Sela pressed a shaky hand to the front of her pounding chest. Her head ached now from the force of her scream, and she took a breath to stable herself. Kael glanced at her with concern, but his attention soon turned to the source behind her scream.

A chukka that had taken one too many nights to build now lay in a heap close to where they stood. Issi Waya and Nita Chito crawled out from beneath it with groaning and curses. Dirt smudged their puffing cheeks and the dead straw that made up the chukka covered their dark hair and buckskin clothing.

Sela, relieved the crash was nothing too serious, walked over to the grumbling pair. Kael followed somewhere behind her.

"Are you alright?" she asked them, reaching for Issi Waya's arm and tugging him from the rubble.

"Yes, we are fine," he grumbled, taking her support and standing to his feet. She brushed off the dried grass from his hair as best as she could while he did his body. One glance at Kael and she saw him doing the same with Nita Chito, who stood sturdy and shorter than the fish-man.

"The foundation was unstable. We needed another man or two when we started, but the others are trying to get Tushka's and your chukka ready before we start the ceremonies," Nita Chito explained.

Kael's gaze flickered to her at that. And with heated cheeks, Sela looked back at Issi Waya to get the remaining straw from his scalp. She did not want to be reminded of her upcoming ceremonies with her soon-to-be husband. Not when her mother did a good job of doing that herself.

But perhaps she needed to hear it. She and Kael . . . no matter how he made her heart flutter . . . it could never happen. Fate did not intend for them to be. She forbid him to her; and Sela will follow her instruction.

"I could help you," Kael offered, surprising all three of them.

Issi Waya blinked at him. Nita Chito's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh! You are—Sela! He is awake!"

Sela would have smacked the front of her head had it been appropriate. Instead, she stuck with a tight smile and did her best not to huff under her breath. "Yes, Nita. Kael is awake, and I need you and Issi to teach him how to build chukkas and hunt. He does not remember how from his own tribe, and until he does, he needs our help."

Both men glance at Kael, a sorrowful frown on each of their faces. It may not have been the full truth, but he had a sad story. And it was clear by the shadow on his face that he had been through something terrible. Whether he wanted their help, it did not matter. He needed them.

Issi Waya, the first to react, pressed a reassuring hand to Kael's shoulder. He nodded at Sela. "We will do it."

"We could use the extra help," Nita Chito added, offering a smile at Kael, who returned it with a nod of his own.

Sela breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled at them. "Thank you. Will you give us a moment?"

Both men walked back to assess the chukka's damage. Kael turned his gaze away from them and to look back at Sela in curiosity. She moved a step closer. "I just—I wanted you to know that you will be in safe hands with them. I trust these men with my life, and I know they will be a better teacher for these tasks than I. But I will meet you later tonight and bring you back to the chukka for one more meal before we meet everyone at the fire in a night's time."

He nodded, understanding. "You do not have to worry about me, Sela. I want to learn about Mikasi and the world you live in up here. If you believe learning from Issi and Nita will help me, then I trust your judgement. And the wound on my chest is more uncomfortable than painful at the moment from your healing herbs."

She tugged the corner of her lip between her teeth. "I know," she confessed. "I do not want you to think that I . . . If I could spend the day teaching you to hunt and build, I would. I just—"

"I know," he interrupted, his voice soft. He reached out a hand, hesitated, and then touched her shoulder. Her breath grew shaky at the contact. "I know you want to help me, Sela. And I am thankful for what you have done for me so far. You have duties with your mother and I understand the importance of that. We will see each other soon."

Sela's heart melted into a puddle at her feet. He knew how much she wanted to be there for him in his time of confusion and understood someone else will have to help him instead.

She nodded her head, unable to find the words. He removed his hand from her shoulder and made his way back to Issi Way and Nita Chito. She watched them for a moment, and when she was satisfied with their kind teachings, she went to her mother.

The rest of the day came and went. Her mother, her Auntie Chukfi Iskitini (Small Rabbit), and Auntie Puyakʋchi (A Ripple/Small Wave) worked together to sew her new ceremonial dress. They attached beautiful frayed strands along the arms along the hems and wove simple symbols into the dress. Each woman spoke of their own marriage ceremonies, and Auntie Puyakʋchi's desperation for her own daughter, Luksi's, marriage.

Sela was halfway listening to the entire conversation. She could tell it sparked irritation in her mother, as she would constantly pull her back into their talks, but eventually gave up after the third time. Instead, Awanita allowed Sela to focus on beading the small wrap that will go around her throat made of smooth, skinny bones.

That next day went similarly, though it started off with Kael and Sela learning one think about himself. When she accidentally splashed water onto his legs, he did not turn. And when they washed their hands before meals, he still did not turn. He needed to stay underwater long enough for his body to transform naturally. She did not know how long he could be out of water for just yet, but he did not feel sick or have the urge to change.

Kael went out early with Issi and Nita the next day while Sela stayed with her mother and aunties to check on the ceremonial items the villagers were preparing. They checked on the growing food to make sure they would be ready in time, looked over the growing pile of would that will burn for their feast, and gazed at the new drums being stretched and made for her ceremony.

Though her heart was not fully in the day, there was a brightness to it that she could not deny.

Whenever she and her family would walk by Kael, Issi, and Nita working on the chukka, she would catch his wandering eye. At first, it was nothing more than a passing glance shared between the two. But by the second and third time, it developed into a shared look of familiar warmth. Her stomach filled with flutters then. When she walked by him another time, she smiled in greeting and offered a small wave.

Much to her surprise, he returned her smile with a bright, handsome one of his own, as if he truly were just as pleased to see her as she was to see him. And the beauty behind such a sight drew even the envy of the sun, for nothing else could steal her rays of glory as she grew brighter against it. Despite the sun's jealous attempts to blind her from seeing it, Sela remained steadfast, absorbing him with wonder. The warmth of the sight brushed against her skin in a rising flush.

"Sela," the sharpness of Awanita's tongue broke Sela out of the trance she found herself in.

Sela snapped her head back towards her mother. Awanita scowled at her, aware of who her daughter was staring at so intensely, and thinned her lips. Sela swallowed hard and apologized for the distraction.

"That man can never give you what you want, Sela. It is best to see that now than hope for something different later. You are from two different worlds," Awanita said, her voice tight. "And those worlds can never collide. The Creator separated the sea and the land for a reason."

Sela glanced away. But her mother did not stop.

"The sea does not belong to you, and neither do her children," Awanita murmured, her voice softer now. "But Tushka will be a great husband to you. You have known him your entire life, Sela. There will be no surprises with him."

But . . .

Sela's shoulders sagged in defeat. "I know, mother. I am only helping Kael like you and Pokni told me to do. Tushka will be my husband and nothing is going to change that."

Awanita smiled in relief. She reached out a slender hand and smoothed Sela's curls behind her ear. "I am happy to hear you say this, daughter. Because I have some news to share with you."

That was not good.

Sela's eyebrows furrowed. "What news?"

"Your father and I have sent for Tushka," Awanita said, beaming at her. "In two suns, you will need to be ready for the last meet before the start of your union."

Sela's heart dropped.