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My knot came loose at the first tug. The sheets freed, the cable flew from my hand. I dropped to avoid the hard swing of the sail’s boom a secondtime. One of the drones rolled into my ankle, knocking me sideways into a pool of blood. Sticky, syrupy, slimy. My stomach contracted as I pushed onto all fours, creeping to the stern and hauling myself up over the railing for a better view.

The Ceruleangave a pained creak, swaying over the rock with every surge of the tide below. Theia burn me, I’d meant to rent a hole in the keel, not run the ship aground. We were in plain view here, all but begging for the next merchant to stop and investigate what had happened. Hand out, I called to the sea. Pushed the water under the keel, cushioning it between wood and rock. And guided more in.

Bit by bit, the ship wiggled away.

Something wet dripped from my jaw. Blood smeared as I wiped it with the side of my arm. I gave an involuntary shudder, focusing again on the surf, gradually pushingThe Ceruleanaway from land. The blue in the water deepened as the sea floor widened below.

The boom swung a third time, but I ducked out of the way, searching for my canvas bag. Everything had shifted in the aftermath of the crash. Crates weren’t where they’d been when we’d disembarked. Barrels lay on their sides, one of them leaking wine in loudglub-glub-glubs. More dark fluid spilling across the deck.

The water below was deep enough now to hide the ship, though the sea had taken over my job, pullingThe Ceruleanwith each shove of the undertow. I checked the benches, the masts, the staircase to the hold. The waves reached higher along the keel, the starboard side listing against the surface. The ship would soon capsize, the railing on the right of the stern visibly lower than that of the left. I ground my teeth as the captain’s body swept across the deck, splashing into the water.

At my hip, my hand found Selena’s book, still tied with burlap to my sash. At least that was safe. Though I’d love to find my bag—

The winds changed.

The boom ripped to the side.

I heard it just before it struck me, a hammer against the back of my head.

For a moment, the world snapped to black.

One single moment.

I opened my eyes, and a field of stars blew across my vision. Behind them, the blinding rays of the sun so bright I could only squint.

Seawater lapped at my hair. It lifted the skirts of my dress, wrapping the fabric around my legs. I rolled onto a hip, sluggish. And realized I was floating.

The Ceruleanexisted only above the surface, the curve of the port-side railing breaching the water like some strange bridge to nothing. I’d planned to stay human as long as possible before transitioning to my tail and dashing through the sea to Leihani’s shore.

Mother moon knew how long I’d already sat here in the water.

Sidra knew, too.

The bodies were gone. My sword was gone. Debris drifted around me, a detritus of broken wood and rope.

With a small gulp, the Nahli Channel swallowed what remained ofThe Cerulean.I watched it sink below. Now full of water, the sea hungrily dragged it down like a monster waiting in the depths. A barrel floated nearby, and I grabbed its edge, summoning fins and scales, giving the water a cautious swish. My eyelids drooped, my arms heavy. Instinct swirled in my bones.Get out of the water. She’ll find you. She’ll find you.

But as I fought the rhythmic wash of the tide, I couldn’t bring power to my limbs. I’d caused the death of an entire crew, and the sea sought its revenge.

Either that or Sidra loomed somewhere below. Calling the water to slowly drown me.

A noise met my ears. A voice.

A canoe drifted from the center of a channel along the reef of that second island. Neris. The volcano island where Sidra’s stone rested.

I could just make out the shape of a man throwing nets into the water. He was singing, though his song was more of a chant. Carefree. Happy.

I pushed toward him, one fluke’s thrust at a time. Waves washed over my head, my fingers loose along the barrel’s rim, a small quake in my arms. Maybe I’d been hit harder than I realized. Maybe I’d been full of adrenaline, caught now in the consequence of its retreat. Maybe it was the initial kiss of cursed blood. My body settling the first score as I abandoned my vows.

I heard him gasp when he finally saw me. A chain of Leihaniian words I couldn’t understand, though intuition made me wonder if he was swearing. He stood between his oars, paddling to reach me. A sigh of relief unfolded from my chest when the smooth surface of his little boat came to a rest beside my shoulder. I cracked an eye against the bright sun to better look at him, but he was already leaning over the edge of his canoe, arm wrapping around my waist, hauling me up over the side.

I didn’t realize I was cold until he pulled me into his lap, resting my head against his chest and sweeping wet hair from my eyes. Heat blazed from his skin to mine. He was still talking. Asking me what happened. Where I’d come from. If I was hurt. I stared at the tattoos painted into his arm. Hard lines and stacked triangles, more pattern than picture, the ink so black his skin glowed. His long, dark hair fell over my forehead, but he shook it away.

Theia in the stars, he was warm.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

Ceba, I mouthed. That was my name.