Sea Dweller (Birthstone Series) (7 page)

I turned my attention to the
ocean. At night, it had always made me uneasy. Now, standing on its shore with
a Sea Gem in my hand, all sense of fear was lost. Instead, I longed to be
welcomed to its depths. 

For a moment, I stared at the
jewel in my palm, tracing it with my fingers. Comforted by the smooth coldness
of the rock pressing into my skin, I began to run toward the water. I moved
with more agility than ever before and with each breath, a gush of sweet, cool
air expanded my lungs.

When I reached the water’s
edge, a sound startled me. Pausing, I listened, thinking the noise of the
festival had carried in the breeze. But I was wrong. It was a lone human voice.
And it was much too near to be coming from the celebration.

I turned to see Sai running
desperately in my direction.  He called my name once and began to sprint
faster.

I gasped. I couldn’t let him
know about the stone! How could I trust him? And out of all people, he was the
last person I wanted to speak with at the moment.

Ignoring him, I turned again
to the water. It had a voice now and it called out to me with every wave that
broke over the sand. My toes touched a crest and I was surprised to feel they
too seemed to derive oxygen from the strange coating.

“Aylen, wait!” Sai hollered,
but the sounds of his feet pounding on wet, packed sand and his breath coming
in hard puffs didn’t sway me as they once would have. 

I stepped into the surf and
it washed over my calves and thighs, foamy white and warm. My legs seemed to
inhale with my lungs.

“Aylen, stop! I want to
talk!”

I didn’t turn to him. How
could I when the ocean’s language was so much more enticing? Instead, I closed
my eyes, smiled to myself, and dove into the sea.

Chapter 6

There is rhythm in all things
when you listen closely. The rustle of trees, the whoosh of wind, even the
unexpected squawk of a bird all move to their own beat. I could always find it
if I paid attention. The only rhythm I struggled to find was my own. While the
island seemed to shift and breathe to a steady pulse, I always felt as though I
was one measure off. No matter how hard I tried, the beat of my own heart
seemed to drown in the music of everything surrounding me.

That night, I found myself in
the rhythm of the sea.

It filled my ears and
encompassed my body, a steady, measured cadence. I breathed with it, felt it
pounding, thrumming behind my chest, and I closed my eyes, absorbing the
water’s movement as it embraced me.

I inhaled the air which
tasted sweet like a summer morning. It curled under my new skin and caressed my
old with gentle familiarity.
You belong here
, it told me. I was home.

I surged deeper into the
ocean, not knowing where I was going. Was it only yesterday I had been
uncomfortable in the water?
No!
I’d always been a part of it. The water
had beckoned and offered refuge before but I’d been deaf to its calls.

 I scanned the ocean floor and
was surprised to discover my sight was far better than I’d expected. Moonlight
danced above me, showering beams of silver under the surface and I swam into
them, marveling at the light they cast onto my skin. I was mystical. I was
beautiful.

For a while, I simply swam. I
drifted after strange fish and examined coral on the reefs. As I began to feel
more comfortable with my surroundings, I wondered if the stone affected my
strength. In the distance, a dolphin cruised through the water and with a
ripple of muscle, leaped out of the ocean and sliced back in, almost without a
splash. Could I maneuver myself with as much grace?

Pushing my body to the bottom
of the ocean floor, I breathed in deeply. With arms raised above my head, I
kicked with all of my strength, cut through the water, and glided swiftly
toward the surface.

Instantly I was out of the
water, soaring through the air, higher and higher. When I felt myself begin to
fall again, I twisted my body into an arc and cut into the surface like a
falling blade.

 I came to a stop somewhere
underwater and nearly squealed with delight. I had never felt so free in my
life. I had to try it again. Once more, I jumped and surged out of the water.
But still, it wasn’t enough. I needed to try a third time.

I spent the night like that,
jumping again and again, never tiring. Hours later, I finally remembered I had
a curfew.

Frantic I had missed it, I
shot to the surface to check the moon’s position.  I had about an hour before
my parents would begin worrying.

Scanning the shore to make
sure the beach was abandoned, my eyes fell on a lone figure watching the ocean
intently. It could only be Sai. And he was waiting for me.

