“Silas!”

Olivia couldn't see him. His body seemed to have been propelled by the previous impulse the orca had taken at the moment of escape, until he got lost in the dark blue of the gulf among the messiness of coral and rock formations.

He should have transformed by now, but she didn't know which animal she was supposed to be looking for. A mouse? A cat? A fox? A dog? Could he have transformed into an aquatic animal?

The latter was unlikely. In all their time together, he had never been able to acquire a new form so easily, except when the sirenians had helped him.

“Silas!”

He was going to drown at any moment, if she didn't find him soon. She swam with all her might until she felt a burning sensation in her limbs despite being underwater. She moved forward but there was no point. She looked in all directions, toward the shiny surface, toward the black bottom.

Nothing. There was no trace of the chimera. If she were a Master, she would have been able to detect him, but she had nothing more than her human eyes to look for.

“Silas! Silas!”

Time was running out and her cries, muffled by the water, were getting more and more desperate. It even hurt her to breathe.

“I can help you,” said a voice.

No! Not again! She turned her head, wishing with all her heart that the voice belonged to some sirenian who happened to be passing by, but there was no one there.

“I'm here” the voice said again.

“No, no, leave me alone! Go away!”

“I can help you save your friend, but I need to borrow your body.”

The voice didn't sound like before, it sounded even sharper and calmer, but Olivia wasn't going to trust that strange being who had made her destroy the Lake Village.

“I don't want your help, never! Get out of my head!”

It seemed to her that the voice sighed before saying:

“We don't have time for this. I was trying to be nice, but now I'll have to do it by force. Sorry.”

And for the second time, Olivia's mind was plunged into the darkness, much deeper than the waters of the gulf as she felt her own body move on its own, without her being allowed to say anything.

Like the previous time, everything became confusing as a swirl of sensations followed one after the other as if time had sped up. The pressure of the water, the sound of bubbles, a back and forth of light and shadow, the weight of another body clinging to hers, the tug of something strong, distant and distorted voices, screams, the members of the tribe running, fire, a fire coming from her own hands, her father's frightened face and Daephennya's smile.

Her body boiled as if engulfed in flames.

What have you done?

Monster.

“No!”

She woke up in the middle of the gloom. Her body felt like burning, heavy. She tried to move, but something prevented her from doing so. She shook her numb legs and arms, sensing an unexpected resistance. However, as she moved both hands, she realized it was nothing more than a blanket.

Where...?

She tried to calm her racing heart. She blinked several times, until the shadows subsided and she noticed tiny white circles above her and faint glows filtering in from somewhere.

A sudden twinge lashed her head. She closed her eyes, and put her hands to her temples. It felt like something wanted to burst out of her, like a chick trying to break the eggshell. She had to wait several minutes for the pain to ease and her mind to clear again.

She already knew that feeling. She had experienced it after waking up on the shore of the lake. After the creature...

The creature!

“Are you there? Hey! What did you do with Silas?

No one answered. The only thing she heard was something moving beside her, and when she opened her eyes she saw that it was another person, lying with her back to her and covered by a similar blanket. She examined the place better, and realized that it was the inside of a tent.

Now she heard muffled voices from the other side. Suddenly the entrance to the tent opened, and let out a flash of light that blinded her for a moment.

“Ah, you're awake! How are you feeling, do you still have fever?” said the dark silhouette of a woman who approached, and tried to lay a hand on Olivia's forehead, but she pulled back.

“Where am I?”

“Don't worry, you're safe,” it was a middle-aged woman with a sweet face wrapped in brown curls. She was wearing a simple green dress. “We thought you had drowned, but you were just...”

“Was there a dog with me?” Olivia interrupted her, feeling the panic rising in her.

“A dog?”

“Or a fox? A mouse? Any animal with me?”

“No, no animal, was it your pet?”

With some effort, Olivia sat up, and realized she was wearing a thin white nightgown. Her legs were shaking as she tried to stand up, but she had to get out and find Silas as soon as possible.

“I... don't advise you to...” the woman told her.

Olivia pushed her away when she tried to hold her down, and stumbled out of the tent.

Outside she discovered a couple of similar tents, plus three wagons and horses grazing nearby. They were located in the shelter of a small pine forest, not far from what appeared to be the blue line of the coast.

Regardless of the cold, Olivia ran in that direction. She immediately felt the breeze under the folds of her clothes, and the pain in her bare feet as she stepped on some small stone that dug into her soles.

