Princess Elodi's Arc

Chapter 42 of 55

The ship had not yet cleared the bay when Isla asked to go back. She stood at the bow, spear in hand, watching her island shrink under the morning sun. "One thing," she said to Elodi. "I did not say goodbye. Not the right way." Elodi went to Captain Blackwell and asked for an hour. Blackwell studied the sky, then nodded. "One hour. The wind waits for no one." A small boat carried them back to the sand. Chief Manawa and Chieftess Valara stood on the beach, already waiting. Isla ran to them. Her father caught her against his chest, his gray-streaked dreadlocks falling over her braids. Her mother pressed a hand to Isla's cheek. They spoke to her in their own tongue, words Elodi did not know but understood anyway. Manawa held his daughter's face and said something low and firm. Valara pulled a shell from her neck and tied it into Isla's hair, next to the vines. Elodi stood back and let them have the moment. She had left her own mother twice. She knew what it cost to walk toward open water. But Isla was not being pushed out or locked away. She was choosing this. All her life she had wanted to leave the island and find new lands. Now her parents were giving her that gift with their own hands. The hour ran short. Isla pulled away and climbed into the boat. Her parents did not follow. They stood in the surf and watched. As the crew rowed out, Isla stood and lifted her spear high. She waved it once, then again. On the beach, Manawa and Valara raised their arms. No one called out. The distance grew until Elodi could no longer see their faces. Back on deck, Isla gripped the rail and did not speak. Elodi came beside her and took her hand. "Thank you," Elodi said. "You didn't have to leave them. Not for me." Isla wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist. "I wanted the sea long before I met you," she said. "You only gave me the reason." Blackwell called for the sails. The Serpent Corsair turned its carved serpent prow toward the west. Isla wiped her face clean and pointed past the bow. "There," she said. "The reef starts before dark. After that, the black rocks. Keep the crew's ears stopped, or the sirens take them." Her voice was steady again. The island was gone behind them. Only the singing water lay ahead.