With a roar, Papa lifted him completely over the rail and dangled him like bait, holding his ankles. I shut my eyes. Papa wouldn’t… not unless the man had done very, very bad. Had he hurt one of the women?

Papa whistled a tune, one I felt certain I’d heard many times, but I didn’t know its name.

“Wait,” the man chirped, his voice threadbare. “Wait… No! No! N—”

The man went quiet, and I opened my eyes just in time to see Papa let go of his ankles. The man didn’t scream as he fell, but I let out a high, piercing sound when black claws raised from the water and left divots in the fine Damascus woodwork. Papa turned ashen, save for his beard. A lightning bolt streaked through the night like a sign from Zeus, making Papa’s face look scary. One eye receded in shadow, while the other leaped out, too big and bright, and the zagging scar of light illuminated the speckles of blood on his cheek.

And then I was falling, too, down into the raging sea. I was full grown again, and Rylander’s haunting tune flooded into my ears as I struck the icy water.

I spun and thrashed unable to breathe. I’m drowning, I thought. And then the music grew louder, waves crashing into me. Dark, elongated shapes moved in the murky depths. Fins. Streaming hair. Black claws slashed through the water. Death touched me, reaching out for my hand. I pressed my eyelids tight, praying to break free from whatever hallucination possessed me.

When I reopened my eyes, the room was restored. I gulped shallow breaths. My heart pounded so loud I heard nothing else. I grabbed Krinny’s full goblet and drank the sour wine in four swallows, trying to wash away the coppery tangs of fear and confusion.

I looked over to find a young woman brushing her fingertips along Rylander’s shoulder. Her full pout was stained a deep cherry that matched the cloth draped over her shapely form. She peered at Rylander through long, thick eyelashes and smiled so demurely it was almost obscene. Had there not been a whorehouse across the road, I would have accused her of looking for a customer. But nay, the sound, the melody he played with strong hands against the strings, had mystified her, too.

I shook my head and stood from my seat, breaking from my trance. No one seemed to notice my abruptness. I patted myself down, making sure I was all in one piece. My dry clothes confirmed the battering ocean had only existed in my imagination. What had just happened? Had any of that been real? The memory snaked around me and squeezed. I desperately needed the cool air.

I left the bench and headed for the exit.