“Gorwan!” she heard the woman scream as soon as she left the tent.

Fearing that someone would stop her, she sped up even more until she felt some pressure in the side of her stomach.

She had to stop suddenly to avoid falling down a ravine that ended in the sand. From that height she observed the coastline. In the distance she saw a ship passing by on its way to the sea, but nothing else. She managed to slide down until she landed face down on the sand.

“Silas!”

There was no point in shouting. There was nothing or no one to suggest the presence of the chimera.

“Silas!”

Her throat felt dry, and her screams sounded like the cries of a dying bird. She put her hands to her neck. There was nothing. Just as Numi had told her. Once on dry land, they were gone. She could not return to the water.

She surveyed the vast surface of the gulf whose waves lapped before her with cruel indifference. Lying on the sand, her strength gone, all she could do was let out a shriek of frustration.

It was her fault. Everything was her fault. The lake, the fire, the explosión, all the injured people. Silas had stayed because he thought she was in danger, when in fact she was the danger herself. He should have left the lake earlier, gone on his way alone, with nothing to slow him down. But she wanted to go to the island, and her selfishness had caused Silas...

No, please don't. She wished she was wrong. Great Blue Dragon, Nymph Nemertyss, Giant Yogard, Eternals of the infinite sky, please let her friend continue safely on his journey across the sea.

Silas was gone. All she could do was pray that he was all right.

“Did you call me?”

Olivia's heart stopped. It was the same voice she had heard underwater.

“What did you do with him?”

The voice sighed.

“I told you I'd save him.”

“And where is he?” Olivia shouted in desperation as she rolled over on the sand, shivering from the cold because of her wet nightgown.

“Look closer,” the voice told her. “We'll talk later, someone's coming.”

With that said, Olivia felt a blanket fall over her, and she began to tremble.

“Easy, easy, easy,” said a male voice.

Startled, Olivia turned to look at him, and found a tall man in brown clothes, perhaps older than her father, with gray hair tied in a ponytail, and a serene face marked by wrinkles.

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“You are safe, no one is going to hurt you,” said the man, raising his hands to indicate that he did not intend to touch her. “My name is Gorwan. I am part of a group of traveling actors. You were in our camp when you woke up.”

Olivia was about to answer him, but instead of words she only managed to sob and instantly began to cry. She could not believe anything that evil voice had said. To her it was nothing more than a cruel hoax.

“Oh, heavens,” the man's fingers moved hesitantly, perhaps wondering if he should comfort her or stay as he was. “Deema... the woman who was taking care of you, she said you asked about a dog... but... I'm so sorry, there was no animal when...”

Olivia's crying intensified.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” Gorwan decided to rest his hands on her shoulders. “I'm sure it was an exceptional pet...”

“He wasn't a pet!” Olivia said as she cried.

“I understand, I understand. I also had a dog once. It really felt like he was family.”

Olivia didn't know how long she cried, maybe an hour or more, until she felt empty inside with no will to continue. Gorwan stayed by her side the whole time.

At one point the woman, Deema, also appeared, and tried to convince her to return to the shelter of the tent. She explained that when they found her she was burning up with fever, and they feared she would relapse.

Olivia, now too weak, let them lift her up and carry her back to the camp.

“How many days have passed?” Olivia asked.

“You have been sleeping for two days,” said Gorwan.

Two days! And all that time, Silas...

“When you are ready, you will tell us everything,” said the woman, stroking her back to help her warm up. “Were there many people on the ship?”

“The ship?” Olivia asked confused.

“The ship you were on... it sank, didn't it?”

“I...” Olivia couldn't even come up with a lie at that moment.

“Deema, maybe we should wait?” the man said.

“There could be other survivors, Gorwan.”

“We already looked around...”

The woman turned her eyes toward Olivia's, and she desisted.

“Don't worry, I am very anxious. You must be very confused after all that time floating in the water. You and the boy were very lucky... You can stay with us as long as you need. We can wait a couple of days until you both recover, although to be frank after that we must continue our travel because there are people waiting for us in the next town. You can come with us, of course. We will find a solution.”

“Yes, thank you...” was all Olivia could say until she realized there was something that didn't make sense with what the woman had just said. “I'm sorry... What boy?”

Both the man and the woman looked at her in confusion as they continued to approach the camp from where a group of people, the rest of the supposed actors, were watching them as they prepared to light a campfire.

