"Now what's that supposed to mean?" he said, scowling in disbelief.
Raka winced. "That I'm not his flesh and blood, I guess. That I'm not really his daughter."
"But you're the princess," said Bey. "You have to be his daughter."
"Do I?" said Raka. "I don't know. I never thought about it before."
Bey stared at her. "I guess it would explain your red hair. No one on the island ever had red hair before."
"And the gills I don't have," said Raka. "It would explain them, too."
"And your fear of the water," said Bey.
Raka's expression darkened. "And it would explain why my own father doesn't care if I die on my Rebirth Day."
Bey shook his head. "Even if he isn't your real father, that doesn't mean he'd want you to die. Didn't he tell your mother he loves you?"
"He also said I wouldn't be any good as a queen if I can't lead the people underwater," Raka said bitterly. "He basically said if I can't breathe water, I'll be better off dead."
"I'll bet he didn't mean it," said Bey. "You know how overdramatic he gets."
Raka started walking forward again, and Bey had to hurry to keep up. "He meant it," she said coldly. "I'm not his real daughter, so he hates me and wants me dead."
Bey sighed. "I think you should talk to him."
"Why?" said Raka. "So he can lie to me again? Like he's been lying to me my whole life?" As if a bubble had burst inside her, Raka's anger suddenly gave way to sadness, and tears trickled down her face. "You don't know how it feels, Bey. My own father--the man I thought was my father--has been lying to me every day of my life."
Raka stopped walking and covered her face with her hands. Bey stopped, too. He lifted the pole and jugs from his shoulders and over his head, then put them down in the middle of the trail. He folded his arms around Raka and stroked her long, red hair as she wept.
"I don't know who I am anymore," she said in a small, broken voice. "I don't know anything anymore."
"You know me," Bey said softly. "That will never change."
"Please help me," said Raka. "Take me away like you said you would."
Bey stopped stroking her hair. He pushed Raka back from him and stared into her eyes. "Are you serious?" he said.
Raka sniffled and rubbed the tears from her face with the heels of her hands. "I want to run away," she said, nodding. "I want to go as far from here as I can."
Bey's eyes wandered as if he were already working out the details in his mind. "You know it will be dangerous," he said grimly. "When we talked about it before, you said the sharks and warriors would come after us. It's true, they will."
"What difference does it make?" said Raka. "If I stay here until my Rebirth Day, I'll die anyway."
Bey watched her for a moment, then looked toward the sea. "I'll talk to Oom," he said. Oom was his
shark-brother, a hammerhead whom Bey had befriended and ridden home on his own Rebirth Day a year ago. "Maybe he'll help us."
"Thank you," said Raka as the tears started again. Stumbling forward, she fell into his arms.
"Your Rebirth Day is two days from now," said Bey. "We'll leave tomorrow."
"I wish we could leave right now," said Raka, trembling against his chest.
*****
Chapter Three
Raka felt as if her body had turned to stone. Bey called to her again, but she couldn't move.
As she stood on the beach and stared at the tiny boat at the water's edge, she was filled with terror. The thought of getting into the boat and casting off into the dark waves made her stomach churn and her heart pound. Just being on the shore, so close to the rim of the vast ocean, was enough to make her want to run back into the jungle.
"Come on, Raka!" said Bey, waving her over. He stood near the middle of the boat, up to his ankles in water. "We have to go!"
Raka remained frozen in place. She wanted to leave, knew that this was her only chance to get away, but the fear was too big. She had thought that when the moment came, she would be able to push the fear aside...but now that she was so close to leaving dry land, she realized that she had been wrong.
How could she conquer the fear that had chained her for as long as she could remember? How could she change something that was such a big part of her?
Bey called to her again, then stepped out of the surf. He pulled the boat a little further out of the water and marched over to stand in front of Raka.
"We have to go," he said. He wasn't angry, but his eyes nervously scanned the treeline behind her. "Guardsmen check this cove several times a night. They could show up at any minute."
Raka shivered in the breeze blowing in from the sea. "I can't do it," she said. "I'm afraid."
Bey nodded and reached out to touch her arm. "I know," he said, "but if you don't get in the boat, you'll end up in the sea on your Rebirth Day tomorrow anyway."
"I know," Raka said softly. Tears rolled down her cheeks, squeezed out by the fear pressing from inside her.
Bey smiled. "At least with me, you know you won't get thrown overboard," he said. "I won't try to make you breathe water."
Raka nodded. She felt a sob trying to force its way up out of her chest, and she stopped it with a deep, shuddering breath. "I wish I wasn't afraid," she said. "I wish I could be like you."
"Then take my hand," said Bey, raising an upturned hand between them. "My strength will pass into you. I have enough courage for both of us."
Hesitantly, Raka reached for his hand. At the last second, she started to pull her hand away from him...but Bey grabbed hold of it.
"I want to help you," he said, gazing into her eyes. "If you come with me, I'll take you somewhere safe. You can trust me."
Bey's grip was just tight enough that Raka could feel his strength and sincerity. Though she stood on the verge of the most frightening thing she had ever attempted, she felt protected in Bey's presence.
