Chapter one

Sapphire POV

"Saph! Where're you going?" Conor called after me, as I headed out the door.

"The cove, I'm meeting a friend there." I said, shrugging into my rain coat.

"You mean you're going to Ingo." He said, coming into the living room, "It's pouring! Even the Mer can't be playing in weather like this!"

"I'll be under water eejit, and don't forget to do the washing up before Mum gets home! Roger said he's taking her out for dinner tonight!" I shut the door,
harder than necessary, because of the howling wind.

It had been only a year since the Crossing, and our lives were much the same. The monotonous task of going to school every day, only broken by the
approach of the summer holidays. This had been the wettest summer yet, and it made Ingo only more desirable. I scrambled down the rocks, and landed on the beach with a soft flump. Blinking through the rain, I thought I could just make out the shape of a boy, with what looked like a wetsuit pulled down to his waist. I knew it wasn't though, and started running. I hadn't seen him since the battle with Ervys, and couldn't wait to hear him speak about the Air, and how odd humans are.

Faro POV

There she was, running through the rain, covered in something called a coat. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she reached the rock I was on, and pulled herself up. She nearly slipped a couple of times, but I grabbed her wrist, and made sure she got up the rock safely. She smiled at me, that hundred watt smile, before pulling on my hand, in a gesture meant that we were going to dive.
Once we were immersed in the deep blue waters, she turned to me.

"Hang on, I forgot something!" She swam back up to the surface, took of her coat, and tossed it on the rock, above the tide line. I didn't tell her about what was happening on the surface when she came back down, I should've then, and saved us all the trouble.

"So, Faro, where're we going today?" She asked, pushing her billowing hair out of her face.

"I thought we might do some current surfing, they are much more fun during a storm." She nodded in acceptance, and we swam towards the nearest one.

Sapphire POV

This is what I've dreamt of for months. Faro and I current surfing is better than anything I could have done in the Air. Several times, he had to grab my wrist, and pull me out of the current, before it could hurt me. The rain cleared up, and now we're lying in the sun water, tired from our adventures.
My eyes are closed, and every now and then, a sentence passes between Faro and I.

"Faro, where have you been? I haven't seen you since the battle."

"Little sister, I've been rebuilding the ties of trust between all those who live in Ingo. Where have you been?"

"Oh, Roger proposed to Mum. She's going crazy with planning. I've been going down to the cove at least once a week though, and you haven't been there."

"Ahh, I was busy. Sapphire, if someone proposes, what happens?" I was shocked at this, Faro, who claimed to know so much about the human world, didn't know about weddings. I wanted to giggle, but remembered how understanding he'd been when I was clueless.

"When someone proposes, it means they want you to tell them if they agree with you about being in love, and spending your whole lives together."

"Oh." Faro's face turned pensive for a while. "Has anyone ever proposed to you Sapphire?" He said with a frown.

This time, I did giggle. "No Faro, I'm only fourteen, it's only adults who tend to propose." The creases in his face smoothed out, and I decided not to open a can of worms by mentioning arranged marriages.

"You should go home; the sun will be setting soon." I knew he was right, but I didn't want to leave.

He swam us back to the cove, where I climbed out, and a bitter wind gripped me. My coat was gone, and it was dark. Worried I'd been gone over a few hours; I climbed the rocks, and shivered back to the cottage. Inside was warm, and I immediately headed up to my room. Something was different, my room had a stale feel to it, like no-one had been in there for a while, and a fine layer of dust covered everything. I shrugged, and changed my clothes. Downstairs, I sat in front of the TV, and flicked it to my favourite channel, thinking Conor had gone up to Jack's.
The door opened and shut.

"Hey!" I said aloud, welcoming whoever it was back to the cottage. Roger appeared in the living room first, a look on his face that I'd never seen, it was like a mix of horror, disbelief, and joy.

"Roger, what do you want for tea?" Mum called from the kitchen, her voice strained, and tired.

"Jennie? Leave the tea, um, I think you'd better come in here." Mum left the kitchen, and as she entered the living room, she paled, and fainted.

"Mum? Mum! What's wrong with her?" I cried, looking to Roger for help.

He looked up, sadness, and a touch of anger in his face, "What do you expect? You've been missing for six months!"