glance when Armida saw the yearning in Rinaldo's eyes, yet where once had been softness, there was now steel. What was left between them felt hard and impenetrable. She and Ziphra would travel alone.

Rinaldo needed to understand his Thalassan heritage. He wanted time to examine his legacy. Time without Armida. It hurt but Armida understood.

Their love had always been about parting. Her heart was strong enough to let go and survive. In the end, neither said goodbye.

Armida looked forward to honoring the original Ziphra by visiting her cave. Her daughter was pregnant and needed to return to string her eggs as every Ziphra had. Before they left, Ziphra wanted one thing: to play with Nudger and Warbler.

≈Your role as a conduit will fade as our contact lessens. Soon I will not hear the words of Nudger and Warbler. I want to have the play with your dolphin friends to soften the memory of Traveler. I won't erase it, for it would mislead future Ziphras as to the natural predatory relationship. But I don't want the memory linked with you. You carry enough guilt.≈

Armida and Ziphra met the dolphins beyond the Watcher Station. Armida tossed the kelp ball to Warbler, who bounced it a few times on her nose. She batted the ball over Ziphra's head but forgot to calculate the long reach of her tentacles.

The giggles of merpups stopped the play temporarily. Armida coaxed them out of their hiding spot near a rock outcropping, and they flipped about with excitement to join in a game of Fish-in-the-Middle. Paolo lingered at a distance, watching warily.

Armida broke away to take his hand to encourage him to take part, but she did not force him. She saw the wounds and wistfulness on his face and hugged him gently. He would need to find his own time, his own way.

When Ziphra, not knowing the rules, refused to yield the kelp ball, Nudger charged. Ziphra disappeared in a smoky ink cloud.

The tension in Paolo lessened with a hint of a smile. But he remained with Armida and twisted the pink and white Parian marbles Armida had strung on a necklace for him. Maybe she would take him to Thalassa to show him where they had come from.

And she knew in that bittersweet moment what she would do. Paolo would join her and travel with Ziphra. To see the world beyond Marea. There was a shipwreck she wanted to show him.