“Well... the boy who was with you, of course," answered Gorwan.

“No, there was no boy with me,” said Olivia.

“It must be another passenger on the ship, Gorwan. She doesn't have to know him.”

Deema seemed very sure of the story she was making up for Olivia.

“A boy you say?” Olivia asked again.

They both nodded.

It had to be a coincidence. Maybe just when she had lost sight of Silas, someone had fallen off a boat and ended up... in the same exact spot where she happened to appear unconscious.

Impossible, no, no. Silas was gone. Besides, he would have told her about something that important.

Although Silas had never told her many things.

“Look closer”, that damned voice had told her.

“Silas!”

As she entered the tent again and lunged at the boy who all that time had been dozing beside her, Olivia didn't know whether she should feel hopeful, happy, or furious.

She could be wrong, but she took a chance, and began to shake the boy by the shoulders until he woke up. Deema and Gorwan had stood at the entrance to the tent, possibly watching her with horrified eyes at her lunatic behavior.

“Silas!”

“Olivia?” the boy said. His voice sounded a little different in this new form, but it was definitely the same.

His face was unlike any she had ever seen before. The first thing that caught her attention were his almond-shaped golden eyes, under thick eyebrows which gave him an intense expression. His hair, long and dark brown like a lion's fur, fell in messy waves. His nose was broad, as were his lips. His skin was of a warm, tanned tone, typical of someone who had lived exposed to the elements.

There was nothing more that could tell it was him, except that annoyed, arrogant look he was giving to her.

“You're alive!” Olivia shouted.

He pulled away after getting tired of being held by the shoulders. She was too angry to feel embarrassed.

“Of course I'm alive!” his face frowned even more.

She couldn't believe that she had been crying for a whole hour for him!

"Where are we?” asked Silas while rubbing his eyes.

“I don't care about that right now! Why didn't you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

Olivia looked toward the entrance of the tent, and gave an intense look at the two onlookers who folded the tent fabric to give them privacy.

“Maybe it was just a momentary memory loss?” she heard Deema say as she walked away from the tent.

“They both seem traumatized,” agreed Gorwan.

With them gone, Olivia began to speak to him in whispers:

“Why didn't you tell me that you could transform into a human?”

He snorted before answering.

“Nonsense. I can't transform into a human because I'm a...” he interrupted himself as he looked at his large, thin hands, and immediately, began to scream as if someone had plunged a knife in the middle of his chest.

“Is everything all right?” asked Deema who now seemed to have approached the tent again, but did not dare to enter.

“Yes, everything is fine!” exclaimed Olivia.

“No! Everything is not fine at all!” exclaimed Silas.

“Is everything fine or not?” asked Deema.

“Yes, don't worry!” answered Olivia, and before Silas could answer she covered his mouth with one hand. Then she heard Deema walking away once again, while muttering something.

Silas let go of her hand.

“There is no way!” he said, although in a lower tone.

He stood up from his bed placed on the floor revealing a body the same height as Olivia. She tried not to laugh when she saw he was also wearing a nightgown, but avoided looking at his bare calves, feeling uncomfortable.

“Silas... is it really you?”

Silas had closed his eyes and clenched his fists. It looked like he was trying to transform but to no avail.

“I didn't know that chimeras could transform into humans!”

He opened his eyes, and his golden eyes glared furiously at her.

“I'm not human, I'm a chimera! And this... this is only my first form.”

“What does that even mean?”

“What you hear. My first form.”

“I mean... you were born hum...”

“Don't you dare say human!”

“But you...”

“We have some similarities...”

“Just some?”

“Elves also look like humans, but you don't call them that, do you? I'm not human, I'm a chimera. This is my first form and nothing more.”

He was actually right, but she was still mad with him.

“You could have told me anyway, and I would have understood!”

“I thought you knew!”

“How could I?”

“Your books.”

“In my books it didn't say anything about...”

“I figured,” he scoffed.

“Do wizards know about this?”

“I doubt it... though I don't think it matters. What did you think my first form would be?, he asked curious.

“I thought it was the mouse! Or perhaps a tadpole!”

“A tadpole! Really?!” he seemed just as indignant as when she had called him human. “Besides, you never asked me!”

“I thought it would be rude to ask!”