"I know I can trust you," she said. "I know this is something I have to do. I just don't think I can do it."
"Sure you can," said Bey. "Close your eyes, and let me guide you."
Raka took a last look at the moonlit surf, then shut her eyes tightly. Gently, Bey pulled her forward by the hand. She managed to take two steps before she stopped and planted her feet in the sand again.
"Please, Raka," said Bey, trying unsuccessfully to pull her along. "We have to go."
When Raka opened her eyes, her gaze went straight to the waves lapping at the beach. "No," she said, her voice a whimper. "No, I can't do it."
Bey released her hand. "Listen," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Either you stay and have your Rebirth Day, or you leave right now and go somewhere safe. Which do you want more?"
"To be safe," said Raka.
"Then that's what you'll get," said Bey.
Before Raka could react, Bey let go of her shoulders and lifted her off her feet. With one arm around her back and one behind her knees, he scooped her up and carried her toward the boat.
"Now close your eyes," he said, "and trust me."
Raka closed her eyes.
As Bey carried her, Raka remembered the way her mother, Perza, had carried her to bed as a child. Bey lowered her just as softly into the boat as Perza had lowered her onto the sleeping mat in her bedroom.
"Everything's going to be all right," said Bey, lightly touching her cheek. "I promise."
Raka curled up in a ball on the floor, shoulders pressed against the nets packed with food that Bey had stowed in the boat earlier that day. She kept her eyes clamped shut and clenched her teeth, fighting the urge to leap out of the boat and run straight for home.
Bey got behind the boat and pushed it into the water. Raka's stomach lurched when the tiny boat began to bob and rock on the waves.
Bey pushed the boat further before climbing aboard. Raka felt dizzy when he boosted himself up over the side, forcing the prow suddenly downward.
When she felt something sliding out from under her, Raka opened her eyes just
enough to see that Bey was pulling out an oar that was caught under her legs. Bey winked at her as he freed the oar and swung it over the side of the boat.
"You made it," he said, dipping the broad end of the oar into the water and stroking it backward. "We're on our way."
Raka watched him row for a moment, the muscles on his back rippling with each stroke of the oar. She felt a flash of gratitude toward him, then a spark of something new, like friendship but stronger.
And then, she was overwhelmed with fear once more and pinched her eyes shut against the rising and falling motion of the tiny boat.
*****
Chapter Four
For a long time, as Bey rowed over the rolling surface of the sea, Raka lay paralyzed on the floor of the boat with her eyes jammed shut. Every time the boat pitched up on a wave and dropped back down, her stomach twisted violently. Every time she thought about where she was and how far she must be from land and safety, her mind went blank with terror, and her heart fluttered like a panicked bird in her chest.
"There's Oom," Bey told her after a while. "He's swimming out in front of us. Come take a look."
Raka shook her head and stayed curled up against the food-packed nets. She was so scared, she couldn't bear to open her eyes, let alone crawl to the prow for a look at Bey's hammerhead shark-brother. She just wanted to stay where she was until she reached dry land again.
Eventually, though, she had to move.
When the boat lifted up on the biggest swell yet and plunged back down on the other side of it, Raka was overcome with nausea. Her stomach wrenched, and she knew that she was going to be sick.
In spite of her paralyzing fear, Raka had the presence of mind to push herself up and lean her head over the side of the boat. She made it just in time and threw up into the ocean, vomiting until her stomach hurt.
As soon as she was done, she slumped back onto the floor, breathing heavily. The pain in her stomach was so bad, she could hardly stand it...but after a few minutes, the pain died down.
And as the pain faded, Raka found that she actually felt a little better than before she had gotten sick.
Bey, who had stopped rowing when she threw up over the side, looked back at her with concern. "Are you all right?" he said.
Raka shrugged weakly. "I've been better," she said.
Bey pulled in the oar and laid it down, then picked up a grayfish-skin bag full of fresh water from the floor beside him. "Have a drink," he said, extending the bag toward her. "It will help."
The bag sloshed as Raka took it from him. She pulled the rubber stopper out of the spout, placed the spout against her lips, and tipped the bag up just enough to draw out a trickle of water. The water was warm, but it moistened her mouth and throat, which had become dry as dust.
Remembering that their fresh water supplies were limited, Raka was careful not to drink more than a little bit. "Thank you," she said, replacing the stopper and handing the grayfish-skin bag back to Bey. "That did help."
Bey smiled. "You should be proud of yourself," he said. "You were so scared, but now you're doing fine."
"I don't feel fine," said Raka.
"You're stronger than you think," said Bey, reaching for the oar. "Of course, I knew that all along."
Raka didn't answer, but she watched him for a long time as he rowed the boat onward into the moonlit night.
*****
Chapter Five
By the time the night sky began to lighten, Raka felt like she was getting used to the motion of the boat. Though sudden surges and drops still made her stomach jump, the usual rises and dips didn't make her physically ill anymore.
She was still too scared to move much, but at least she sat up a little, propping her back against the nets full of food and supplies. She kept her eyes open most of the time, though she tried to avoid looking directly at the vast ocean around her. It was better to try to pretend that the ocean wasn't there at all, that her world consisted of nothing but Bey and the boat and the sky. As long as she did that, Raka felt calmer...worried and nervous but no longer consumed by terror every single moment.
