"Katari, it's time for you to learn," his voice was so calm it seemed to cut through the air like a knife.

  "Learn what?" I whispered, trying to keep my voice as quiet as possible. If it weren’t for the water wall nearby, I was sure everyone would have heard what I’d just done.

  "The problem is the body. You need to get rid of it. This is a simple task—just make it small enough to hide."

  "What the do you expect me to do? Eat it? I could never eat that fast, and besides, he's Raroren."

  "I don't see how any of that matters, remember what you did to your lip earlier today."

  "I don’t think I can heal the dead, can I? Wait, even if I brought him back to life, I don’t think that would solve the problem. He’d just be mad. Probably."

  Karson’s imposing, crimson form swirled around me, the glistening light shimmering off the surface of his blood-like figure, much like sunlight on water.

  "You misunderstand, child. You did not heal—you mended. Command this flesh to come together."

  His words echoed in my mind as I drew upon the Mana from my well, channeling it into the corpse. He was right—it felt as easy to manipulate as my own flesh. I began to command the flesh, forcing it to congeal, tearing apart the skin, breaking the limbs, and folding them into the chest cavity. The legs snapped and crunched as I drew them up, twisting the head back as far as it could go. I worked quickly, fearing someone might hear the constant sound of cracking bones.

  By the time I was finished, the corpse had been reduced to a ball of meat roughly three times the size of my head. I quickly stuffed it into my pack, my hands trembling.

  "Don’t forget the blood, child," Karson reminded me.

  With barely a thought, I gathered all the blood into a floating sphere above my palm. I guess I’ll just put this in a bottle and shove it into the pack too. For some reason, that seemed to make Karson happy. Oh, right—he’s made of blood. Maybe he wants it for a snack? Why didn’t I ever think of that before?........

  I should go talk to the head priest before I accidentally murder someone again.

  After gathering my courage, I finally made my way into the office. It was my first time seeing a living human up close. He was broader and more muscular than any Raroren I’d encountered, much larger than my upper body. The man gestured to a chair, and I found myself instinctively splaying out and waving my tail fins slightly in response.

  “Ah, apologies, do feel free to shift it aside if it’s in yer way,” he said, his voice deep and smooth, with a lilt I hadn’t heard before."

  Sweeping the chair aside with the tip of my tail, I tucked my fin in tight and coiled my tail into a comfortable sitting position, leaning against it. From this vantage point, I was looking down at the large man, and it actually made him seem smaller. The perspective helped calm my nerves after what had just happened outside.

  “And what brings ye here, lass? Might I be so bold as to ask yer name?” His voice was warm, but that accent threw me off—a bit strange, somethin' I couldn't quite place. Must be from the surface.

  “My name is Katari. I’ve come here to learn, and the first thing I’d like to learn is your name,” I said, smiling at him. The smile seemed to bring a flush to his face. He wore a ruffled white shirt and a pair of black pants, both slightly worn but still dignified.

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  “Lochlainn Luslá,” he replied with a broad smile. His teeth were flat and unimpressive, which made me sigh in disappointment. I think I caught him off guard with that.

  “Could I interest ye in some candied coral?” he offered, gesturing toward a bowl on his table. I grabbed a handful and stuffed it into my mouth. As I chewed, the sound of the coral crunching reminded me of the bones I’d just broken outside. But it tasted so good that I kept chewing.

  “You told me you couldn’t eat plants. Are you trying to upset your stomach?” Karson’s voice whispered over my shoulder.

  “Coral isn’t a plant. It’s actually an animal, which means it’s meat,” I replied without thinking, accidentally saying it aloud. Lochlainn seemed to think I was speaking to him.

  “Aye, that it is. We don’t just carry vegetation here; the Ausawen’s diet wouldn’t allow it anyhow.,” he said, his tone slightly bemused.

  I nodded, trying to focus on the conversation, but my mind kept drifting back to the flesh ball hidden in my pack,

  I'd actually originally intended to buy some candied coral back at Sieki’s shop, but I had forgotten. The thought crossed my mind just as Lochlainn suddenly stood up from his chair, bringing himself to my eye level. For a moment, anxiety spiked in my chest. Did he know what happened in the hallway? Was he about to attack me or have me dragged off?

  “Well now,” Lochlainn began, his tone measured, “I’ll need to have a word with the big lass outside, get a better sense of what’s goin’ on. But for now, how about we find ye a place to rest, if it’s learnin’ ye’re after?”

  He opened a door and gestured for me to follow him deeper inside. Beyond lay a large domed room with hallways branching off in every direction. Above it all, a vast domed ceiling depicted a stormy battle—Thúl, battling a pitch-black sea serpent, his blade poised to pierce the beast's heart.

  Karson floated beside me, his crimson form casting a faint, eerie light. He stared up at the dome. “Arios…” he whispered, almost reverently.

  I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. That was clearly Thúl up there.

  Lochlainn gestured for me to follow him, and after a moment’s hesitation, I did. Curiosity gnawed at me, and I finally couldn’t resist asking, “Why is a human under the sea? Isn’t it difficult for you to live here?”

  He stopped in the center of the room, turning to face me. “Ahh, sure it’s been a while since anyone’s asked me that. It’s not often we get fresh faces around these parts.”

  Lochlainn took a deep breath and continued, “I’m from the Luslá family, a noble lot from up above. We’ve a wee island called Nealia, sittin’ between here and Talamh an Ghleann. Lovely place, though small—too small to grow enough food for all the folks there, even with a bit o’ magic helpin’ out. We do a fine trade in spirits, though, and that’s what keeps us goin’. But food? That we have to bring in from elsewhere.”

  As he spoke, my attention drifted to the lights moving across the floor, drawing my gaze back up to the ceiling. It wasn’t a painting as I had first thought; it was stained glass. The entire ceiling was made of it, and as water moved behind the glass, the storm depicted seemed to come to life. The serpent was so black it seemed to suck in the light, while the warrior’s armor, equally dark, gleamed with gold accents. His long, flowing green hair and emerald robes contrasted beautifully with the darkness of the scene.

  Lochlainn’s voice brought me back to the moment. “I wasn’t the third son, not even the fifth, so there wasn’t much waitin’ for me in the way of inheritance. So, I took to the priesthood, lived grand up on the surface for a spell, but then I thought it’d be worth lendin’ a hand with the negotiations down here. One day, I just made the move for good. Nothin’ too complicated. I do my best to help both my homes—old and new.”

  His tone made it clear he didn’t want to discuss the matter further. He let me choose between a dry room or a wet one, and it took me about fifteen minutes to make up my mind. He grew a bit impatient, but in the end, I decided on the dry room.

  As I closed my eyes, sinking into a massive cushion designed specifically for a serpentine body, a sudden realization jolted me upright.

  “I forgot the dolphin meat.”