The Sea King's Daughter Read Online Free PDF Page B

he'd gone, but the age-old taboo against contact with humans kept me from it.
    I moved on, ranging further and further. Sometimes swimming home exhausted me. The tiredness felt good. It drove my anger and sadness out, and it kept me from thinking too much.
     
    On the day before Thetis' wedding, I swam further than ever before. Ios frolicked by my side. Every few minutes she leapt from the water and crashed down again, flashing her wide dolphin grin at me. I frowned, too tired to appreciate her antics.
    At last, when every muscle in my body screamed for mercy, I found myself in a bay that curved like a clam shell. I poked my head out of the water to investigate.
    Scattered, barren clusters of rock dotted the water. I clung to one of the larger rocks and examined the small, stony island. A wooded mountain crest stood like a backbone against the hard blue sky. The village's mud-brick houses spilled down the hill toward the beach. A large villa, surrounded by marble columns and a cool portico, perched on its own rocky outcropping to the west. 
    I dared swim very close to the shore. I trusted the silver twilight to hide me. When I drew close to the beach, I found it deserted. I'd have to turn back soon. It would take me hours to get back to the palace, and I hated swimming alone at night.
    In the day, the sea was my playground. There was no danger I couldn't outswim, no threat I couldn't anticipate -- or so I imagined. Night was a different matter. Even Ios' companionship wasn't enough to keep my fear at bay.
    Before I could turn to go, a torrent of shrieks rent the air. Clouds of dust billowed from the path through the village, and from the clouds a group of young men emerged. They wore no clothing. Their sun-kissed bodies glistened with sweat. It was a race, I quickly realized. They thundered down the slope and onto the pebbled beach, shouting and filling the world with their joy. I smiled at the sight.
    The leader dashed into the surf, winning the contest. He kicked sea foam before him and shouted with glee. I stared, transfixed. My heart nearly stopped beating. It was my rescued prince. I'd seen his face in my dreams so many times in the past weeks, and now he stood before me, whooping and splashing and wrestling his companions in the glistening waves.
    I realized with a start that I treaded water in plain sight. I ducked down and hugged myself with gladness. I'd found him. Finally, I'd found him. I swam underwater to the nearest rocky outcropping, cursing the fact that it lay so far away.
    When the young men began to retreat back to the beach, I almost cried out in my disappointment. But my prince stayed behind. He'd grown sober now. He stared out onto the horizon, his expression dreamy and distant. He frowned. His arms lay at his side. I wondered if perhaps he was thinking of me.
    "Hurry, friend," one of his companions called from the shore. "We have a meal waiting."
    He didn't respond, didn't even seem to hear. He cocked his head as if he heard far-away sounds -- whale-song or the whisper of scales against stone.
    "Lysander, hurry," the young man on the beach called again, impatiently.
    This was an unexpected gift. Lysander. I whispered his name and it rolled sweetly off my tongue.
    Lysander shook himself and turned to go. He splashed his way to the beach and then walked, with his friend, down the winding path and into the village, where he disappeared behind a mud-brick building.
    I watched until the dust had settled back. Scraps of thought swirled around in my mind like a shoal of sardines under attack. Ios nudged her slick, blue-black snout against my shoulder blade. I wrapped my arms around her back and let her bear me up. I'd thought that seeing Lysander again would be enough, but now I knew that wasn't so. I wanted to touch him again. I longed to hold him in my arms the way I had on the beach that night.
    I'd found him, only to realize that I could never become part of his life, never, unless he joined me in the sea