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She's not coming back.

He stood and looked down the beach, almost hoping to see Allie heading his way. But it was barely dawn, and Allie was asleep at home. He moved stiffly toward the rocks and clambered up. When he reached the place where Lena and Lucy had jumped, he stared down into the dark, inviting depths.

It would be so easy ... Two more steps and he would be in the clasp of the sea.

Brian picked up Lena's shoes—still waiting on the rocks—and turned to head home.

CHAPTER 41

Time drifted in loose, lazy ripples. Lena forgot to keep track of how long she had been in the world beneath the waves. Her mornings were spent attending lessons with the youngest children, and her afternoons were spent with Nix. When it was time for sleep, she retired with her mother to the cave for the Riven. They talked until they grew drowsy, and then Lena slept, dreams of sunlight and half-remembered faces flickering through her subconscious. When she awoke, it was always a relief to find herself still among the mer-folk.

Sometimes she sat cross-legged, studying the way her legs and feet bent to accommodate her weight. She plucked idly at the yarn braid on her ankle, no longer remembering where it came from. If I had a tail, thought Lena, I could swim as fast as everyone else. As fast as Nix.

Lena found that her thoughts returned obsessively to the idea of a tail. Was it a similar process to being Riven ... except, well, the opposite? Did it hurt? Certainly, it would make life easier here in the world beneath the waves. She was a proficient swimmer, but there was no question that even the youngest mermaid child swam faster than she did. Nix seemed not to mind, but she hated knowing that she slowed him down when they foraged together. She wanted to be his equal.

And she had to admit: it would be nice to blend in, instead of being stared at all the time. Her legs were still a source of constant fascination to most of the villagers. Lena stretched them out in front of her, running her hands down the muscles of her thighs. How would it work? Would her muscles melt ... or would her legs just kind of seal themselves together?

But really, all questions boiled down to one: was it permanent?

***

"Where did you find those pearls for your ears?" asked Nix.

He was seated across from Lena at the large stone dining table. They had unloaded baskets of mollusks from their most recent forage, and were enjoying some refreshing kelp juice. He reached across the table to brush Lena's hair back from her face, caressing her cheek.

"They were a gift," she said.

"Yes? Who gave you such precious gems?"

"A sea otter," she answered, her face warming under his touch.

Nix laughed. "A sea otter? I have never heard of such a thing."

Lena laughed, too. "You're right. How can that be?" She tried to remember. "It was ... oh! On my birthday! The pearls were in a little pink box. Hmm. It seems impossible, but I keep picturing a sea otter holding out the box to me."

"Then it must be so. What a generous otter."

Lena smiled. "I first saw my mother on my birthday. It was the best day of my life."

"Was it?" he said softly. "This is the best day of my life." He left his side of the table and settled next to Lena. Cupping her face with both hands, he leaned close.

Lena had an instant to think, I hope he doesn't stop this time, before the universe narrowed down to the two of them, lips joined, arms sliding around each other. The table, the village, the sea, disappeared. There were only lips and tongues and teeth.

After several long, sweet minutes, they broke apart. Lena grabbed Nix's hand, and held it hard against her chest, so he could feel her heart race. Nix took her other hand and pressed it to his chest, so she could feel the answering rhythm. "I love you, Selena," he whispered.

"I love you, Nix," she said.

At last they became aware of their surroundings once more, realizing that half the village seemed to be transfixed, staring unabashedly at them. A voice called