Free Drowned by Nichola Reilly Page B

granted.”
    Dear, dear Fern. There is so much hope in her. How else would she be able to find a bright side to something so terrible? I wonder how long it will take before she sours of it, before it breaks her. I can’t bear the thought of Fern, the one pure example of what we could have been, broken. I want all of her wishes to come true.
    More people are arriving now, and I’m distracted from our conversation because so many people seem to be staring at me, wondering what imposter is standing in space two. Blushing, I look across the way toward space twelve, which will be my new space in a matter of tides. It’s a good space, not at the center but very nearly. Much better than I’d ever dreamed I’d receive once I came of age. My eyes scan upward to Kirba, who is glaring back at me. Wherever she is going when she leaves her position, she’s not happy about it. I look away, shameful. Even though it’s not really my fault, it feels as if it is.
    The sun is nearly gone before I see Tiam crawl up onto the platform. He’s carrying both bags and his spear over his shoulders, hefting them as if it’s no work at all and striding toward me. He’d always walked confidently, but now he seems even more regal. I pretend to be interested in something behind him, even though the only thing I’ve been able to think about since I left the tub has been his reaction. Tiam is very sensible. He won’t notice something so trivial. If he does, he probably won’t say a thing, I tell myself, preparing for the heartbreak. After all, my skin is still ruddy and blistered, my eyes still pink, my hair still black. I’m still weird, different. A bath can’t change that.
    When he is standing in his space, he drops my bag beside me. “Thank you,” I say.
    “Anytime,” he says, reaching his hands over his head and yawning with the most luxurious stretch. You’d think he’d just been napping instead of catching the food for the evening meal. “Did everything go all right?”
    I nod. “Thank you for recommending me.”
    He shrugs innocently. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What happened to your bracelet?”
    For a moment I don’t know what bracelet he is referring to, but then I remember that bit of plastic with RUN on it. It’s gone. I can’t remember where I lost it. “I don’t know.”
    There’s a long break in the conversation, and just when I’m sure he isn’t going to say anything more, he smiles. “Did anyone ever tell you, Coe Kettlefish, that you are positively stunning?”
    “Stunning?” I ask. No one has called me that before. “You mean...frightening?”
    He laughs. “I mean beautiful.”
    Beautiful! No matter how hard the waves pound against the sides of the platform, even if I get carried out to sea today and the scribblers make me their evening meal, I know I won’t be able to stop grinning like an absolute fool. I do my best to try to control it, but a few seconds later I always find the edges of my mouth creeping up again. The last thing I want to do, in formation, when everyone can see me, is look like a lovesick idiot.
    But this time I don’t try to press closer to Fern to avoid him. This time, when his body presses against mine, I press back, wanting to feel every inch of his skin against me. I pretend I’m doing it innocently, and at first I think he doesn’t notice, but then I feel him leaning in toward me, and his breath is warm on my shoulders. He inhales deeply, taking in my scent. If I turn, our lips would touch. I imagine the feeling of his lips, warm, soft, saying my name over and over again. The thought sends a wave of tingles over my bare arms, down my back, everywhere.
    I’m jarred from this euphoria when someone suddenly screams.
    The whispers begin. I sneak a look at Tiam, but now he’s facing the other way, standing on his toes, trying to see what has happened. He is one of the tallest on the island, so he has a better chance of finding out than anyone else in the