A Thousand Salt Kisses Later (Book 2 of Salt Kiss series)

Playing With Fire

Nephys's bed was a large green crystal rock. A sheet of luminous moss nestled into a flat patch in the middle to form a mattress, whilst a giant sea-sponge made up a pillow. Beautiful orange and purple sea flowers sat in clusters upon an arch of crystal rocks at the head to watch over her as she slept. They were similar to the flowers up above, only brighter and spikier.

I sat, tail curled at the foot of the bed, listening out for her swooshes. While I waited, I took time out of my torturous cycle of thoughts, to momentarily contemplate how exactly liquids could be consumed down here on the seabed.

How will it flow into my mouth? Would it not amalgamate with the sea water? I wondered too about these nibbles she spoke of. What do mers even eat? I had asked Llyr once, and he had mentioned something about seafood. But is this seafood cooked? Is it gutted? I shuddered at the thought of being handed a whole raw fish to consume.

I heard the swishing of water, and Nephys reappeared with a disk-like shape and a box.

She knelt down carefully on the floor next to me, her pearly white tail folded beneath her. "Here," she said brightly, although her expression betrayed her act. The muscles in her face were still tensed, and her eyes looked distracted, glancing upwards and to the left. It looked like she was busily plotting something – quite probably what to say to Ri.

She held up the disk; it was carved from stone.

"What is it?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Food, darling," she replied. "You must be starving."

Technically I should be starving; I hadn't eaten in about forty-eight hours, but my stomach was still in knots. And besides, something was not quite right.

"What am I supposed to be eating?" I asked, looking at the empty disk.

"Oh, it's underneath," she giggled, lifting it up higher.

I peered underneath and sure enough, I saw little pink things pressed up against the stone. I raised my eyebrows. Of course! If I'd learned anything helpful from today's ceremony, it was from watching the juggler. A lot of stuff floated upwards under the sea. You couldn't just pop something on a plate and expect it to stay there.

I pulled off one of the pink things and gingerly examined it. It was fish; I realized looking at the shiny fleshy substance. Raw fish.

I put it into my mouth cautiously and was instantly struck with a sense of familiarity. Mmm. It tastes like sushi!

That's because it basically is sushi, dummy!

I finished the piece and nodded appreciatively.

"And now for the tipple," said Nephys holding out the box. "You have to reach inside from below, just like the plate."

I frowned and raised my hand to the box, reaching underneath. I felt little bead-like objects and clasped them.

Once I had retrieved them, I opened my hand slowly. Little green capsules were nestled in my palm.

"This is alcohol?" I asked wearily, scooping them back into my palm as they strayed upwards. It was not what I had been hoping for at all. It looked like a vitamin tablet.

"Yes," said Nephys. "This is how we take alcohol. It's distilled seaweed, the finest stuff around. It's from Evergreen."

I shook my head in disbelief, raising a capsule slowly to my lips. I popped it into my mouth, and as I bit into it, I could feel the sting of alcohol inside my cheeks. Its contents seemed to mix quickly with the seawater in my mouth, and I swallowed the whole lot. It had a vodka quality to it, and I instantly felt more relaxed. I lifted another to my lips, and Nephys laughed.