Sea Dweller (Birthstone Series) Read Online Free PDF

to help me.”
      Mom offered me a soft
smile. “You’re sure you want to go, then?”
    I met her eyes, steadily. “I
need to go.”
     “I understand,” she warily
submitted. “Go find someone to help you. But try and be quick. We’ve got chores
today.”
    “I won’t be long.” I passed
my practice weapon to my father and ran into the hut. Emerging seconds later, I
carried another change of clothing and a bar of homemade soap.
    “We mean it. Be quick!” Dad
called out with a mouthful of berries as I breezed by. I waved behind me, not
missing the comforting way my father’s arm draped around my mother’s frame as I
left.
    I slowed my pace once I
reached the thick of the forest, steadily following the path my family had worn
to the river.
    A tiny thrill danced in my
chest and I felt more excitement than I had in years. I craved freedom and
answers. The opportunity to attend the festival was the closest I’d ever come
to achieving such a goal.
    I hiked higher into the
island hills, knowing the elevation would rise before I reached the dip in the
terrain where the river pooled and nestled. I picked a few berries and a stray
piece of fruit as I walked, realizing I hadn’t had much breakfast. I was
famished.
    When I reached the river a
little later, it was nearly bursting with women from several surrounding
villages. I hoped, with so much conversation going on around me, I could gather
costume ideas or find someone who had a spare.
    I throttled back the
self-consciousness blossoming in my chest while I trotted to the river bank.
All around me, Vairdan girls carelessly stripped down and plunged into the cool
water, splashing and laughing. Golden heads bobbed in the river while swirls of
flaxen hair shimmered in a potion of liquid and sunlight. I tried to be as
inconspicuous as possible while I undressed and then quickly eased my freckled
skin into the water. Women’s chatter slid around my ears as I dunked my head
under the surface. Clearly, anticipation for the festival was the dominant
topic of conversation. I didn’t want people thinking I cared so I stayed under
for as long as possible.
    It wasn’t until I began
washing myself that I spotted Faema and several of her friends through a
cluster of blond heads. My sense of curiosity won out so I casually floated
closer, wincing as I remembered how glaring my hair color was in comparison to
the rest of the Vairdans. Luckily, Faema and her friends’ backs were turned
toward me and they were too deep in conversation to notice me drifting their
way. Just to play it safe, I maneuvered myself behind a sizeable woman absorbed
with scrubbing her young daughter’s back.
    The last words of Faema’s
sentence reached my ears.
     “ . . . foolish if she
thinks she has a chance.”
    “I heard his parents are
disgusted with the time he spends with her,” one of the other girls stated.
    “He pities her. He can’t like
her much. The way her parents think they’re too good for us. And she’s a joke
when she tries to do simple island chores. Incapable of doing anything right,”
Faema said.
    “He doesn’t pity her,” a
different voice piped up. I peered around the woman to see who had spoken. It
was Haji, one of the few girls who hadn’t been unkind to me, if a little
indifferent.
    “Of course he does! What else
would it be?” Faema spat.
    “They like each other.” Haji
shrugged, boredom registering on her features. She shifted her gaze and I
ducked before her eyes could flit in my direction. “He talks about her all the
time. If it was just pity, he wouldn’t do that.”
    “I doubt it,” Faema said, her
words dripping with disgust. “She’s spotted and small. When she isn’t blistered
and red, she’s paler than the moon. What’s there to like?”
    “I think she’s pretty. I
wouldn’t be surprised if Sai did too.” Haji’s voice carried over the water,
reaching my ears almost as if they had sought me out. I sent the girl thoughts
of gratitude. I’d