After a meal and a bit of rest, Calistya and Khrystal felt refreshed. The food was unlike anything from The Shallows—simple, fresh, and pure. The greens tasted crisp, the fruits held a gentle sweetness, and the drinks, drawn from natural springs, carried a lightness that seemed to wash away their concerns. Every bite reminded them of the organic nature of this place, a stark contrast to the engineered efficiency they were used to.

  The room they stayed in was quiet and comforting, its softly glowing walls and the faint swoosh of the water outside creating a soothing soundscape. For the first time in what seemed like forever, they could let go, their overextended frames easing into the serenity around them.

  Yet, even in this tranquility, they felt like outsiders, their every experience reminding them that this was not their home. The living space felt alive in ways they couldn’t quite describe, every object seemingly placed with purpose, every surface carrying an almost sacred harmony. They feared event the smallest movement could upset the delicate balance, their limbs being so clumsy in comparison to the effortless grace of their hosts. So, they stayed in the living space they’d been shown to, careful not to stray.

  When the collective thoughts turned to what to do about the girls, there was an agitation between the couple so palpable that Calistya and Khrystal felt their trepidation, though they couldn’t understand why. They clearly didn’t want the girls to go back, and although the pair of them wanted to stay, they couldn’t understand why Sammel and Sara were so frightened for them to return home. Though at times stifling and constrained, neither of them had ever seen The Shallows as dangerous.

  When Sammel came back in from one of his forays, a load of food in his arms, he dropped the bundles in the kitchen and came back to see them. Sara joined him at the head of the room.

  We have been in contact with our counsel of elders. The entryway you used to come to our world was a lost portal, one we’d not realized was still viable. We need you to promise it will not be used again. Then we must return you to your kind, though it brings us no joy to do so.

  The girls couldn’t keep the sense of disappointment out of their heads, though they knew it was being read. Content to return home, if they had to, they hadn’t realized they wouldn’t ever be allowed to come back.

  “What about the boy we saw?” Khrystal asked, her challenge masking a deeper fear of rejection. The attitude felt wildly out of place here, but she couldn’t back down now. “He’s one of yours, and he’s up in our world. He gets to stay. Why can’t we stay, or come visit sometimes at least?”

  The mercouple looked at each other in confusion. Then sudden realization dawned on Sara’s face.

  You’re seen our elder son?

  Although she couldn’t know for sure, something about the look of that sweet boy she’d encountered seemed perfectly matched. It all made sense now—of course Kyle was theirs.

  He’s an adventurous boy, and often goes off for tides on end. We had no cause for concern in the past, but he was not to contact the humans.

  The girls flinched at the reference. Human. The image the mercouple projected was clear and undeniable. Yet the girls had been raised to believe they were something special. That they were technoquatic ‘mermaids’, not humans. But here, in the presence of true merfolk, the reality of who they were sank in deeply. And the realization of why these merfolk kept their distance set in deeply as well. Well treated though they were, they were still ‘dangerous humans’, and didn’t truly belong down here in the true realm of the merfolk.

  * * *

  Although Sara and Sammel would not accompany them all the way back to The Shallows, they would take them as far as the cove, and see them through to the other side.

  The girls said their goodbyes to Kyp, who wouldn’t be joining them, and collected themselves and got ready to go. The merfolk bid farewell to their son and showed Calistya and Khrystal out the door, and they started their ascent. Up they went through the icy water, hand in hand with the mercouple so they could move all the faster, and then emerging with a whoosh into the hidden cove where the girls had spent so much time. It was familiar and alien at the same time, now a gateway to a place they could never go.

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  Show us where the portal lies, Hammel thought, the impression conveying a gentleness, yet it was a command all the same.

  Although the girls hadn’t, to that moment, even realized they’d used some sort of an otherworldly method to get here, they suddenly knew exactly where it was and how it functioned—as if it had been clear to them the whole time.