Silas sighed and then explained that chimeras actually despised that first form because of its similarity to the human body, as well as being a reminder of the Blue Dragon's curse that had deprived them of their original form. For that reason, infants were taught to transform even before they could walk, so that they would remain in that form as little as possible. In Silas' case, it had taken him a long time to leave that form behind until he managed to turn into a mouse, but that was not enough to make the pack happy, and they decided to abandon him. Since he had left the mountains, he was pretty succesful at avoiding that form.

“Well, now you know. Don't worry, I'll transform back. I'd rather be a mouse... than this... But I think I'll need some time to regain my strength...”

“Are you telling me that all this time you could have taken... this form... and you didn't? You could have saved us a lot of trouble!”

“I would draw more attention, just look at me.”

Yes, he had a point. For one thing, those golden eyes were sure to draw attention even from humans who weren't wizards.

“Still... I carried you all over the castle... and into the forest...”

Now it was Olivia who began to scream in horror.

“What's wrong?” asked Silas confused.

“I just realized!” Olivia had grabbed her head with both hands.

“About that?”

“About all that time I slept with a boy inside a tree!”

All the colors in the world flashed across Silas' face.

“Shut up! If they hear you, people are going to start getting weird ideas!”

Olivia couldn't help but continue groaning for a long time until Deema appeared again to hand them both a change of clothes and tell Silas where he could go to get dressed.

Olivia thanked her in silence.

As she helped her get dressed, Deema couldn't stop talking.

They had been very lucky. After the actors had set up camp, she and another girl had gone for a walk along the coast. When they approached the ravine, they spotted the two survivors from the distance. While the other girl ran back to the camp to ask for help, Deema reached them and after a quick inspection realized that they were still breathing. With the help of the rest of the group, they managed to carry them to the tent and warm them up. Silas seemed to be bearing the coldness of the water pretty well, but Olivia had suffered a fever in her sleep.

“It must have been terrible, terrible," she lamented. “When I saw you poor things, I thought you were dead. It would have been logical. You at least had a few rags on you, but the boy was just as he came into the world.”

Olivia was thankful she had been unconscious.

“How did you get here?” asked Deema.

“There was a storm," said Olivia. If she told her they were shipwrecked, they would start looking for the bodies of the other survivors. “And we accidentally fell off the ship.”

“A storm?” the woman was puzzled. “But these days have been so pleasant.”

“Ah, it was offshore.”

“You're coming from the sea!?”

“We managed to grab hold of a piece of wood, and somehow we got here. I don't... I don't remember very well, only fragments.”

Olivia didn't know if everything she just had said was plausible. She had read something similar in one of the stories she loved so much. It was about a girl who had been shipwrecked, and lost her memory. Arriving in strange lands, she met a nobleman who fell in love with her, and they soon married. But then the girl regained her memory, and realized that she had married her brother's enemy who should still be looking for her.

Oh, how much she missed her books.

“Oh, right, your memory loss,” said Deema. “So in the end you knew each other?”

She couldn't say they were siblings, as it happened to the protagonist of another story. They didn't look anything alike.

“We became friends on the ship.”

Deema looked at her with some suspicion in her eyes ,but said nothing. Olivia had already understood that the woman liked to make up stories that she took for granted without any proof other than her own conjectures.

As Olivia thought of another story she could use to continue piecing together her lie, she remembered something, and couldn't help but let out another groan.

“What's the matter?” Deema asked in fright.

Olivia replied she had a headache. But in reality she had just realized that, far from looking like a fearless wizard who rescued magical creatures, she had become one of those girls who would abandon her family for a boy. Maybe Deema was already seeing it that way.

“Poor thing, I'll go see if we have any remaining herbs. We'll buy more when we get to the next town,” Deema left the tent, but not before handing Olivia a brush and a mirror. “The dress is a little big on you, but nothing we can't fix. You'll see, we're used to doing everything here. But I don't want to rush things. When you feel ready, you'll meet the rest of the group.”

Once alone, Olivia lifted the mirror, and looked at her face. She looked tired and haggard. The blue of her eyes seemed dull. The ends of her hair were pointing in all directions, but just before she could do anything, big dark eyes appeared in the mirror.

“Hello!” greeted the cheerful voice of what sounded like a girl with flame-red hair. “Don't you dare scream!”

Olivia covered her own mouth to avoid the startled scream that would have sent Deema running back to the tent.

“We have a lot to talk about,” said the girl in the mirror. “But the first thing is to make sure your chimera friend doesn't get caught.”