Moments later, she sat in the overstuffed armchair, phone in hand, with her music app open. Her fingertip hovered over the track she wanted to play: the humpback whale songs that used to get her in the mood, or make her feel as if she were back in the sea.

As an Each-uisge, she’d understood whale sounds perfectly. It had assisted in hunting them when the herd had good numbers and enough strength to take on a whale. Humans couldn’t hear that way; they measured whale sounds in terms of frequencies and found patterns to say that this was a mating song, that was a challenge, and so on.

The sounds weren’t science. They were speech. As a human, Hæra might no longer understand them.

The thought tore the inside of her lungs. Maybe it’d be better not to know.

No. She had to know. Madeleine would be brave enough to listen. Hæra must be too.

She pressed “play.” No sound at all came at first, only ambient water noise. What was taking so long? Could she no longer hear whale voices, period? If so…if she had lost what had given her such comfort…

“I’m here,” a male humpback announced. “I’ve been seeking you for so long.”

Hæra covered her mouth to stop the cry that crowded into her throat.

“I’ve waited for you,” a female replied.

“Let me prove my worthiness.”

Tears pricked Hæra’s eyes. No reason to hold them back; nobody was here to see. Thank the depths and the Great Mare, not everything was lost to her. She still had the whales, and she still had their song.

She looked up at the ceiling and exhaled so hard it hurt, and she spent the next few minutes listening to the whales court one another. Their songs were jubilant. She hadn’t heard anyone expressing joy since Jonathan’s death. But joy was still out there, somewhere. Perhaps someday she’d know it again too.

She’d remember Jonathan, she’d remember how to listen to whales, and she’d hold on to everything she’d been. She’d do all this while discovering who she would be.

“You okay?”

Hæra turned. Madeleine stood behind the sofa, rubbing her eyes.

“I’m all right.” It felt true for the first time in a while.

Madeleine didn’t seem convinced. Her smile had a slant of worry to it. “You’re crying. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but I wanted to check.”

Not a bad thing. Madeleine was right. Yes, Hæra was crying, but these tears didn’t make her chest feel cold and heavy.

“Are you listening to whale sounds?” Madeleine asked. “I remember when you tried to play them in bed.”

“And you didn’t appreciate it one bit.” Hæra lowered the volume on her phone, but she could still hear the song.