Unfortunately, just when she started to let her guard down a little, something came along to ruin her improved mood.
It happened a while after daybreak, when the sun was midway between its highest point and the horizon. Raka and Bey were talking, which helped take her mind off her fear. She was relaxed enough that she absent-mindedly glanced out at the ocean.
Immediately, she wished that she had not looked.
Not far away, Raka saw six triangular fins cutting through the water. Glistening in the sunlight, the silvery fins glided toward the boat in a close formation.
As soon as she spotted them, Raka knew what they were.
"Sharks!" she said, pointing toward the fins so Bey would see them. "They're coming this way!"
Bey stopped rowing and turned to look. When he caught sight of the approaching fins, his expression became grim. That in itself was enough to alarm Raka further; if Bey, who spent every day swimming and speaking and hunting with sharks, was worried, the situation must not be good.
"It's a search party," said Bey. "Scouts."
Raka couldn't take her eyes off the three gleaming fins. "What are they going to do to us?" she said.
"Stop us," said Bey. "Hold us until the guardsmen can get here."
"And the guardsmen will take us back," said Raka.
"Or worse," said Bey. "It's your Rebirth Day, remember?"
Raka's eyes widened. In the excitement and terror of her escape, she had briefly forgotten about Rebirth Day. "You think they'll throw me overboard?" she said in a small voice. "Try to make me breathe water?"
"Hopefully, we won't find out," said Bey. Leaning over the side of the boat, he smacked his outspread hand on the water's surface three times.
Raka sat up straighter to see what was happening. As she watched, another shark fin glided back from the prow and stopped below Bey's hand. Squinting into the deep blue water, Raka could just make out the flattened bar of Oom the hammerhead's skull, jutting out on either side of his sleek, pale body.
Bey drummed his fingers on Oom's back in a quick, fluttering rhythm. Raka recognized it as sharkspeak, though she couldn't understand what the specific rhythm meant.
After a final pattering of Bey's fingers, Oom flexed his tail from side to side. As Bey leaned back from the side of the boat, Oom swept around and glided off toward the oncoming fins.
"We'll be all right," said Bey. "Don't worry."
"Okay," said Raka, but she heard a tightness in his voice that made her think he was more worried than he wanted her to know. His body was tense, and he was already reaching for weapons, grabbing an oar and a short knife from the floor of the boat.
As Raka returned her gaze to the water, she saw Oom's fin race toward the six sharks. When they were almost on top of each other, two of the incoming sharks banked away on either side, leaving two to confront the hammerhead.
Oom continued to plow forward, heading for the first two attackers...but the four sharks who had broken away from the group looped back around to encircle him. Whether Oom knew it or not, he would have to battle all six sharks instead of just two.
Suddenly, the sea erupted in wild thrashing as Oom and the first two sharks fought. Raka glimpsed the hammerhead's pale body curling and twisting in the waves, entwined with the gleaming gray bodies of his two opponents.
All the while, the other four fins angled toward him from behind.
"Bey," Raka said breathlessly. "Will they hurt him?"
"Probably," said Bey. His voice was cold. "He broke the rules by helping us."
Raka didn't want to watch, but she couldn't look away. The other four sharks pushed into the fight, and the thrashing in the water became wilder. The jumble of shark bodies and churning sea became a blur; Raka thought she caught a glimpse of Oom once or twice but couldn't be sure.
Then, all of a sudden, it was over.
Oom's pale fin no longer br
oke the surface. The fins of the six attackers emerged from the battle zone and cruised toward the boat in a staggered line.
Bey looked back at Raka but didn't say a word. Neither did Raka. The grim expression on Bey's face said it all.
Oom would not be able to help them anymore.
*****
Chapter Six
Raka thought that she should have been relieved that the sharks didn't attack the boat. She had not wanted to see Bey try to fight them off, armed only with oars and a knife.
Still, the way things had turned out, Raka didn't feel relieved. Instead of coming in close, the sharks had stopped a short distance away and begun to swim in a circle around the boat. With the sharks constantly circling, Bey couldn't move the little boat in any direction. All that Bey and Raka could do was sit there and wait until the main group of guardsmen and sharks arrived to capture them.
That was what Raka and Bey had been doing through the long morning and afternoon since the sharks' arrival: waiting. All that they could do was wait...and wonder what the guardsmen would do with them when they got there.
As the sun slid lower in the sky, Raka and Bey ate some of their provisions and shared the fresh water in the grayfish-skin bag. Always, they kept an eye on the dark fins ominously circling the boat.
"I'm going to try to talk to them," said Bey. "Maybe we can make a deal."
"Do you think they'll let us go?" said Raka, pulling the rubber stopper from the spout of the water bag to have a drink.
Bey stared at the circling fins and shrugged. "I don't know what else to do at this point. We're trapped."
Raka sipped a trickle of water from the grayfish-skin bag, then handed the bag to Bey. "What if we threw our food overboard?" she said. "Wouldn't they go after it?"
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