Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

"Ryn!" Nireed laughed, ducking as her nephew swung a wooden, child-sized trident. "Slow down. You're better at this than I."

Ryn pouted, pausing to sign one-handed. "You're supposed to block."

Nireed had the other toy trident in the pair Aersila had crafted for her son. The wood, already slick and worn by algae and time, wouldn't hold up for more than a few more years. But by then, Ryn would be ready for the real thing, a project Aersila was already working on, traveling past the continental shelf and thousands of feet down to forge it in deep sea volcanic vents.

"I panicked. You're a fierce warrior, you know."

Ryn beamed, mismatched rows of sharp teeth on display. He was losing his baby teeth, the adult fangs crowding in, fighting for dominance. It gave him an adorably shark-like appearance. Teeth aside, the youngster shared the features of the Emera-line: gold-flecked amber eyes, dark brown hair, a silver tail and fins slashed with orange. Just like his mother, his aunt, and grandmother before him.

"Come here, Ryn." Her sister signed, bioluminescence flashing to get her son's attention.

The boy swam to Aersila's side, an endearing mix of eager and shy—eager, for his mother's affection. Shy, for the newness of that bond. They'd only just recently come back into each other's lives.

Aquilus was spectating, too, but at a notable distance from her sister. And yet, despite the tense chasm between them, he smiled as Aersila gently took Ryn's hands, bringing them closer together.

Once satisfied that his hands were where they needed to be, Aersila signed, "Remember, shoulders width apart. Increases stability and…"

"Lowers risk of injury," Ryn finished.

"Yes, very good." Aersila patted him on the shoulder. It was a little stiff, but not for a lack of affection—her sister was still acclimating to her mothering role—and Ryn ducked his head in response, hiding another smile. He didn't seem to mind his mother's well-intended but awkward gestures.

A tap on the shoulder brought Nireed's attention back to Aquilus. While she was watching her sister and nephew, he'd swum up beside her, his golden scales glinting with every ripple of movement. "May I?" he signed, pointing to the wooden trident in her hands.

Smiling, she nodded, handing it over.

It looked comical in his hands, but he swooped in proudly, tangling the toy's prongs with Ryn's, winning bubbling laughter from his adopted son. They clashed again and again, their unfettered joy suffusing the water around them.

"Aquilus!" Aersila scolded with the sharp slap of her hands. "You're holding your hands too close!"

Flashing a winsome smile, he signed one-handed, "Not trying to beat up our kid."

A golden, bioluminescent hue illuminated Aersila's cheeks, but she recovered quickly, her response adorably grumpy. "He won't learn if you hold back."

"Then come over here and show me." There was a hint of wicked edge to that request, almost a challenge, and Nireed couldn't help but smirk at Aersila's huffy expression.

"Show him! Show him!" Ryn pleaded. And if Nireed wasn't wrong, there was a little mischief in the boy's smile, too.

A stream of bubbles erupted from Aersila's mouth as she sighed and swam behind Aquilus, reaching around him to adjust his grip. Despite the irritable twitch to her fins, her touch was gentle, and dare Nireed say, lingering.

Ryn stared at the pair, thin arms wrapped around his trident in a hug—a child's longing for his blood mother and father-by-circumstance to get together and unite their family of three. It made Nireed's chest tighten. She hoped beyond hope that her nephew would get his wish.

Once trident lessons ended, Aquilus left with Ryn in tow, it being his turn to keep the boy overnight, leaving the sisters alone.

"I'm sorry," Aersila signed when it was just the two of them.

"For what?"

"For making you feel like I didn't believe in you. I do believe in you, but sometimes, despite our capabilities, we still get hurt. I mean, just look at me. I've a long history of bad consequences for my risk-taking."

"I know you don't want to see me hurt," Nireed conceded. "You wouldn't be much of a sister if you did."

"I want you to be happy. And if this Reid, the shallows, or even the Land Above the Water makes you happy, then I'm happy for you, and more than anything, I want you to live the life that keeps you happy. But you better come back to visit me at least several times a year, or I'll have to drag my old tail up the shore and get you."

Nireed threw her arms around her sister, hugging and rocking them both. "Parts of the Land Above the Water are more beautiful than I could've ever imagined, and I want to explore them all, but it will never be home. Not fully. Not like here. You're not going to lose me to it."