AS I SWIM DOWNWARD after Dai, I try not to think about the last time he took me to see something special below the sunlit zone. He kissed me that afternoon, and said that he really liked me, but now I have no idea how Dai feels.

Sometimes I wish I could use my telepathy to read other people’s minds any time I want. But my mother warned me that was a bad idea, and mostly I think she was right. I don’t really want to know what my friends are thinking about me.

Right now, though, it’s way tempting to peek into Dai’s mind.

:This isn’t so terrible, is it?: Dai asks abruptly. When I glance at him, the intense look in his eyes makes me uneasy.

:What d’you mean?:

:I mean, couldn’t you see yourself getting used to living with us? My friends are cool. Sunny, Shadow, and Ocho really like you, and Rad has a whale-size crush on Ree.:

I stare back at him. How clueless can he get?

:Dai, Safety Harbor’s our home, and I can’t imagine I’ll ever get used to wearing a collar that shocks me like I’m an animal.: Or get used to living with the shark crew and Wasp.

:A home that you lived in for what, all of two weeks?:

:And whose fault is that?:

:My dad’s, not mine. You’re not being fair if you blame me for what he does.:

:I’m not blaming you for his actions, but I do blame you for not telling us who you were and why you found us.:

:So we’re back to that again.: Dai stops swimming and turns to face me, his eyes simmering. :How many times do you want me to say I’m sorry for something I had to do? I didn’t have any choice.:

:But you did have a choice. You could have chosen any time during those five weeks while we fought our way up the coast to tell us who you really were.:

:You still don’t get it. If I don’t do exactly what my dad tells me to do, he takes it out on them.: Dai jerks a thumb back toward his friends.

:I don’t understand.:

:He’s decided they’re all defective.: Dai throws his hands wide. :I’m the only one he thinks turned out perfectly. He only keeps the others alive because he knows I care about them.:

A chill steals down my back when I realize what he’s saying.

:They’re the way he controls me. They’re the reason I don’t have a collar.:

:Oh, Dai, I’m so sorry.: My dad and I have our own issues, but I can’t imagine what it must be like to grow up with a father willing to blackmail me like that.

:Don’t be sorry for me. That’s the last thing I need from you.: Dai turns away, sounding so angry and miserable that my heart twists.

I swim up behind him and touch his shoulder. :Then I won’t feel sorry for you. I’ll just stay really mad at you instead.:

He turns to face me. :I guess that’s better,: he says, his lips lifting in a hint of a smile, :but I don’t want you to be mad at me, either. Maybe this will help. I know you’ll like what I want to show you down here.:

:’Kay.:

He takes my hand and leads me deeper down the wall until the light from the surface fades completely. I try not to notice how nice it feels to hold hands with him. We pass several large white cloud corals that grow in random patterns and shapes, looking like ghosts and small snow-covered mountains in the dark.

Then we come to dozens of orangish-red Gorgonian corals. Anchored to big boulders, they reach outward with their arms, filtering their food from the water flowing past. Shaped like large fans, and with their feathery polyps open, they almost glow in the darkness. Small rockfish swim behind them, using the corals as shelter from the current.

:Wow,: I breathe.

:They grow so slowly in these dark, cold waters, these corals are probably hundreds of years old. I like lots of species that live below the sunlit zone, but I’ve spent hours researching and studying these in particular.:

:They’re beautiful. Thank you for showing them to me.:

Dai turns to face me. :I didn’t want you to come to Atlantea, but I’m glad now that you’re here.: He pulls at one of his braids, looking uncharacteristically unsure of himself. :I’ve missed you,: he says, and he almost sounds angry about it.

:I’ve missed you, too,:

He swims closer, and I think maybe he wants to kiss me. But everything’s so complicated between us now, I’m not sure I want to kiss him back.

Suddenly, Sokya, Densil, and Ton come racing down from the surface to find me, whistling and sawing.

:you have to come! they are hurting her. she is very scared. if they wish to eat her, they should just kill her.: Sokya’s words tumble over one another.

:Slow down. Sokya, I don’t understand.:

:the other humans with tows, they have a young orca trapped in an inlet,: Densil explains more calmly. :but they do not kill her. they hurt her instead.:

I grab Sokya’s dorsal, and she tows me upward toward the rest of our group.

:What’s upsetting your dolphins?: Dai asks, swimming so fast that he keeps pace with Sokya.

:It sounds like your adorable friends have caught a young whale, and instead of killing it for food, they’re torturing it.:

:They’re just playing with it,: Dai says impatiently. :They will kill it eventually. Tell your dolphins I’ve seen Ton play with fish dozens of times before he eats them.:

I relay his words to the dolphins.

:she is different from fish,: Densil replies promptly. :the orca thinks.:

Densil has cut right to the heart of the problem. Marine mammals are incredibly intelligent, and I know some of them do think.

When I relay Densil’s protest to Dai, he shrugs. :It’s just an orca. There are hundreds of them in these waters, and some hunt dolphins. Your pod should be glad my friends are about to kill one.:

:Orcas are cousins to your Ton,: I retort. :And you know how smart he is.:

Sokya leads me straight to Tobin. :he wants them to stop, too,: she tells me. :please, you both go make them stop.:

Tobin shakes his head. :I don’t like what the shark crew’s doing, and I’d like to help, but I doubt it’s a good idea. Whitey and Sham hate our guts already.:

:Believe me,: Dai says, breaking in on our conversation, :it’s better if they let off some steam this way.:

:Dai’s right,: Rad says. The rest of the kids have gathered around us now. :Just look the other way and let them do whatever they want to that poor orca.:

:What, exactly, are they going to do to it?: Tobin asks Shadow.

:They’ll probably torment it for a while longer,: Shadow admits sadly, :and then they’ll kill it.:

:That’s just wrong. Take me to the orca,: I tell Sokya. If Dai won’t stop them, I’ll find some way to do it myself.