“What is that?” Luce stared at the oncoming froth; only Nausicaa’s obvious joy kept her from feeling alarmed by the sight.

“The grays, Luce! The gray whales are migrating! They were nearly all slaughtered not so long ago, like so many other animals have been. I’ve seen blue whales killed in their hundreds by harpoons made to explode inside their brains, and countless other nightmares brought to this earth by humans.”

Luce had trouble believing that those enormous billows of mist were being thrown into the air by a species that was nearly extinct. “But if they were almost all killed, then . . .”

“They’ve come back! Luce, so many things are gone forever. Creatures that once ran so thick they were like a second ocean rolling through the first . . . But the grays, the grays are coming back! It is one reason I can still have hope.” Nausicaa spiraled her tail in the water and leaped straight up, pirouetting in naked space, the emerald flash of her tail answering the dawn. She dove deep and came up with gold-lit droplets flinging out around her hair. “I must go to them, Luce. Would you like to come with me? There are some I’ve known before. They should remember me . . .”

“Maybe I’ll . . . come find you later.” Luce could hear the embarrassment in her voice, and Nausicaa glanced at her sharply but didn’t say anything. There was the possibility that Dorian would cut school and wait for her at their beach. The gray whales barely seemed interesting compared to the prospect of touching his face again.

Nausicaa was already gone.

∗ ∗ ∗

Luce knew that there were other things she should do besides go to find Dorian. She hadn’t seen Dana since the day of the fight with Anais. And, while Luce didn’t know what she could have done differently, the fact was that she’d thrown Dana’s twin sister into a wall. Jenna might be seriously injured, and Luce should at least try to find out how she was doing. And then there was the question of Violet: would Anais figure out that Violet had betrayed her to help Luce? Maybe it wasn’t completely safe for Violet to stay in the tribe any longer.

But what was she supposed to do? Luce asked herself resentfully. Going back to the tribe’s territory to look for Dana and Violet would only mean another fight, wouldn’t it? The last thing Luce wanted was to find herself in a situation where she’d be forced to hurt another mermaid again, and then Dana was probably furious with her over Jenna. Luce slid through the gold-streaked water, listening to the high, silky moans of the gray whales. She was almost to the beach where Dorian might be waiting for her, and she quickly peered above the surface to see if she could catch a glimpse of him.