Sela all but gasped as a hand wrapped itself around her wrist and yanked her away from the blue-eyed fish man on the bed. She tumbled into the front of her mother's protective grip across her chest, breaking their brief eye contact. And much to all of their surprises, the man shot up on the bed.

His pink lips curled over his white teeth as he bared them in a warning hiss. The dark strands of his hair fell into the raging waves thrashing in his thunderous eyes. And though Sela swore he hissed at all of them collectively, she was surprised to find the hatred directed at just one of them in particular. Just touching above her shoulder, and focusing on her mother.

Pokni moved a footprint closer to her daughter, which did not go unnoticed by the fish man. But he still did not stop snarling at a shaking Awanita.

"Let her go, child," Pokni whispered under her breath.

"What?" Awanita snapped. Her grip tightened on Sela's arm and Sela winced, earning a low growl from the fish man.

"Let her go," the old woman exasperated. She ignored her daughter's hesitation and tugged Sela from her grip instead.

Sela's heart pumped faster in her chest, unsure of what was happening and why the fish man could not stop staring at her and hissing at her mother. Her confusion only increased when Pokni's nimble but strong hands pushed at her back and nudged her only a few footprints away from the human-like creature. Sela's gaze widened as it clashed with the beautiful dark blue gaze of the now silent fish man.

He tilted his head slightly to the side. His eyes studied her face for a moment, but Sela did not know what he was thinking. All she knew was that he did not stop staring at her, and she could not stop looking at him.

But when Sela took a hesitant step forward, the fish man flinched back and drew a hand to his wound.

"We did not do that," Sela blurted. The man blinked. "I—I found you. In the water, bleeding. I wanted to help you, so I brought you here."

His eyes widened. Good. He understood Chahta.

But she had to be sure.

"Do you understand me?" she wondered, taking another foot forward. They were hardly one more away from one another.

He sucked in a breath. "I . . . understand," he struggled, wincing as he pressed a hand against his bandaged wound. "You . . . saved . . . me?"

Warmth spilled into Sela's cheeks at not just his words, but the way his voice caressed each sound as it made her heart flutter. It echoed deep with the weight of the ocean in his words. Each one was like a gentle wave rolling over her with a soothing yet powerful presence that she could not describe. It almost put her in a trance that both grounded her and made her feel as if she were drifting on an endless sea.

"Yes, I did. You are safe here," she murmured, her voice soft. "What is your name?"

Sela had never been in such a situation before, but she supposed a name was the best place to start. She did not want to keep calling him fish man. And at the moment, distracting him, despite the distrust in his gaze, stopped the hissing.

He did, however, hesitate at her question. His blue-eyed gaze studied her for a moment before drifting down to the bandage across his chest. A brown thumb brushed against it after losing himself to his mind and thinking about her question and the consequence of answering it.

"Kael," he finally said. He raised his head again and met her curious eyes with unwavering resolve. "My name is Kael."

Kael. It fits him, she thought. No more fish man.

"Kael," Sela repeated. Kael blinked, tilting his head as he peered closer at her face. Why? Was something on it?

"Is something wrong?" she questioned, shifting in her moccasins.

"Your eyes are . . ." he started, then paused. He shook his head. "Your name. What is your name?"

She frowned, wanting him to finish his thought first. But she did not want to upset him, so she went with, "My name is Sela."

Kael's hard features softened just a little. But it did not last long, as his eyes landed back on her mother. The apprehension in his features returned, the disdain in his blue gaze unavoidable. She could tell by the curl of his upper lip that he was going to say something he would later wish he took back, so Sela stepped to the side and blocked his view. For a moment, it worked.

"Can you tell us what happened to you?" she asked, glancing down at his bandaged chest. It did not look like something an animal could do. Was it from a blade? "Do you remember?"

Kael's lips pinched together with the clenching of his jaw and he squinted his narrowed eyes. His eyebrows furrowed together the longer he took to answer, and his muscles grew more stiff. He did not look at her anymore, and she faintly wondered why.

Alas, he heaved a heavy sigh. "I do not . . . I cannot . . .I—"

"Well, of course he does not remember!" Awanita exclaimed in an unnecessary snap from behind them. Sela closed her eyes. "You expect too much from this animal! We need to get rid of it."

Sela swirled around just in time to catch her mother lunging for Kael once more. Her mother's weight nearly knocked the wind out of her as she staggered to the side, but she didn't release her Awanita from her tight grip. Fear for Kael's safety washed over her and she moved her mother far away from the growling man.

"Stop . . . trying to . . . kill him!" Sela gasped between struggles.

"He does not belong here!" Awanita shouted, glaring at her daughter. "Do you know how many of us his kind has taken?"

Her mother's rage climbed higher than Tuk mountain. And the fingers gripping the knife shook against Sela's shoulder.

Though Kael was silent, and Sela had heard of a few of their village members becoming lost to the sea, she could not find it in her heart to blame him. Maybe his people had taken some of their villagers years before, and maybe even the villagers nearby. But she could not see Kael being the reason behind it. He was so . . . gentle with her. Soft. It was hard to see him any other way at the moment.

