| |
I was familiar with symbols—Perlnauts had them too. But I had not learned the written language of humans. I’d had no reason to do so. Having lived in the lake for my entire life, Hazel was the first human I’d communicated with. I began to wonder just how small my family’s kingdom was in the larger scheme of things.
It was difficult not to laugh at how the contraption Hazel wore to breathe underwater altered her appearance. The piece that went over her eyes enlarged them, giving them a protruding fish-like quality. The mouthpiece blocked her lovely smile and made her look like she had a nozzle-shaped snout.
She also seemed unsettled and in no mood for humor, and for some reason that bothered me. I decided to pose a question to her that had concerned me for some time.
“Assuming the receipts represent what you are saying—that your grandmother obtained the L’even pearl pieces from someone else—who is to say that her suppliers didn’t steal the pieces from my kingdom?”
I followed her to the surface to hear her answer, though I couldn’t imagine how she’d respond. The L’even pearl pieces were wholly intact—fully crafted—before they’d left the kingdom. I’d already seen the diadem and the wrist cuff, both of which were unaltered.
“Do you think I hadn’t thought of that?” She huffed. “I’m already investigating, and plan to contact the jewelry stores named on the receipts. There were local shops near the lake.”
She drew closer to me and grinned. “If any of them are still in business, we may be able to find out who supplied the stores with the jewelry, and go from there.”
I opened my mouth, and then closed it again. Her suggestion sounded like a delay on her part, but I was admittedly curious as to how the L’even pearl pieces had disappeared in first place—how they’d been removed from the kingdom and how they’d arrived at the stores. For that reason, I was willing to go along with Hazel’s continued research. She seemed to be enjoying her attempts at solving the mystery, herself.
I didn’t motion for her to follow me back into the water. I didn’t have much else to say on the matter, so I merely nodded. Besides that, her white furry creature seemed to be growing restless. It snapped at anything that moved in the water—fish, insects, fallen leaves. I backed away, keeping out of range of its loud bark and sharp teeth. I was grateful Hazel was wise enough to keep the creature tethered.
“He’s probably hungry,” Hazel said, passing her hands along the creature’s head and sides. She shook droplets from the breathing contraption before placing it inside her bag. “We should go.”
She held my eyes, her expression wary. “May I have my bracelet back so I can show Mom?”
I hesitated. I would still be able to transform and return home without it, but I would expend a great amount of energy to do so. And yet, something inside my chest twisted.
Given Hazel’s intentions to return to the creek, I expected she would bring the wrist cuff with her when she did. I could draw more energy from its power, later.
She’d left the wrist cuff in my safe keeping, even after I’d taken the diadem from her. I wanted this human to trust me, the way I’d come to trust her.
Having made my decision, I removed the wrist cuff and offered it to her.
Hazel’s countenance brightened. “Thank you!”
She slipped the cuff around her wrist and clasped it shut.
“I’ll see you later, Kai.” She tugged at the flat rope attached to the hairy creature. “Come on, Marshmallow. It’s time to go home.”
With a violent tremor, he shook droplets of water everywhere. Hazel laughed. She’d said he was a pet. But from what I’d observed thus far, he seemed much more dangerous. I was grateful she was leading him away.
The L’even pearls wavered and faded as they walked farther, eventually disappearing among the trees. Hazel’s absence left a different feeling—like something else had drifted from me, too.