Some Thing Called Myself (Complete)

XLVII: Something Questionable

Ch. 47: Something Questionable

For a moment, Mara thought Iara would pierce the tree again, just for the hell of it, but that thought disappeared with all the others when Iara shouted,

"This invasion is over; we leave now!" She raised the spear again, her folded arm close to her body. "Take your weapons, leave the flesh bags, and follow me!"

No one moved. The silence on the patio was so cold, so dense, so bleak, Mara's shoulders jumped when a particularly strong breeze shook Kerana's branches and leaves. The old tree moved, and that familiar wail of wood covered the sound of Iara's steps.

Uah's reaction was a small tilt in his head, his eyes narrowing as if trying to conceal his feelings. The other mermaids had similar reactions—they shared concerned glances among themselves and then at the tied-up and gagged Sentinels. The Sents, however, were ecstatic; just a few of them—Elena included—seemed to share the mermaids' worry.

Iara stopped midway and gave a questioning stare at each one of her mermaids before she swerved to her right. The Queen walked toward the busted gates without a word; she didn't look back a second time, but the sound of her footsteps multiplied across the silent patio when her people followed her.

Uah scoffed. Mara looked at him, taking in his pursed lips, balled hands, and the thin frustration lining his face.

"Hey, you okay?" Mara whispered.

"Do I look okay?" he growled.

A large group of mermaids walked past them, and one of them gave Uah a pointed look and glanced at the gate.

Uah hissed in response, showing two rows of sharp teeth. He furrowed his brows and set his jaw. "I don't get it. My sister was ready to start a war to get Father back," Uah whispered. "And now she orders us to leave?"

Mara leaned forward to look at Iara's receding back and backward to watch Uah again. His lower lip trembled, and he sniffed, clenching his jaw. He got up.

The sun dried the wet earth, and the moisture in the air increased, baking sweat, dirt, and blood on Mara's skin. It was so hot and stuffy on the patio, she remembered the rainy days in the old building of the USP, with their broken ceiling fans, crowded classrooms, and ancient teachers.

Being inside those classrooms and knowing what was happening outside was, for the most part of her academic life, something almost impossible. Until Amanda and Lipe died, Mara had always thought she needed to take action. To speak up. To fight at every opportunity in the name of justice and fairness.

"Uah?" Mara called.

He stopped and looked around.

This whole situation felt like anything but fair. Mara was pretty sure she had seen the mermaid King in that damned undercroft, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell him about it. She tried to control her racing heart; she knew that the old Mara wouldn't think twice about it. She knew she could right this wrong and maybe spread some justice into the world—something that Mom's brown candle symbolized.

But...this wasn't the old Mara. This Mara was different.

She looked from Uah to Jano, still perched in the same spot on the seventh floor, watching the scene with interest. Then, she looked at her gagged friends and finally at Bernardo. Beh, unlike the others, was looking from her to Uah—not with questioning eyes, but with a protective stare.

Mara licked her lips and shook her head. She couldn't tell him. If it meant bringing the mermaids back in and potentially hurting all the people here, her sister and squad included, she just couldn't do it.