It had been two weeks since the battle at the Cove of the Ancestors, the Metkayina’s Calf Communion, and the funeral of Ronal — Guest’s mother and the clan’s Tsahìk. The events had happened one after another, leaving the reef clan victorious against the RDA but devastated by everything they lost. Neteyam and his family had attended Ronal’s funeral out of respect despite the tension that had existed between her and the Sullys when they first arrived seeking uturu because she had eventually fought beside his parents.

But ever since that day, Guest had changed. She wasn’t the same fierce, resilient girl who had taught him the Way of Water, challenged him during training, or laughed while racing their ilus through the reef. She carried herself like someone trying to hold up the entire ocean alone. And it broke Neteyam’s heart because before the battle, before everything went wrong, he had finally decided he would confess how he felt. But when the fighting began, he pushed it aside. Believing there would always be a better time. Now he wasn’t sure. Not when Guest was grieving her mother, caring for her newborn sister Pril, and preparing to take Ronal’s place as Tsahìk in only two days. She was barely old enough to mate let alone lead an entire clan even with the help of her father, Tonowari.

Priya and her group stood around Guest in a mini half-circle. The Metkayina girl who had been infatuated with Neteyam since the Sullys first arrived wore a smug expression, clearly enjoying having an audience.

“Still wearing your mother’s things?” Priya mocked, looking over Guest’s mourning pieces. “Do you really think pretending to be her will make everyone forget you’re just a scared little girl?”

Guest said nothing. That only seemed to encourage her.

“Everyone knows you’re only Tsahìk because you’re her daughter.”

The girls turned, surprised to see him standing there. “Neteyam—” Priya started, her expression softening, but Neteyam’s golden eyes stayed fixed on Guest.