The Glimmering Sea

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Armida paused in the calm of early morning, alert for signs of wakefulness from her parents. She had only a fitful sleep since Paolo's disappearance. She rechecked his room, denial fueling hope that he had returned, but he had not.

A few errant bream had squeezed through the outer net and nibbled at algae on the floor. A poor choice, coming here, my friends. You may find yourselves on the wrong end of breakfast in a few hours.

A compulsion to leave without a trace drove her, though she could not identify the source of that urge. It was a vague apprehension about her precarious confidence and whether her hastiness was a mistake.

Leaving her mother meant little; in fact, it lifted a burden. Armida had lived through enough disregard to last a lifetime. Her mother would be too distraught over Paolo to care about Armida's absence. Her reason for avoiding Isabetta and Rinaldo was entirely different. They would realize her determination to swim out beyond the safety of Marea into the unknown might not succeed. Her doubt would be reflected in their eyes and that was unbearable.

So, she would leave unannounced on this journey she knew she must take alone. She shut her mind against doubt. She was unskilled in the farther reaches of the sea, but she could learn. She would have to.

And still, a tight, nagging sensation caused Armida to linger in the passage. She closed her eyes, relaxed for a moment, and waited for the uneasiness to clear. Instead, it intensified.

Father.

It had been only a few hours since she understood the depth of her father's despair over Paolo's disappearance. In her heart, Armida knew her father would be devastated if she left without saying goodbye. She couldn't shake the idea that she might never see him again.

≈There you are, finally. I expected you to choose this path and to glide away without a farewell.≈ Faro's smile warmed his face. ≈You must know, you are not a mystery to me. I gave birth to you, helped raise you.≈ Faro drew her into the gathering room.

Armida put her hands on either side of her father's face and kissed his forehead as a mother might do with a child. ≈You will be in my heart as I travel to Thalassa. I worry I have been a disappointment or, at the very least, ungrateful. I want you to know, even when I protested your authority, I loved you. I still do.≈

≈I know, my dear, I know. It is ever so between parent and child. Our struggles never lacked love. I am proud of your bravery. I trust only you to bring Paolo back to us. Only you have the strength required. Not even your mother is suited for this purpose. We need her to guide us as we meet the challenges here.≈

≈I will bring him back. I promise.≈

If I can't, I won't return.

≈If you can't, promise me you will come back. I can't bear to lose you both.≈

Armida hugged her father as she wondered how she could leave behind anyone who knew her so well.

✧✧✧

At war with herself, Armida sank into one emotion after another, propelled from one to the next in an inescapable whooshing whirlpool. And the greatest of these was sadness. She grasped a notch in the doorway to steady herself as she swam to the Ceremonial Grotto.

Am I drowning? How can that be?

She remembered Torquato's abovewater advice: Breathe. Underwater, it was impossible. She focused her thoughts on the breathing process. Deep in her mind, slowly in, slowly out. And again. By the third imagined breath, Armida's mental flailing calmed.

And yet, Paolo was still missing.

Her grim, wistful uncertainty about her decision yielded to determination. More strongly than ever, Armida felt a duty to the sea, but Paolo was her priority.