Mia M Dre's Arc

Chapter 10 of 13

Mia broke the surface near the rocks and drew in a sharp breath. Her mother stood on the pier, shawl wet at the hem, eyes fixed on the water. Behind her, plain as a wound in the dusk, the merchant's anchor crest hung carved above a far door. Mia froze. The comb was a stone in her bag, and her mother had already seen her face. Marina Dre held a golden clam-shell mirror in her lap, its pearl handle worn smooth from hours of turning. The carved mermaids beneath the pier dripped seawater onto the rocks. Her mother had been waiting a long time. Mia swam to the ladder and climbed. She kept the bag low at her side, the crest at her mother's back. "I came up for trade," Mia said, even. "Nothing more." Her mother's eyes searched her face, then dropped to the bag. The mirror tilted in her hand, catching the last light. "You came up for the comb," her mother said. Not a question. Mia's throat closed. She had planned for staff, for the merchant, for the buyer. She had not planned for this. She turned her body so the crest above the far door slid out of her mother's line of sight, and she met her mother's eyes. "Walk with me," Mia said. "Away from here. I'll tell you what I can." Her mother folded the mirror shut and stepped down off the pier. The secret was over. What came next, Mia would have to build with her mother beside her, not behind her. They walked the shore until the carved door was out of sight. Mia drew the comb from the bag and laid it in her mother's palm. Marina Dre did not weep. She closed her fingers around it and pressed her other hand flat to Mia's cheek. "How many more?" she asked. Mia took out the list. Her mother read the names without a sound, then tucked the paper into her shawl. "We go home," Marina said. "Tonight we plan. Together." Mia nodded. The comb was recovered. The secret she had guarded for so long was gone, and in its place stood her mother, eyes hard, ready.