My forehead throbs, and my eyes burn like I’ve held them open in the air for too long. Finn is gone for good. I watched him walk away, and I know he won’t be back. He may not even be able to save me. All of my hopes just walked down the stairs and out the door.
Niku nudges my hand onto his back. “Are you okay?”
Numbness washes over my scales, like a jellyfish has stung me and the pain is so bad all my senses have been shut down. I don’t know what to do without Finn—he taught me how to survive in this place, and now, I’m on my own. Jen and Niku might be here with me, but I feel empty inside.
Jen leans down. “Let’s go, Erie.”
I don’t move until Niku pushes me toward the tube. The audience is still standing around, taking pictures, talking to each other in excited tones. I ignore them as they press against the glass and yell my stage name, trying to get my attention. I wish they’d disappear. The tube brings blessed silence when I swim into it.
Jen shuts the door to the tube behind us, and says, “Do you want me to call the vet to check your forehead?”
The words rush past me like I’ve forgotten how to speak the air. I prod the wound and wince—before long, I’ll be just as scarred as Niku.
Sergio walks in, a magic rectangle in his hand. He scowls at my forehead. “I’ll radio the vet.”
“No,” I finally say. I don’t need to be stared at by any more landfolk today. “It’s fine.”
“It’s policy.”
“Fuck that.” I curl up in my tail in the middle of the tank, hiding the cut with my hair. I don’t want to see anyone right now, not even Niku. I don’t want to do anything but sleep, and spend the rest of the day in my dreams, in the Seadom, with Finn.