Sky in the Deep (Sky and Sea, #1)

by Adrienne Young

She turned to face me, her kol-rimmed eyes red and swollen. “Are you one of them now too?” she asked, the words broken. “You want to be one of them, like Iri?” “No!” I met her eyes. “I’m Aska, Mýra. I want our people to survive. That’s all.” She fell into me, burying her face in my shoulder, and I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing. She wept, folding into me, and I held her. My father and Fiske stood as black silhouettes before the fire, watching us. “I’m alone,” she cried. “You and Aghi are all I have.” Her voice bent into a whisper. “Please don’t leave. Please,” she begged. I pulled back to look at her. “You’re not alone,” I said, emotion thick in my throat. “And I’m not leaving. Ever.” Her weight grew heavy in my arms and when I couldn’t hold her any longer, I slid to the ground and pulled her into my lap. “Elska ykkarr,” I whispered into her hair. “Elska ykkarr.” She cried like I’d never seen her cry and the sound of it echoed through the trees. She cried for her family. For Hylli. For the Aska. For everything. And I cried with her.