I touched the scar on my right cheek absently. It seemed so insignificant, compared to the scars that twisted over Zadie’s leg. The stain I had once used to cover the star-shaped blemish was forgotten back in the fortress I had lived in for the past few months. Compared to Mount Ayris, the cluster of houses before me seemed impossibly small and vulnerable, each one a tiny island huddled against the vastness of the ocean, as exposed as a cave creature in the sunlight.

“Mother will be happy,” Zadie insisted. “She regrets not saying goodbye to you. I know it.”

The village was as quiet as it always was this early in the morning, with only a few children scurrying along the docks that connected some of the houses. It didn’t seem possible that things could be as drastically different as Zadie said; surely Mother would still be in bed next to Father at this hour, the house would be neat and tidy, and, however improbable, Sami would come by soon to ask Zadie and me if we wanted to go diving for oysters.

I secured the boat to one of the pillars beneath our house, waiting for my sister to enter first through the trapdoor. I wasn’t sure I was ready to see the look on Mother’s face when I appeared out of nowhere, like a spirit come back to haunt her.

I waited a moment, then several more, but there was no sign of life from inside the house, and I climbed quickly up the ladder, afraid something terrible had happened.

“They’re out.” Zadie’s muffled voice came from the kitchen, where she was rummaging for something to eat.

“Out?” I looked around in confusion. “The sun just came up. Where could they be at this hour?”

“Fishing, I suppose.” Zadie seemed unconcerned as she pulled a small basket off a shelf. “They’re gone overnight sometimes, searching deeper waters. Sami and I were able to buy a larger boat.” Her expression clouded over at the mention of her missing beloved, and I felt the loss as if it were my own. Nothing would be right until they had been reunited.

“We’re going to find him, Zadie,” I insisted. “And we’re going to need to be well rested when we do.”

I went to our room and collapsed onto the bed, wincing as my back hit the stiff straw mattress.

“Don’t you want to eat something?” Zadie asked, coming to join me. “I know dried fish isn’t exactly an Ilarean delicacy, but you must be starving.”

“I’m all right.” More than anything, I wanted to wash away the shame and fear that clung to me ever since I’d been locked in the New Castle dungeon. “I’m guessing we don’t have enough fresh water to spare for a bath?”

“No baths these days, I’m afraid.”

“Mother must be beside herself,” I said, rolling my eyes.

She smiled, but it seemed forced.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just hope you’ll give Mother a chance. She’s making an effort. It hasn’t been easy for her. It hasn’t been easy for any of us.”

I frowned, feeling chastened for a comment that would have rolled right off Zadie’s back three months ago. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.” She let out a weary breath and closed her eyes. “I’m just tired.”

“You rowed to land and back again the same day. That would exhaust even the strongest man.”

She glanced at me and shook her head. “It’s not the physical exhaustion, Nor. Losing you, then Sami, and having no idea if he’s even alive... I can’t fathom a future without him.” She closed her eyes again. “I know that’s probably hard to understand, too.”

“Not so hard,” I murmured. My longing for Talin, Prince Ceren’s half brother, surged in my mind, but it felt selfish to mention my feelings for him when Zadie was hurting so much from Sami’s loss. Talin and I weren’t best friends like Zadie and Sami. We hadn’t grown up together; we didn’t even come from the same world. Still, Talin had given up the crown to save me, and I knew that if given the chance, the feelings that had blossomed in New Castle could grow into something special in their own right.

Zadie mumbled a few more words before her breathing deepened, and I realized she had fallen asleep. I curled onto my side, watching her chest rise and fall. The furrow in her brow that I feared had become a permanent feature softened, her mouth relaxed, and she was once again the sweet, beautiful sister I had always known. Yes, things had changed, but surely there was nothing that couldn’t be remedied if we were together. I took her hand and allowed myself to drift off to sleep, secure in one thing, at least.

I was home.

* * *

I was startled awake by Mother’s shriek, as shrill as a gull’s cry. For a moment I was sure I was back in New Castle, but then I saw my sister next to me. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as I took a deep, shuddering breath.

“Is everything all right?” Zadie asked Mother around a yawn.

“Is everything all right?” Mother stared down at us like we’d appeared out of thin air. “You told me you were going to deliver a message to Nor, not bring her home with you! How did this happen?”

“Good morning, Mother,” I said, before Zadie could answer.

Mother’s mouth opened and closed like a fish as she glanced from me to Zadie to Father.

“Father!” I leaped from the bed and ran to him before he was fully through the trapdoor. I pulled him the rest of the way up and wrapped my arms around him as tight as I could. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Nor?” Father’s voice cracked. “Am I dreaming?”

I smiled against his chest. “It’s me, Father. I came back.”

“How—?”

“Did something happen in Ilara?” Mother asked. “Why did Prince Ceren allow you to return?”

I had no idea how to answer their questions. I certainly couldn’t start by telling them I’d left my blood coral blade behind in Ilara, still embedded in Ceren’s chest. Even though I had killed him in self-defense, his final scream echoed in my ears, making what little sleep I got fitful at best. I could only hope that putting an ocean between myself and those awful memories would be enough.

I released Father reluctantly. “I’ll explain everything. I promise. But I need to speak to Governor Kristos immediately.”

“Oh, child, I wish you could,” Father said. “But he won’t see our family. Not after Sami’s abduction.” The pain Father felt at the loss of both Sami and his parents’ friendship was etched in the lines of his face.

Zadie had explained to me that while Governor Kristos was furious at Alys’s mother, Phaedra, and her cronies for abducting and abandoning Sami, he feared punishing the culprits would result in retaliation, given the fragile state of the village. Kristos had ordered the Varenians to pool their resources in an attempt to make sure everyone had adequate food and water, but some people rebelled and stopped diving altogether. Punishing Phaedra could backfire, given the large contingent of villagers on her side.