Besides, it’s not like I can go after him. I have to find a way to get to Doe and Brody first.
Quince and I can sort things out later. I hope.
If only I could convince myself that my lie of omission wasn’t a violation of his code of loyalty, as his mom put it.
Maybe it was more of a betrayal than he can forgive.
“Mrs. Fletcher—” At her frown, I amend, “Janet. Do you think you could give me a ride somewhere?”
“Sure, honey.” She reaches back inside and grabs her purse off the floor. “Where do you need to go?”
“Thanks Mrs. Fle—uh, Janet.” I wave as Quince’s mom pul s out of the Seaview Beach parking lot.
Turning to face the beach, I search out my catch. Brody’s Camaro is parked in the corner of the lot, so I know they’re here. I scan the sand. There is a family with smal children picnicking down the beach to the south and a pair of joggers heading north along the surf line. No sign of Doe or Brody.
On a hunch, I head toward the pier.
As my feet squish through the sand, I think about what Quince’s mom said. That love is everything to him. That he’l forgive my lie of omission.
But what if she’s wrong? What if he thinks I’m untrustworthy and he can never believe in me again? What if, even if we get back together, he always wonders if there’s something I’m not tel ing him? What if he is racked with doubts and suspicions every time I head home for a weekend? He can’t go with me, so he’l never be able to see for himself.
By the time I’ve reached the spot where the ocean meets the pier, I’m practical y in tears again. I just wish Quince was here so we could talk this out. Whenever I think through things in my head, they always go a little out of control.
“Lily?”
I snap out of my mental whirlpool at the sound of Doe’s voice.
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
Sinking shoulder deep in the water, stil ful y clothed, I final y see her and Brody tucked behind a pylon halfway down the pier.
“What am I doing here?” I echo, shaking myself back into the moment. “I’m here to perform the separation. In case you forgot, the bond wil become permanent with tonight’s new moon.”
“I—” Her piercing blue gaze flicks to Brody and then back to me. “I didn’t forget.”
“Then why did you disappear?” I ask, rol ing my eyes.
Sometimes, I swear, it’s like she’s turned off her capacity for rational thought. First the trident incident, then bonding with Brody in the first place, and now this. I wish she would grow up already and stop leaving her problems on my doorstep.
I swim over to their spot and pul the separation papers out of my back pocket. Thankful y they’re on kelpaper or they’d be ruined by the salt water now soaking my capris.
“Let’s get this over with.”
Neither of them says a word.
With my toes just reaching the sand below, I find the page with the words of the ritual written in Daddy’s scrawling script.
My eyes scan over the page until I find the spot where I’m supposed to begin. I only have to blink away my tears twice to read the words on the pages.
“A mistake was made,” I begin. “Now let the bond fade.
These two once united shal soon be div—”
“Don’t.”
Doe’s soft whisper stops me cold. I don’t think a shout would have startled me nearly as much as that quiet plea. It might be the first truly serious thing Doe has ever said to me. And the emotion fil ing her eyes is al the explanation I need. I know al about that emotion.
But she has to say it. Out loud.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because…” She closes her eyes and—I can see beneath the water—clutches Brody’s hand. “I love him.” She means it. I don’t know how I can know for certain, except that everything I see in her eyes is what I feel when I look at Quince.
“You know what this means?” I ask. Both of them.
“Yes,” Doe says quickly. “I’ve explained everything.
Everything. ”
“And you’re okay with this?” I ask Brody.
He gives Doe an equal y emotional look. “I am.”
“We’ve talked it out,” Doe explains. “I’l stay on land until after graduation. Then we can spend the summer in Thalassinia. When Brody starts col ege, we’l go home on breaks and holidays.”
“You’re wil ing to give up your swimming?” This has to be the hardest part about Brody’s decision. “You know chlorine wil start to be toxic to you as soon as you turn.”
“I do.” His golden brown gaze doesn’t waver from mine.
“Doe says I’l be able to tolerate it long enough to swim at State.”
I nod. None of the mer changes are instantaneous. Most are a gradual progression, so it’s not likely that chlorine wil kil him if he races in the next few weeks. “That’s probably true.”
“That’s enough for me,” he says. “Swimming is for now, Doe is forever.”
My tears wel again at the certainty in his voice. They real y have talked this through.
And if Doe is wil ing to spend that much time on land to be with the boy she loves… wel , then, she must be over her hate for humans, too. I guess this is the best possible outcome for everybody. Doe isn’t going to try to wipe out the East Coast again. Brody gets to spend time in an underwater kingdom. And Doe has found her perfect mer mate.