  More wondrous mer-magic, Calistya thought. The way they can make us understand without saying a single word. It’s so amazing. Are they really magic?

  Her face went hot and she shoved the childish thought away, afraid the others might read it. These beings were indeed magical, and she didn’t want that sense of wonder to be known for some reason. Perhaps it was because she wanted to belong, to be one of them. And wanted to be magical, too.

  It suddenly reminded her of that long-ago desire to be full-gill, such a silly notion now looking back. How could being an artificial swimmer compare in even the slightest way? This was so much more natural. And beautiful. She felt a swell of envy in her chest as she resigned herself to her true fate. Only human. Nothing more.

  So they ducked back under the waterline, swam along the shore in the direction of the cave wall, and followed the contours to the place where the hatch lay hidden.

  This is where we leave you, Sara thought.

  She felt sad. Which made them all feel sad. As much as they didn’t want anything to do with ‘humans’, they’d been enjoying the extra company. Both girls could feel it. Felt that the mermaids were somewhat lonely. That they’d enjoy having girls around. Sara in particular.

  Sammel opened the hatch and Khrystal began to shimmy her way upward, but before she was halfway through she stopped herself, kicking downward and flailing to turn around.

  “Someone’s up there!” she sputtered.

  * * *

  Sammel sealed the hatch behind them and swiftly led their retreat to the cove. There was no telling if those above would try to come down, but they wouldn’t be sticking around to find out.

  Tell us what you saw, Sara thought at Cali.

  “There were mermen, er…I mean, men up there. From The Shallows. Workers. With machines.”

  The pair looked at each other, fins twitching as they silently communed, then turned to Calistya. Think about what the surroundings looked like when you first came down here, came a voice that was both of them and neither, all at the same time.

  Calistya felt nauseous, but did as she was told, imagining the chasm and those biolum’s, just as she’d known them when she first discovered the merboy. And the contours of the walls, and how they came to a point where only a small one could fit through. And then she imagined the space beneath, where she’d touched that fine sand and found the portal, where the sand ran through like the fine grains of an hourglass. And she remembered how she’d slipped through.

  The couple looked at her with understanding, slight smiles on their kind, not-quite-human faces. They felt familiar. Like fairy tales, not aliens.

  They turned to Khrystal. There was silence for several minutes. The expressions on the mercouple’s face grew tense, then concerned, and finally horrified.

  When Khrystal was done with her thinking, she turned to Calistya and explained what she’d seen.

  “They’ve dug away at the chasm since we’ve been down here. Those machines they brought cut real good. I saw a few while I was up there. I saw men, too. Geared-up, not full-gills. They were digging up the seafloor deep. I think they’re aiming for the portal.”

  We must address their leaders, Sammel announced in his silent way, but for now, we return home. You two will stay with us. It’s too dangerous for us to access the portal now. I’m sorry.

  The apology seemed out of place. How was it their fault? Besides, Khrystal and Calistya were thrilled to be spending more time with the mermaids. It was exactly where they wanted to be, with Sammel and Sara, and Kyp. For a pair of orphan girls, finding a magical family was the most amazing sort of miracle. Only the fact that Kyle was missing spoiled the mood.

  They couldn’t help but be concerned, however. Clearly Sara and Sammel were worried about this breach. The girls had no idea why workers from The Shallows would be messing around by this secret entryway, but their disappearance probably had something to do with it. If so, their hijinks had put the mermaid’s realm in danger, and they both felt sick about it. Worse, they were experiencing that guilt in the presence of psychic beings who could feel their every emotion, and they knew it. But trying to tamp it down only made it worse.

  It was Sara who made them both feel better. Stop worrying, girls. Whatever happens, we don’t blame you. It all started with our own son, mind you. And he was well trained not to go playing around the human city. So don’t blame yourselves.

  Her thoughts projected a wave of comfort, as well, easing their fears away. All is well. The sense of motherly care washed over them. We will not allow anyone to harm you.