Sea Spell (Waterfire Saga #4)(35)

Sera cast a transparensea pearl. “I love you, too, Mahdi. Always.”

And then she was gone. Out of the window, out of the palace, heading for the north gate.

Desiderio and Yazeed were waiting for her there. Sera issued a series of dolphinlike clicks, and they clicked back. Then the three fighters swam fast, heading for open water.

None of them spoke until they’d left Scaghaufen far behind, then Des said, “I know you’re hurting, and I’m sorry. But it’ll be okay, Sera. Mahdi’s smart. He’s strong. He’ll survive.”

Sera thought about the long swim ahead of them, and the fact that Guldemar had given them nothing. She thought about the spy who was still in their midst, and the weapons and troops they lacked. She thought about the long, cold swim to the Southern Sea.

Then she laughed wearily and said, “Yeah, Des. But will we?”





“WE’RE USING SCRAP METAL salvaged from wrecks to reinforce the supply wagons,” Becca explained to Sera, pointing to a pile of twisted steel. “The goblins heat it, then nail it to the sides of the wagons. The tough part is getting the metal hot enough to bend. Our songcasters are having trouble getting their waterfire to burn high enough,” Becca said.

Sera frowned at this. “No luck finding a lava seam yet?” she asked.

Becca shook her head. “No, but I’m still on it. I won’t give up. Come on, the actual building site’s this way,” she said, motioning to Sera to follow her.

The two mermaids were in the westernmost part of the camp, where wagons that would transport the Black Fins’ supplies during their swim to the Southern Sea were being built. Two burly goblins walked a short distance behind them. Ever since Mahdi had told Sera, Des, and Yaz that Portia’s spy was also an assassin, Des had insisted that bodyguards accompany Sera everywhere.

Sera had come to the edge of the camp to see how the work was proceeding, but there was another reason she was out here: she needed to get Becca alone.

Sera had noticed tension between Becca and Ling back at headquarters, and she’d asked Ling about it. Ling had admitted that things were strained between them. “We had a bit of a blowup,” she’d said.

As Sera listened to Ling’s explanation, her concern had deepened to worry. The Becca in Ling’s account, so defensive and touchy, didn’t sound like Becca at all.

“Something’s wrong. Really wrong,” she’d said to Ling.

“I know. Becca’s hurting. It scares me. And not just for her sake,” Ling had said. “Sera, what if…what if she—”

Ling didn’t have to finish her sentence; Sera took her meaning. “No way, Ling. I don’t believe it.”

“Don’t or won’t?” Ling had asked, giving her a penetrating look.

“Don’t. Won’t. Can’t. Ever,” Sera had said. “A little while ago, I lost faith in myself. It nearly did me in. You helped me swim back from the brink. Now it’s my turn to help Becca. Because if the six of us lose faith in one another, we’ve lost everything. Becca’s not the spy. I know she’s not. But something’s not right. And I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

Sera had swum through the camp to find Becca. Now that she had her, she was looking for an opening, a way to broach what was sure to be a difficult topic.

“Of course, after the wagons are built, we need to fill them,” Becca said with a sigh. “We’re still low on ammo, even with the shipment from the N?kki. I’m worried about that, Sera.”

Sera saw the opening she needed. She plunged in. “Becca, I’m worried about you.”

Becca laughed. She looked startled, and a little self-conscious. “Me? Why? I’m totally fine.”

“No, you’re not. You’re not yourself. Something’s bothering you. I wish you’d tell me what it is.”

“Really, Sera, there’s nothing to tell. Sure, I’ve got stress, but who doesn’t?” She smiled as she spoke, but the smile was forced, even desperate. “I mean, we’re getting the entire resistance ready to swim to the Southern Sea. There’s a lot to do, and—”

The two mermaids were still swimming. They were almost at the work site now. Sera stopped. She took her friend’s hand and looked her in the eye. “Becca,” she said gently, “whatever it is, you can tell me. You know that, don’t you?”

Becca turned away. She looked desperate, like a creature who’d been cornered. Sera could see that she was struggling with herself. She wanted to talk but couldn’t. Something was holding her back.

Finally, she spoke, but the words were not what Sera wanted to hear.

“Hey. Wow. Would you look at that? I can’t believe those guys,” she exclaimed, pulling her hand free of Sera’s. “I swear, sometimes I feel like I have to do everything myself.” She darted off to the work site.

Sera, heaving a sigh of frustration, followed her. She soon saw that the goblins who were supposed to be building wagons weren’t sawing or hammering or doing much of anything. Instead they were standing in a semicircle, staring at the shallow pit they’d dug. It would be used to contain the waterfire needed to heat scrap metal, but it clearly wasn’t deep enough. Some of the goblins had their hands on their hips. Others were rubbing their chins or scratching their heads. By the time Sera caught up with her friend, Becca had picked up a shovel.