Imi shook her head again. “No. I think I’m going to have to swim into the city.” She looked at Imenja and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, but my people are suspicious of landwalkers. I’ll talk to them; tell them what you did for me.”
“Will they believe you?” Reivan asked.
“I’ll make them.” Imi frowned. “Though it could take some time.”
“We’ll wait,” Imenja assured her. “You know your people best. If you must swim, then you must.”
Imi smiled, then stepped forward and hugged the woman. Imenja chuckled and patted her back.
“Take care, princess. I will be sad if I never see you again.”
“I will be too,” Imi told her, pulling away. She turned to Reivan. “And you, Reivan. I will try to talk father into meeting you both. I’m sure he’ll like you as much as I do.”
Reivan smiled in the self-conscious way she had. “We’ll see.”
“Go,” Imenja said. “The sooner you do, the sooner we get to meet him.”
Imi grinned. She ducked under the rail and squinted at the water below. It was deep here, in the center of the islands, but she had learned since coming onto the ship that it was always a good idea to check for large sea creatures inspecting the hull before diving into the water.
Letting go of the rail, she felt herself fall forward. The drop was short but exhilarating and she relished the plunge into cool water. Surfacing, she waved at Imenja and Reivan before taking a deep breath and starting toward the city.
She was not entirely sure where the entrance of the city was, so she decided to swim along the rock wall around the area she thought it was in. Soon she saw a shadow swimming below and felt her heart lift as she realized it was another Elai. Keeping at a distance, knowing she would attract a lot of attention once she was recognized, she followed.
The shadowy figure vanished and she felt her heart sink, but then another pair of Elai appeared. Following them, she saw a great blackness appear in the wall ahead. The lightfish were gone, perhaps a precaution against the landwalkers finding the city entrance. She realized it was possible, having seen landwalker divers. But landwalkers couldn’t hold their breath long enough to get
Swimming into the darkness, she was relieved to see light ahead. It led her to the pockets of air in the tunnel. She managed to swim the entire length without coming up for air at the same time as anyone else, so nobody recognized her. Then a larger, brighter glow drew her upward, and she surfaced in the Mouth.
For several minutes she floated there, gazing at the caves and lights and people. It was a sight too good to be real. She was afraid to swim forward in case...
As another arrival splashed up nearby she shied away.
She shook her head and swam toward the edge of the water.
As she emerged she began to attract attention. Ordinary Elai glanced at her, then turned back to stare. Guards frowned, then blinked in surprise. One, the captain, stepped forward.
“Princess? Princess Imi?”
She smiled crookedly. “Yes.”
“Where have you...” He paused, then straightened. “May I escort you to the palace?”
Amused by his sudden formality, she nodded. “Please.”
At once he began to bark orders. Three more guards took their places with the captain, in front and behind her. Others ran down the main stream toward the palace.
She felt her stomach flutter but forced her legs to move. A crowd of onlookers had stopped to watch and now they began to keep pace with her on either side. Stares had changed to smiles. Voices called a welcome to her. Abruptly she felt tears coming and blinked them away.
The distance to the palace seemed endless. She quickened her pace, then slowed as she saw the palace gates. They stood open.
A man stood between them.
Her father.
The guards stepped aside as she started forward again. She barely noticed. All she saw was her father hurrying forward, then she felt her hold on her tears slip as she saw his own eyes glittering.
Finally, she threw her arms around him and felt his around her, familiar and strong. She realized she was apologizing, then laughed aloud as she realized he was too.
“What are you apologizing for, Father?” she blurted out. “I’m the one who gave Teiti the slip and left the city.”
He pulled away to regard her. “I should have let you out more often. You would not have been so curious, and you would have had guards to protect you.”
She smiled and wiped at her eyes. “I would have given them the slip, too.”
He looked at her searchingly. “Where have you been? That rascal trader’s son told us you’d been taken by raiders.”
“That’s true.” She paused. “You weren’t too mean to him, were you? I talked him into it.”
He frowned. “Teiti had me lock him up.”
Imi gasped. “Poor Rissi! She must have been so angry!”
Her father winced. “She was, but I was much angrier with her. You must tell me everything.” He turned her toward the palace. “Does your return have anything to do with the ship outside?”
“It has, Father. The people on that ship rescued me and brought me home. I owe them my life.”
He frowned, clearly unhappy to hear it.
“Not all landwalkers are bad,” she told him.
His frown turned into a scowl. “You think so, do you? What do they want in return?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing!” He shook his head. “They always want something. They won’t get anything from me!”
“Father,” she said firmly. “They saved my life.”
He paused, then sighed. “I should give them something in return.”
She shrugged. “At least your thanks.”
He stopped and looked at her strangely.
“What has happened to you, to make you so wise and brave?”
She grimaced. “A lot, Father. Let’s go in, and I’ll tell you everything.”
He nodded, put an arm around her shoulders, and guided her through the palace gates.
There was little point in going over it again. He’d considered everything he’d done and what the consequences might be. He had spent fruitless hours considering how he could have done things differently.
But while travelling in Si took much of Mirar’s concentration, it didn’t occupy his mind completely. The part not concerned with endless climbing and walking insisted on circling around and around, and every time he tried to think of something else he soon found himself dwelling on Auraya, himself, the White and the gods.
He had only thought of her briefly, as a helper and friend. He had not thought of Emerahl’s quest to find other immortals. If the gods had recognized her - and it was possible they hadn’t - they would alert the White to her existence. They did not know where she was, however. So long as Emerahl didn’t do something to attract their attention, or bump into one of the White, she was safe. The gods might search for her by looking into the minds of mortals, seeking someone visible to a human but invisible to them, but that would take time and they had a more pressing matter to occupy them - Auraya.
He hoped she was right that the gods would not kill her for fear of weakening their followers’ trust in the