"Do not make such a cowardice choice for a fleeting moment of anger," Sela whispered, begging her mother's ear as she tightened her grip.

Awanita was better than that. If her father were in the room with them instead of in a council meeting, he would be there agreeing with Sela. It was the way of their tribe to really think about their actions before they commit one that you could not take back. If her father, who was not from their tribe, could adopt these ways, then her mother could follow it too. She was raised by those beliefs.

And perhaps that was what finally made her drop the knife to the ground.

Sela breathed out a sigh of relief and released her mother. But Awanita was not done. The short, dark-haired woman with high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes kept her gaze on Kael. Her jaw clenched, her lips tightening. She may not have killed him with her hands, but that did not mean she was not doing so with that heavy look.

Awanita lifted a finger. "He can stay until he recovers enough to return to the sea. Then he is going back," she spat. "And who he is does not leave here. No one can know what he is; not even your father, Sela."

Sela bit her tongue. Not even her father? The one her people look to?

She did not know if she could keep something hidden like that from him, but her mother did not allow her to say anything more. Instead, she threw one last nasty look in Kael's direction and stormed out of Pokni's home without a look at Sela or Pokni. The heat pouring from her body was enough to quiet them both.

When Sela looked at Pokni, she noted the furrow of her eyebrows and thinning of her lips. With her wrinkled hand, she gestured to Kael.

"He will be your responsibility, Sela. You can bring him back to health on your own, and once the scar has faded into a white line, it will be time for him to go back," Pokni instructed. "His memory remains hidden behind a fog, and until it clears, he is not safe in the sea. Help him recover it, if you must. For a danger to him, is a danger to us all."

Sela sighed. It could take a long time for that, but she could not argue with Pokni. Pokni's words also held a truth she had not considered. What out there could hurt Kael so?

"What do we tell all of Mikasi? He does not look like he is from any of our villages either," she said, glancing over at Kael's frowning face. He did not like Pokni's words any more than she did.

"Mikasi will believe you," Pokni insisted, reaching out a withered hand to grip Sela's. She gave it a hard squeeze. "You are the chief's daughter, my young Sela, and they will listen."

Sela squeezed her Pokni's hand back. She did not know if they would believe her, but she had other paths to take. So, she released her grandmother and turned to a wincing Kael, whose hand pressed hard against the bandage on his chest. She walked closer to him once again and captured his gaze.

Sela cleared her throat. "Are you able to stand?"

A corner of Kael's lip fell into his mouth as he briefly wondered if he could. His eyes fell on his legs and for the first time since he opened them, Sela watched him inspect them. The lower half of him was still covered, much to her relief, and he did not seem to find a need to inspect that just yet. Because for a fish man, that would surely take some time to check out. And she did not know if she could handle being in the same room for that.

The thought almost made her smile in amusement, but she quickly stopped. It was not the time for that.

Kael moved himself closer to the edge of the table. With one hand on the cloth to cover his lower body, and the other on the seat next to him, he moved himself onto his feet. His fingers gripped the table behind him so tight, his knuckles turned white. He locked his jaw. One foot nudged out in front of him, and with a furrow of his eyebrow, he took a sturdy step forward.

Or what Sela thought to be a sturdy step.

Kael's body nearly crumbled had it not been for Sela's quick hands. Before he could tumble to the ground, she lurched forward and caught him by the waist. Her fingers clutched onto the soft, strong skin at his hips and pushed herself into him to balance his clumsy form. She moved her head back from his shoulder and caught her breath when her eyes met Kael's. His parted, pink lips almost stole all of her attention entirely, but it was the allure of curiosity that stopped it from being so. It was the way those pretty eyes studied her, took her in. The look alone made her heart beat faster in her chest as her entire body hummed with excitement.

"Kael," Pokni said, snapping the two of them out of their trance.

Kael blinked hard at Sela, and then looked over her shoulder at her Pokni. Sela swallowed her shaky breath and looked back at her too. In her hands was a buck skinned lyubiha (pants) and a pair of moccasins that must belong to her father.

Sela grabbed them from her Pokni and turned back to Kael. She cleared her throat, her cheeks flushed with heat and gestured to his legs. "Did you want some help?"

Behind her, Pokni stifled a laugh, and Sela fought the urge to turn around and glare at her.

Kael, not understanding Sela's fluster, nodded. With the wrap still secure around his waist, he moved back against the cot he had laid on and allowed Sela to help him get into the garment. She looked away when drawing the buckskin higher on his hips to provide him some privacy and ignored the burning of those dark blue eyes. She slid each foot into a moccasin, which was a little snug but would stretch with the material and stood up. Brushing the curls from her warm cheeks, she looked back up at him.

He may still look like an outsider, but it would be a little easier to convince others that he came from another village.

"Are you ready?" Sela questioned, her voice soft.

Though Kael did not know how to walk with legs, had never been on land, and knew nothing about their village, he still found courage within himself to nod and push himself away from the cot. It almost made her smile when she saw it.

"Ready," he murmured, nodding firmly. "Teach me, Sela."

Sela's heart fluttered. She would teach him anything he wanted. All he had to do was look at her the way he was looking at her now.