Cursing, I dove back under
the surface and went through my options. I considered swimming down the coast a
ways and getting out of the water where he couldn’t see me. However, this would
put me further from my parent’s home. Besides, he would never believe I had
swum that far. I was already going to have to come up with some hefty lies if I
faced him tonight. Sighing and surprised that I could do that underwater, I
broke the surface again and scanned a place about fifty yards from where Sai
waited. Hurriedly, I dove under and began to make my way toward it. I would
surface there and hopefully, if the stone worked the way I thought it did, when
I mentally broke my connection with the sea, my body would return to normal.

When I realized the water was
nearly chest deep, I settled myself on the ocean floor. Closing my fist around
the stone, I tried to mentally distance myself from the water and the power I
felt from the stone. Several moments passed and the stone seemed to resist, but
finally, the second skin melted from my body. I wasn’t prepared to feel so
naked and air deprived. I thrust myself above the water’s surface with a gasp
and stood, my legs shockingly wobbly. Several minutes passed before my
trembling limbs could gather the energy to walk forward against the swirl of
the sea around me. By then, Sai had already spotted me and was running in my
direction.

“Go away,” I said to him,
knowing he wouldn’t actually obey my request.

“Where have you been? I
thought you’d killed yourself!” Sai splashed through the water, reaching for
me.

“Why in the name of Vairda
would I kill myself?” I pushed at him as he tried to grab my hand. When I
stumbled, Sai put his arm around my waist to steady me.

“You never came up for air. I
tried going in after you a couple of times, but I didn’t think I could find you
in the dark. What were you doing?” Sai pulled me onto the beach and I collapsed
there, exhausted. Without the gem’s power, I felt miserably human. Miserably
myself.

“Not that it’s any of your
business, but I needed a swim and found a place to be by myself for a while.”

Sai’s eyes scanned the ocean.
“Where?” His voice was skeptical.

I thought for a minute,
feigning gasps to stall for time. It would be a long shot but nearly three
hundred fifty paces down the beach was a small rock formation meeting the
water. There were several nooks I might have squeezed into for privacy. I
decided it was my only possibility.

“Over there,” I said,
pointing toward the rocks. I tried to sound exasperated, as though I couldn’t
believe he hadn’t figured it out for himself.

Sai’s eyebrows lifted. “You
swam that far and then came back again?”

I sat up and avoided his
stare. “I needed the exercise. Time to think without you around.”

“I never saw you surface,
Aylen.”

“It’s a big ocean, Sai. It’s
possible to miss things in the dark.” I forced myself to my feet and Sai
reluctantly followed.

“Aylen, this isn’t like you.
First you ignore me and take off for a swim in the middle of the night. No
offense, but you’ve never been a great swimmer. Then you disappear and I don’t
see you come up for air once. Then, out of nowhere, some strange creature starts
jumping out of the water . . .”

“You saw that?” I asked,
cutting him off.

“How could anyone miss it?”

“Strange, wasn’t it? Maybe it
was a deformed dolphin or something. Maybe one of the sea monsters in your
Vairdan legends.” I offered a weak laugh and began to stroll down the beach
toward my home, my hands still gripping the stone tightly. I silently prayed
its light wouldn’t seep through my fingers.

“I can’t believe after seeing
something like that you were willing to dive back in the water and swim all the
way to the other end of the beach. You’re always so scared of that kind of
thing.”

“Maybe you don’t know me as
well as you think you do.” I shrugged and kept walking.

“Everything about tonight has
been pretty out of character for you. Showing up at the festival was nothing
compared to what I just witnessed. Seriously Aylen, what’s going on with you?
What are you hiding?”

 Sai grabbed my arm, pulling
me to a stop. He looked down at me, his eyes lit with intensity. Normally, Sai
could have wrangled anything from me by looking at me that way. This time was
different.

“I don’t think,” I said,
meeting his eyes, “I’m the only one hiding something. In fact, you’ve been
hiding things from me for a long time.”

Sai’s shoulders slumped and
his grip on my arm relaxed. “Aylen, you haven’t given me a chance to explain.”

“Oh, haven’t I?” I
challenged. “How long have we been friends, Sai? How long have I trusted you
and believed you cared about me too? I think you’ve had plenty of time to let
me know you and Faema were together.” I paused, needing to take a breath. “I’m
surprised she let you and I spend as much time together as we have over the
last few weeks. Did you just keep telling her you needed more time?” I worked
to keep my voice steady. “I can hear it now. ‘Gotta let her down easy, Faema.
Maybe I’ll tell her about us this week. She’ll take it hard because she
actually thought she had a chance.’” My voice broke on the last word and I
shook my head, pulling my arm away. Again, I turned toward the trees, wishing they’d
swallow me the way the ocean had.

