Ansley’s eyes went wide, magnified wider by her spectacles. “I—I haven’t done anything. I only started these experiments a few weeks ago. How could I possibly be responsible for what is happening?”

“We just want to get this cleared up,” Orla assured her.

“But my shop! My work! Who will look after it while I’m gone?”

“Ansley, please don’t make me ask again,” Orla said firmly.

Ansley’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “All right, then,” she murmured. She followed Orla and the other Guardians outside while the apprentices lingered in the Planty Shanty.

Shazi smiled smugly. “You were right. Imagine—feeding the weeping tide out in the open ocean!”

“Will the attacks stop now?” Hasu asked.

Barclay hoped so, but that familiar sense of dread in his stomach hadn’t gone away. Though Ansley’s actions certainly were suspicious, she had seemed so shocked by their accusations. And now that he thought about it, if the earthquakes were coincidence and the temperatures of the Sea weren’t actually rising, then that didn’t explain all the dead fish.

“What will happen to her if she’s found guilty?” Barclay asked.

“She’ll be banished from the Sea,” Tadg answered.

Barclay shuddered, remembering all too well how it felt to be thrown out of his home. What if they were wrong? What if he had done that same thing to someone else?

“So that means…” His mouth felt awfully dry. “That means we can ask Runa now. We can find out the truth about Audrian Keyes.”

Viola groaned. “We can’t. They’re all questioning Ansley.”

“We could wait at the Guild House,” Cecily suggested.

“No,” Tadg snapped. “The three of us are not waiting with the three of you.”

Hurt flickered across Shazi’s face, but then her nostrils flared. “Fine. We’re going home. It’s not like we want to wait with you, either.”

But Barclay didn’t have it in him to fight anymore. Overwhelmed, he pushed past the others and fled outside. He didn’t know where he was going. The library was closed at this hour. Maedigan Cove would only make him feel twice as guilty about what they’d accused Ansley of. And the streets of Munsey were so crammed with refugees that there was no solitude to be found, not even in the winding alleys.

So, with nowhere else to go, he found himself on the beach.

Except he wasn’t alone. Ulick stood there, looking strangely lonesome without Bewlah perched on his shoulder. He stared out at the water.

Ulick turned as Barclay approached. “Ah, looking for a bit of thinking space?”

Barclay nodded.

“I was after that myself. Orla has suspended all but the absolutely necessary voyages between the Isles, and Bewlah and I miss our sea legs. Especially on a moon like tonight.” He pointed at the full white moon that floated like a phantom over the Sea. “The tides will be strong.”