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We turned to leave the studio.
“Who else knows about Istil?” Makoa asked.
“You and Visir… but apparently it’s more obvious than I thought. Have Kai and Leo said anything?”
“Nope.”
I wondered how long it would be before they figured things out. Would we even need to wait until Istil was showing before we needed to explain ourselves?
Back at the lighthouse, Istil was boiling a kettle of water over the wood stove. A sack and trunk of belongings sat against the wall by the front door. Leo had returned and was watching a blue crab scuttle around a woven basket on the dining table.
“Ari is here,” Makoa announced. “What’s this? Dinner?”
Leo slid the basket away from Makoa. “Absolutely not. I’ve never seen one of this color.”
“Blue? We’ve seen plenty of blue crabs.”
“But notthisshade of blue.”
I adjusted my glasses and peered into the basket. It looked like a normal blue crab to me, but Leo had always had a much deeper affinity with these things. Where I’d spent my life training my sense of smell, he’d spent it attuning himself to the voice of the sea.
The kettle whistled and Istil pulled it off of the flames.
“Let’s share one more cup of tea before I go,” he said.
“You make it sound like you’re leaving T’Wanu,” Makoa said.
“I know, but I’m just gonna miss being here with you guys. You truly made me feel welcome and at home here.”
Makoa waved his hand. “Ahh, it was our pleasure. But you won’t be far. Fly over any time. Your cousin’s here, anyway.”
“We’re going to need to find new guests,” Leo said.
The front door swung open, and Kai and Visir walked inside, wet hair and wet clothes from the sea. Kai had a watertight transport box slung under his arm, and he paused when he saw me.
“Don’t worry, I’m not here to bother you,” I said.
“That’s a first,” Kai said. He dropped the heavy box on the table. “Nice crab, Leo.”
“Thank you.”
I waved to Visir, who bowed to me.
“So, what are you here for?” Kai asked me.
“Ari is helping me with my things.”
“What? Are you going back to Silver Mountain?”
“No, to the main house.”
Kai looked surprised. “The main house? What for?”
“I have things I need to take care of there,” Istil said, “before I do eventually return home.”
“Damn,” said Kai. “I was really starting to hope you’d just live with us forever.”
Istil laughed. “Kai! That’s so nice of you.”
