The Mermaid's Mirror - L. K. Madigan [94]
Lena shaded her eyes against the blaze of the sun and studied the lineup. There was Pem. Farther down the row was Kai. Ani was riding a wave to shore, and Max was paddling out.
"Pem!" she shouted, waving. "Kai!"
Both of them saw her and yelled back. Kai was smiling.
It had taken some time, but she and Kai were friends again—mostly.
Lena's convalescence from her time under water had been difficult; she had run a high fever and couldn't speak. She'd been communicating with her mind for so long that while she was ill, she forgot, most of the time, to speak aloud.
Her friends had been told she'd caught a virus while traveling with Grandma Kath. Pem came to see her as soon as she was allowed, but Lena refused to see Kai. How could she, when the first word out of her mouth during her fevered dreams had been "Nix"?
Finally she agreed to see Kai. She tried to give him back the pearl earrings when she broke up with him, but he insisted she keep them. Lena was relieved that he didn't seem devastated by her rejection—he must have suspected there had always been something lacking in their love. Maybe it had been the siren in her voice that attracted him in the first place.
As for Nix, Lena spent every conscious moment during the weeks of her recovery wishing for the memory-stealing cloak to take his image from her mind. If he could only know of the ache that lived inside her, he might forgive her.
But that terrible time was months ago, also, and Lena had tried to find peace in her return to life on land.
Her family and friends were safe and happy.
And there was still the sea.
It would never forsake her.
Cole came racing across the sand, his sturdy legs pumping. "Hi!" he yelled, and threw his arms around Lena. She staggered a little. "Ooof," she said. "You're getting good at tackles. You almost took me down!"
Allie arrived a moment after Cole, and Brian kissed her.
"Group hug!" yelled Cole, and the four of them wrapped their arms around one another. When they broke apart, Lena saw tears in her mom's eyes. She leaned over and kissed Allie's cheek.
"Safe surf, guys," said Allie, smiling and turning to follow Cole, who had taken off down the beach again.
Lena knelt down on the beach to wax her board before its maiden voyage.
Her dad joined her, expertly applying wax to his own board. He beamed at her. "It's been a long time coming, sweetie," he said.
"Too long! And don't call me 'sweetie' out there in the lineup."
"What should I call you?" he asked, laughing.
Lena considered for a moment, then said, "How about Seagirl?" With a bubble of glee rising in her chest, she stood up and hurried into the surf, calling back, "I'm just kidding, Dad! You can call me sweetie if you want." She tossed her board onto the blue blanket of ocean. "Woo-hoo!" she yelled, flinging herself onto the deck.
She glanced back at her dad, who stood at the water's edge. His smile had faded, and he looked almost... nervous.
"Get on your stick, Dad!" she called. You can do it.
But nearly two decades of avoiding the sea at all costs, not even wading into ankle-deep surf, made him hesitate. His caution had kept his family safe. Now he was about to trust in the honor of an old enemy.
Lena couldn't bear to watch him waver. "Dad, it's a promise!" she yelled, then faced forward and paddled out.
Max greeted her as she joined the lineup. "Hey, it's the Leenatic."
"What?" She laughed.
"Anyone who surfs Magic's has to be a lunatic. Or in your case, a Leenatic!"
Lena rolled her eyes at Pem and Kai. But Kai looked jealous, as if he coveted her nickname, and Pem laughed heartily, as if Max was the funniest guy in the world.
Lena's dad paddled to a spot farther down the lineup, and Lena beamed over at him.
As the next set of waves rose up, Lena's friends hung back, and Lena and her dad popped up on their boards with identical poise, taking their first ride together.
* * *
Dear Reader,
I spent