Merletta shook her head. “I’m not scared of you, Sage. I’m scared for you. I don’t know what’s going to happen. It was a huge risk even coming back here.”
“What do you mean?” Sage demanded. “You were always coming back. Weren’t you?”
Merletta closed her eyes. “I almost didn’t. But I’ve never been one to swim from my problems, so here I am. Putting my head in the shark’s mouth.”
Sage was looking irritated again. “I said—”
“Enough cryptic hints,” Merletta finished for her, the ghost of a smile appearing. It dropped immediately. “Sage…would you lie for me?”
Sage looked extremely taken aback, and didn’t answer straight away. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that question,” she admitted at last. “Why would you want me to lie for you? And to whom?”
“What if my life genuinely depended on it?” Merletta asked soberly.
Sage’s eyes widened. “Merletta, what have you gotten involved in?”
“You haven’t answered my question,” Merletta reminded her calmly.
Sage’s face remained troubled, but her quiet voice didn’t waver. “Yes, Merletta, to save your life, I would lie.”
Merletta felt tears prickle behind her eyes. Loyalty was something she hadn’t experienced much in her life. It was a further reminder that she’d undervalued Sage’s friendship when she neglected to tell her the truth months ago.
“Thanks, Sage,” she said softly. She gave a crooked smile. “And for what it’s worth, your hesitation relieves me almost as much as your agreement.” She closed her eyes, taking a steadying pull of water, then opening them again. “Do you remember how someone sent Center guards to kill me last year? And we never found out who was behind it?”
Sage nodded, her expression tense.
“Well, I don’t think it was just because I’m from Tilssted. The truth is I know things I’m not supposed to, and I’m pretty sure that’s why I was targeted.”
“That sounds…dramatic.” Sage’s eyebrow was raised eloquently.
“I know it does,” sighed Merletta. “And I’d love to think I was wrong. Believe me, I’d prefer to think it’s just prejudice against Tilssted. I don’t know if they’ve found out what I know, or if they just suspect…”
She trailed off, her eyes fixed on Sage’s serious face. Could she really do this to her friend? If she brought Sage into her secrets, would the other mermaid ever really be safe again?
“Sage,” she said earnestly, “I honestly don’t think you want to know everything I know. But I think you should at least know as much as Ileana does.”
“What does Ileana have to do with it?” Sage demanded.
Merletta’s brows lowered, anger passing over her as she remembered Ileana’s heartlessness when she’d pursued, spear in hand, as Merletta dragged an injured Heath through the water. But spiteful as Ileana could be, there had been more than that behind her attack. Her words rang again in Merletta’s ears.
This isn’t just about you. I know my duty.
“Ileana was there,” Merletta said quietly, in belated answer to Sage’s question. “She was the one who followed me when I left, the day after my test. I was going to the island, like I always did on rest days.”
Sage stared. “I thought you went back to Tilssted on rest days, to visit your friend.”
“I know you did,” said Merletta guiltily. “But it wasn’t true. I discovered land not long after I joined the program, and I went there every week. That’s where I met Heath.” She swallowed nervously, casting a glance around to make absolutely sure no one was nearby. “A human.”
Sage’s mouth dropped open, but she didn’t speak. She was clearly unable to find words.
“Humans aren’t aggressive, Sage,” Merletta hurried on. “Or at least, this one isn’t. He’s just like we are. He’s not a threat to us, and he certainly didn’t attack those guards. Ileana followed me, and she called a patrol when she saw me leave the barrier. I led them to the land—I wanted them to see that we’d been lied to. But I didn’t know Heath would be there. He was—” For a moment she struggled with herself, before pushing on. “He was offering nothing but peace. They speared him. Ileana first, then the guards.”
Sage’s eyes were wide. “What happened to him?” she whispered.
“I don’t know,” Merletta answered dully. “He had…” she hesitated, then decided that Sage wasn’t ready yet to find out about the role of a dragon in this story, “a friend with him. His friend took him and left, to go back to their home, far away to the west. I don’t know if he survived.”
“I’m sorry,” Sage said gently, and unexpectedly. “I can see that you care about him.” She hesitated. “Is he…is he really just like us?”
Merletta nodded vigorously. “Honestly, Sage, if you couldn’t see his legs, you’d think he was a merman. He even spoke our language.”