Gryshen wasn’t sure what she was doing here, who she was trying to get answers from. Her mother had never spoken to her since her death, not a whisper, a song, a puff of light. All that remained was that bottle.
“This is your mom?” Coss finally spoke again.
“Yes.”
“Does she leave you messages?”
“No.”
“Not even some energy residue?”
“No.”
“My mother’s grave just cries.”
“What?”
“Yeah. I’d rather she said nothing at all.”
Gryshen had no idea what to say to him. Having to visit a weeping grave? But she wasn’t sure that it was worse than silence. She wasn’t sure if anything was.
“Let’s take a tour of our line.”
“I would like that,” he signaled with relief.
This time, she led him around the outside of the cavern. Schools of fish swept past them on their way to the line of large mammals kept for pleasure, big hunts, and battle. A starfish came loose from gray rock, and Coss handed it to her. It had four limbs instead of five.
“It’s different, like you.”
“What? Cause I’m missing something?” Gryshen said tersely.
“No! Because you’re unusual.” This time, after tapping her shoulder, he moved a billow of her black hair that was dancing in front of her eyes. No protection now. “What is it? You’ve seemed upset with me since this morning. What happened?” As he spoke, he tucked the starfish just above her ear. It was as if the gesture was totally separate from the question.
“What do you want?” she blurted out.
He just stared.
“Like what you just did. You are so comfortable touching me. What are you doing?” She couldn’t believe herself.
Again, he just stared, boring through her mind with his eyes. Then her vision was blurred with bubbles and waves as she felt two hands grip her face, his own moving in swiftly, his lips cutting through the cold, sending a signal she had never heard down her throat and into her belly. The message swirled around her heart, binding it up. And she reached back, returning a call she had not known how to make before now.
It was like lightning cracking against the sea. It was like the fire that burned from a maker’s torch when they fused pieces together, taking broken bits and sealing them whole, making them sing in their newfound identity.
No one had kissed her, not in this way. No one dared without permission and a formal courtship.
She never wanted it to stop.
But stop it did, when a beluga nudged up against the pair, like a chaperone at a ball.
“Misra!” She felt completely caught. Luckily, whales couldn’t talk. At least, they couldn’t gossip.
The beasts frequently stopped by for treats and pats. They pulled up to the line when they left the coastline, which was where they usually stayed. There were six narwhals that took turns posting themselves as well, in addition to three orcas and one massive bowhead whale. At any time, one could find eight or more beasts near the post, maybe less if Gup the bowhead was there. He was just that big, with a great suctioning mouth that he drew along the sea floor.
The ceasids had an understanding with these creatures. In exchange for their services, the Rone pod would help protect them from both landkeeper and sea predators, as they kept a watch for themselves. The orca would be tied by seaweed to a kind of chariot, or be ridden astride by ilorays, since the beasts could go farther distances than their part-human friends. Narwhals were also for riding, but the unicorn-like horns on their heads could be used to pierce a seal that a spear missed, or help fight off an aggressive shark.
The bowhead just looked impressive, and of all the different pods, he was by far the largest beast that stayed in close contact.
“Misra, I was just going to introduce a visiting prince to our beasts.” Gryshen pointed to the line.
Why was she making excuses to a whale? Gryshen attempted to shake off her embarrassment. Misra cocked her head in a way that Gryshen could have sworn suggested suspicion of her claim, but began swimming alongside them toward the posts of animals.
“Okay, right now we have the three belugas—Misra, of course, she’s my riding partner; Jeer, he’s the one ignoring us; and Kess, she’s got the big scar above her eye. A bad run-in with a shark.” Kess gave a timid glance their direction.
Coss gave a polite nod to each creature as they stopped to greet them.
“Only two of the six narwhals are here today, Sol and Ry—they’re brother and sister. A few others are out today, including a baby.”
Sol was brighter and whiter than Misra, who was a pearly gray, and Ry, who was dark silver and appeared to be missing a small chunk of her horn.
“Next, we’ve got just one of our orcas, Sillar. He’s the smallest of the three we work with.” Sillar looked like he was anxious to go after his friends.
“And lastly, Gup.” Gryshen swept her arm and head into a kind of bow, as she showed him one of the biggest, ugliest creatures in the Arctic Circle. Gup looked like he was more interested in a nap than anything else, although his half-open mouth appeared to turn into a crooked smile when he received a gentle rub on the forehead from her.
“Very nice to meet all of you.” Coss addressed them personally. The effort was not lost on Gryshen.
Suddenly, a swarm of bubbles signaled the arrival of Sodaren, a female at about the midpoint of her life with shoulder-length brown hair and a round torso and tail.
“Princess, I didn’t know you were here. I just had an early lunch before I gave our friends theirs.”
“Oh, of course. I was just showing our visitor what sort of beasts we kept.”
“Yes, yes. Aren’t they wonderful? We work with some of the largest anywhere. And so in tune with us.” She attempted to wrestle a net of salmon from Jeer’s engulfing mouth. “Everybody gets some. This is a snack for everyone!” She got it free, making it a point to hand fish to the others before finally getting back to the pouting beluga.
“I understand the Rakor tribe work with some more unusual choices.” Sodaren signaled “unusual” as if what she wanted to say was too offensive, so she had to settle for that word.
“We do. But if you know how to work well with sharks—”
“I beg your pardon, Prince, but we work on an ideal level with all agreeable creatures—and that certainly includes many kinds of sharks!” Now she was huffing.
“Of course. I am sure you do. It’s just that some of the more aggressive ones require a certain kind of—”
“Hostile nature?”
Gryshen was open mouthed at Sodaren’s boldness. It was typical of her to be . . . forthright, but with a chieftain’s son? She also had the feeling that she was supposed to object to such behavior, but quieting another iloray was far beyond her comfort.
“I was going to say firmness.” Coss flashed a vivid smile. It seemed to soften his opponent a bit. But she pressed further.
“Yes, but the monsters? They’re different from sea beasts that you can engage with, even reason with.” She slapped Jeers away as he dug his nose back into her net in search of more treats.
“Sometimes it’s not about reason. Sometimes it’s about control.”