Mercy slips her hand into his, clamping on tightly as she wraps her other hand around their clasped ones. “We did good.”
Luca tucks a strand of glossy hair behind Mercy’s ear, allowing himself a tender press of his lips on her temple. “We did.”
Clearing his throat, he looks around. The boats are sitting higher in the water now that some of the supplies are gone. Luca wasn’t sure what was in those urns, but it must’ve been heavy.
“Let’s get going.”
There’s a murmur of assent, everyone no doubt wanting to be far away from the dying shark as possible. It’s only a matter of time before others of its species arrive to cannibalize it.
Sam leans down and shuffles around in the equipment at their feet. With a small smile she holds up another oar. “They packed a spare.”
She passes it to Hawk and this time Mercy doesn’t object. They need to get back sooner rather than later.
Adrenaline still buzzing through his veins, Luca starts rowing again. Beside them, Gust takes one of the oars, suddenly far more interested in getting them to their destination.
The trip will be quicker now. Fewer supplies to weigh them down.
No one wanting to be in the ocean any longer than they have to.
When Luca sees the hazy slip of land that’s the Newlands, he’s almost relieved.
Except then he remembers there are far more dangers there than in the ocean.
This is the new life they’ve all chosen.
And it’s already begun.
HAWK
The Seekers touch sand at the Newlands and Hawk breathes a sigh.
They made it.
He leaps out of the boat and drags it up onto the beach. Luca helps with the other boat and they glance at each other, the concern in their eyes doing all the talking for them. They’re by no means out of danger.
The others climb out and Gust makes a show of crouching down and kissing the sand while Nikita shakes her head.
“I can’t believe we’re alive,” says Siena. “That was a genius idea to throw the urns at the leatherskin. Who thought of that?”
“Sam,” Hawk and Luca say at once.
Sam pulls back her shoulders and smiles. “Thankfully everyone else is a better shot than me. It was teamwork.”
“Did you see how I slammed that beast with my oar?” Gust stands up and stretches. “I weakened it nicely for the fatal blow.”
“Whatever you say.” Luca rolls his eyes, shifting the boat slightly so it sits better on the sand.
“So!” Sam claps her hands and Hawk notices how pale she is. Although, if she’s feeling unwell, she seems determined not to show it. “What do we do now?”
The Seekers all look to each other. This is the moment they dreamed of. The one they all worked so hard to make sure they were a part of. And now that it’s here, nobody seems to know quite what to do with it.
“We need to build a shelter,” says Gust, looking at the clouds.
“We need water first.” Nikita climbs back into the boat and shuffles through the supplies. “And something to eat.”
“I think we need to talk to Grace,” says Mercy, squinting into the trees. “Food and shelter will be kind of useless if people start throwing spears at us.”
Hawk nods and is just about to say that Mercy’s right when he notices again how pale Sam is. Could she be getting dehydrated? Maybe Nikita’s right. They’re going to need water. And urgently. He’s determined not to have a repeat performance of Sam collapsing on him. She hid how unwell she was feeling last time in the Proving. He has no doubt she’d do it again.
“Umm.” Nikita stands up in the boat, hands on hips. “Guys!”
“What’s happened?” Gust asks.
“No water, that’s what’s happened. You threw out all the urns!”
Hawk feels disappointment crawl down his spine with icy fingers. They don’t have water.
“What did you want us to do?” Sam snaps at Nikita. “Leave the urns on the boat so we could all become shark food?”
“It’s nobody’s fault,” says Mercy, putting a hand on Sam’s back. “It happened. Arguing about it won’t help. Anybody got any ideas?”
“We could catch rainwater?” Nikita suggests.
“Except it’s not raining,” Mercy points out.
“We could ask the Outlanders,” says Gust.
“The less dependent we are on them, the better.” Hawk doesn’t like the idea of asking Corbin for anything.
“I agree.” Sam touches her cheek, dropping her hand when she realizes what she’s doing.
Hawk looks to Luca. He wasn’t supposed to be here. But he is. So, they may as well use his knowledge. “Any suggestions?”
Luca swallows as all faces turn to him. “Hawk’s right. We need to be as independent as possible. Which means we should set up camp in the forest close to here to save having to lug our supplies too far.”
“That doesn’t solve our water problem.” Nikita plants her hands on her hips.
“We’ll dig a well,” says Luca. “I’ve seen them in the Outlands.”
“A well?” Gust laughs. “If we dig one of those here, all we’re likely to hit is salty water.”
“Not necessarily.” Sam’s dark eyes are alight with possibility. “Freshwater has a lower density than seawater. Given the amount of rain the Newlands gets, the freshwater will have absorbed into the soil and formed a layer on top of the seawater. If we dig down—”
“I’m going to get started on the shelter,” says Gust, clearly making a point that he’s not going to be bossed around. “Let me know when your well’s ready. I’m thirsty.”
“Fine,” Sam and Mercy say at once.
Hawk smirks. The idea of having Gust out of the way is an attractive one.
“Where do we dig?” Hawk stretches his arms as he prepares for more work. They’re a little sore from the rowing but he should be fine. He can push through.
“Sam can help you find a good spot,” says Luca. “While Mercy and I go to see if we can find Grace. We’re the ones she trusts.”
“I’m the one she trusts,” Mercy corrects.
“Would you like to go on your own then?” Luca cocks a brow at Mercy.
Mercy looks stricken. “No! I’m good. You can come.”
“Be careful, Mercy,” Hawk tells his cousin, not too sure about this idea.
“Careful’s my middle name.” She winks at him.
“What’s your last name then?” he asks, rolling his eyes.
Mercy laughs. “You’re so old-fashioned, Hawk!”
“Come on.” Luca takes a step away, and Mercy follows. “We’ll just take a quick look around and report back here so I can give you a hand with the well.”
Hawk nods, watching them leave, unable to shake a sense of unease. There’s so much they need to do. And it all needs to be done first. Maybe splitting up really is the best idea for now.
“They’ll be okay.” Sam squeezes his hand. “Luca knows what he’s doing.”
“I still can’t believe he came with us.”