“Ileana,” said Sage sharply, her forehead creasing. “Do you know anything about this?”
Ileana raised an eyebrow. “Of course not,” she said haughtily. “What are you suggesting? It’s hardly the first time a jellyfish has gotten loose from one of the lanterns.”
Sage glanced at Merletta, her expression uncertain. “That’s what I thought, too.”
Merletta didn’t bother reiterating what she knew to be true. Even if she could convince Sage, there was nothing the other girl could do about Merletta’s suspicions. She considered reporting the incident to one of the instructors, but quickly dismissed the idea. She had no proof of foul play, and they weren’t exactly eager to assist her.
She remained silent, letting Sage take the lead in calling the appropriate person to remove the dangerous visitor. Her face remained impassive, for Ileana’s benefit, but inside she felt afraid and alone. She’d put up with this type of pettiness all her life, but these pranks went beyond anything she’d experienced at the home.
She had been wary of every bite she took since the pufferfish incident. Now she couldn’t even sleep without fear.
* * *
The rest of the week passed painfully slowly, her nerves on high alert. Her lessons with both Ibsen and Wivell were more draining than interesting, since Merletta couldn’t help receiving everything they said with suspicion. The cheerful energy of Agner, even with his brutal disregard for how bruised she always became during training, made for a nice change of pace during the last two days.
But it was all just filling in time, counting down until she was free.
Bruised or not, she was up before the sun on the next rest day. After several uneventful days, she was no longer quite so much on edge. But she was still eager to get out of the Center for a while. Plus, now that she knew she couldn’t rely on what her instructors were telling her—much as she’d never had confidence in anything the charity home head had told her after exposing the older mermaid’s lie about drying out—she was more determined than ever to find her own answers.
She covered the distance to the island even more quickly this time. In spite of her recent scare, she was focused enough on her goal to swim within a couple fathoms of a bloom of jellyfish rather than go a longer way around. When the land finally appeared before her, she was overcome by a jittery feeling of anticipation. Would the human be there again? A small cowardly part of her was hoping he wouldn’t be, and she would be off the hook. But mostly, she was sure of her course.
Because she’d decided that it was time to be bold in finding answers. This time, if he approached her, she wasn’t going to flee.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Heath’s spirits lifted as he saw the island appear. It was worth every minute of the uncomfortable flight to be approaching Vazula again.
He had left before dawn and fully intended to be gone all day. It probably wouldn’t go far toward convincing his father that he’d been right to allow Heath to once again roam free with his dragon friend. But in that moment, Heath didn’t care. Valoria seemed distant and unimportant. It was the island that occupied his every thought.
Would the girl be there?
Heath started when he felt the ripple of strange power pass over his body just as they began to descend. He’d forgotten to ask Reka about it last time, distracted by his first glimpse of Vazula.
“Did you feel that power?” he asked, as soon as the dragon set him down on the sand. “I felt it last time, too.”
“Of course,” said Reka simply. “It is curious, is it not? Most telling.”
“Telling how?” Heath asked impatiently. “Do you know what it is, then?”
“Don’t you?” Reka asked, clearly surprised. He considered his human companion. “But then, I suppose you’ve never entered a dragon realm before, have you?”
“Dragon realm?” Heath repeated, startled. Whatever he’d expected, it hadn’t been that. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that the power we just felt indicates a magical barrier, such as that which surrounds Wyvern Islands, where my colony lives. I understand there is a similar one around Vasilisa, the home of the colony within Kyona’s borders. It is generally not possible for humans to cross it.” Reka paused. “Not on their own, in any event. Any human could enter if I were carrying them, I imagine. But the fact that you can sense the barrier is evidence of the magic in your blood.”
“In my bloodline, at least,” Heath amended.
Reka shook his head in silent disagreement, but didn’t enter on the disputed topic of Heath’s power, or lack of it. Heath was glad. He had other things to think about.
“That’s probably why the sea is impassable to ships,” he mused.
“Most likely,” Reka agreed placidly.
Heath considered the matter for a moment, his eyes straying to the jungle that started where the beach ended. “So what does that mean?” he asked. “The fact that Vazula has a magical barrier around it?”
Reka blinked at him. “Have I not just answered that question? It means that humans cannot cross it, not without a dragon, or magic of their own.”
“Yes, I got that,” said Heath. “I mean, why is it there? How did it get there?”