Undeterred, Sai matched my
pace. “Faema and I aren’t together, Aylen.”

“I don’t want to talk about
this, Sai. I want to be left alone.”

“You owe it to me to talk
this out,” Sai insisted.

“I don’t owe you anything. I
know what I saw tonight.”

“Aylen, it’s not like you to
get so worked up by something Faema does. You know how she is. You’re acting
like you’re jealous of her.”

I froze, fury pulsing through
my body.

“Jealous of Faema?” My voice
cracked and I gaped at him in shock. This time, he’d gone too far. Did he not
remember last year at all? My cheeks burned scarlet at the memory.

It had been the only time Sai
had so much as hinted at having more than just a friendly attachment to me.
We’d spent the day together, using vines to swing ourselves into one of the
island’s warm pools deep in the privacy of the jungle. After we’d worn
ourselves out, we collapsed on the soft, mossy ground, side by side. There we
spent hours shooting darts at random and impossible targets, laughing when we’d
miss each time. When we grew hungry, we climbed leafy, tangled tree branches in
search of fruit and nuts. Afterwards, we chucked twigs and nut husks at each
other while we ate and talked about everything. He told me about his parents’
expectations for his future. They were demands he didn’t want to meet. It was
the first and last time Sai told me he couldn’t imagine a life without me by
his side. Then, he dipped his head closer to kiss me.

He pulled away centimeters
before his lips touched mine and twisted his body into an awkward embrace,
leaving me breathless and empty. “You’re my best friend,” he’d said, as though
it would erase what he’d almost done. But it couldn’t be erased. I could allow
him to put off talking about it until he was ready, but it was always there,
hovering over us, an unanswered question.

Tonight however, I wondered
if he’d finally answered it when he’d kissed Faema. It was a kiss that should
have been mine. It had belonged to me for years.

“I can’t believe you would say
that,” I whispered. I hugged my gem tighter in my fist, wishing it could warm
me again. Every part of me had gone cold.

What did he expect? Of course
I was jealous of Faema. She seemed to get everything I had always been deprived
of and she was still cruel and mean spirited. It had bruised me to see Sai kiss
Faema after one night being with her. He was the one thing she wanted that I’d
thought she couldn’t steal. I’d always trusted Sai and counted on him to be
honest with me. Tonight, he’d traded my trust in him for a moment with Faema’s
lips.

“What can you possibly mean
by such a comment?” I asked, my voice growing stronger. Before he could answer
I shook my head, rethinking my response. “Never mind. Don’t answer. I’m tired
and I’m going home.” I turned again, stalking through the trees. Sai didn’t
follow this time.

“I don’t care about Faema,
Aylen!” he yelled after me.

I ignored him, rubbing my
eyes in exhaustion as I walked. The jungle fell silent except for the faint
sounds of the distant festival and I was grateful when Sai didn’t call out to
me again.

After I reached my hut, I
tied the gem in a flowing piece of fabric hanging from my dress and then
concealed the knot under several more layers of cloth. When I finally opened
the door, my parents were waiting anxiously for me. I’d expected no less.

“Your hair is wet,” my mother
observed immediately as I entered. “Why is your hair wet?”

“I left the festival a little
early and took a swim. I needed some time to think.” I sighed and collapsed
onto the floor.

“You didn’t stay at the
festival? We didn’t give you permission to leave unless you were coming home.”

“I’m sorry. I must have
missed that.”

“Aylen, why did you leave
early? What happened?” Dad crouched down and looked in my eyes, attempting to
read my expression.

I frowned, meeting his gaze.
“Sai escorted Faema, he kissed her, and then she tried to humiliate me in front
of everyone. I wasn’t ready to come home and it was still early so I took a
walk. The water was really calm tonight and I decided to swim for a bit to
gather my thoughts.” I fought the hot tears pooling in the corners of my eyes.

“Are you alright?” my mother
asked, moving closer to me. Her eyes were warm with compassion and she brushed
a few wet strands from my face.

“I’m fine. Sai and I are only
friends. I’m just surprised that he’d care for Faema out of all girls on the
island. She’s the last girl I would have picked for him.”

Dad studied me a moment. “Are
you sure?”

“Of course I am. I would have
picked a hundred other girls before I would have picked Faema.”