Silence fell over them as they tread water, unsure what to do.

Now William was grateful Mother had taught him and Felix to swim. If she hadn't, they would both be as good as dead. Then, a sudden wave splashed over him, driving him away from Felix. He fought his way back through the water. As he did, William realized how dire their situation really was. He looked around, trying to think of what to do.

"We could try and swim to land," said William finally.

At this, he thought that Felix would have some biting sarcasm for him. He would likely point out that they needed to learn which way land was.

"All right," said Felix, "the current is heading that way." He motioned.

"Which means we should swim at a right angle to it. If we keep that way, we'll hit land sooner or later."

"Right," said William, "we'll do that then."

They swam through the sea in the direction Felix had motioned, jostled by waves, and chilled by the water. Several times, Felix nearly went under, and William was terrified he would. Yet he always kept going, and they paddled on. What if Felix could not keep this up? Should William swim down again and try to carry him on his back? William supposed it was the only decent thing he could do.

He wondered if sharks were swimming beneath him. Or some other carnivorous fish was eyeing them for its next meal. The silence was unbearable, and he wanted something to distract himself. But there was nothing but the mist and the waves. Even worse, this was all his fault. He had been a complete coward, throwing down his weapon and fleeing when he should have fought like a man.

William should have fought the satyr and killed the dirty thing like Raynald would have done! But, instead, Felix had been forced to rush to his aid. So now they were swimming in the open ocean. They would likely drown or be eaten by horrible things lurking beneath the waves. All because of his cowardice.

At least they hadn't seen the Shark Queen yet. They'd be as good as dead if they laid eyes on her.

"I'm sorry," said William as they swam onwards.

"For what?" asked Felix, whose strokes were growing weaker.

"For not fighting," said William, "because of me, you were thrown into the sea."

"More or less," agreed Felix.

They did not speak for a while after that.

Then William's hopes surged, for the vague shape of the landmass Felix had spoken of came into view. It loomed above them in magnificent brownstone cliffs with many bumps and chinks. Atop of it were many forests visible. The trees were densely packed, tall, and wide, even from this distance.

William's heart practically leaped from his chest. They had found land! Suddenly, his hopes sank again. There was no way they could climb up those sheer cliffs. It wasn't possible.

Felix's strokes became slower and then stopped altogether. The dark-skinned boy plunged face-first into the water. William swam to him in a panic and pulled his head out of the water. "Felix, Felix, you've got to stay awake! We're almost there!"

"Just... need... rest...." said Felix, voice distant.

William looked around for any way up the cliffs of brownish stone. There was none, but he needed firm ground soon! Then he saw something. "What about those rocks over that way? We can rest there for a time!"

"All right," said Felix. "I think I can make it."

They made for the rocks, and as they swam, Felix looked as though he might faint again. William made sure to stay by him, determined to carry him on his back if he had to. Finally, they reached the rocks. William tried to scramble up and quickly cut his hand. Barnacles were growing just beneath the water. Sucking his sliced fingers, he saw that Felix could not scale any higher.

Reaching out with one hand, he gripped Felix by the collar, hoisted him, and put him onto the rocks. From there, Felix could pull himself a little further up before collapsing. William began to follow him, got halfway up, and banged his knee in the process. He felt tears coming to his eyes from the pain.

No! He would not cry. He was the son of a Duke; he would act like it. Pulling himself further up, he fell forward to rest against the rocks. For a time, he lay there, exhausted and feeling a terrible headache coming up. Then, looking up, he saw Felix had turned around and was staring at the gray sky above. There was a strange smile on his face.

"So there was land in this direction," Felix said. My education was with merit then.

"Where were you taught anyway?" asked William, trying to distract himself from the pain in his fingers. "I mean, I knew you knew your letters when we met, but-"

"A tutor educated me," said Felix.

"You weren't nobility," said William. "Father would have told me."

Felix remained silent for a moment. "I'm related to someone important. He's not likely to inherit anything, though. A very distant connection."

William was curious to know how long precisely; they rested there on the wet rocks for a long time. Around them, the mist was burning away, and the sun was coming out of the clouds. It revealed green trees and reflected off the water. It would have been beautiful if it weren't so cold and miserable. William shielded his eyes as they settled and looked out over the waters. He could see no sign of any ships, though not all the mist had cleared yet. He looked to Felix, who looked a bit stronger.

"Where do you suppose we are?" he asked.

"Seathorius, probably," said Felix. "This isn't Haldren, and I heard the men say we were near that land."

"That is the worst news I've heard all day," said William. "We're near the land of Melchious, of the satyrs."

"It won't matter where we are if we don't get off these rocks," said Felix. "What now?"

"We swim along the shore," said William. "Until we find a place to climb up on dry land. Do you feel ready for another swim?"

Then, there was a horn call, loud and shrill, from above them. Looking up to the cliffs, William saw a figure with goat hooves and a wild mane of red hair holding a horn. It turned and raced off. They had been discovered. Also, William would rather drown than be rescued by satyrs.

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Felix. "Let's go."

They plunged back into the water and labored with all their strength. Little by little, the cliffs got lower to one side. They saw no further sign of the satyrs; without the mist, they could see where they were going. This did little to ease William's mind. He was deathly afraid that they would get up to shore only to be greeted by satyrs. Or have to swim away from a ship of creatures rather than be pulled out of the water.

Neither of those things had happened yet, but he feared they would. On the other side, the dominions of the Shark Queen were below.

Finally, they were swimming along a beach of white sand with a line of trees beyond it. They made for the shore, and the water got increasingly shallow until they crawled up the coast. The sand stuck to their wet clothes and bodies. They pulled themselves onward, unwilling to stop but unable to stand. Finally, near the forest's edge, they stopped crawling and lay there. For a few minutes, they remained where they were, tired, freezing, and soaked. William felt he might die and realized they might if they stayed here. The wind was picking up, and his hands were feeling chilled.

"We..." he gasped. "We should take shelter in the trees."

Felix did not answer. He looked almost dead as he lay there. William knew they could not wait for him to get up alone.

Forcing himself up, William pulled Felix up, and they staggered on. Every step was exhausting, and it took hours to get anywhere. Yet William knew they would die of a chill if they stayed out in this wind. They both knew it. They could be sheltered from the wind in the forest's eaves. When they got there, they collapsed against the side of a tree. There they rested only a moment.

"We should," said Felix, "gather fuel for a fire. Warm ourselves."

"That could draw the satyrs to us," said William.

"It's that or freeze," said Felix. "We can make a signal fire."

He got up. It was more difficult than anything William had done before, but he managed it. Together, they searched the woods for dry sticks, leaves, bark, and fuel for a fire. Taking what they found, they piled thin sticks together with larger ones. Afterward, they put many dried leaves and bark underneath.

Felix began to grind two sticks together, trying to create a spark. But, as William watched, he felt colder with every passing moment. Felix's efforts needed to be fixed. Then, there was a spark, and the leaves caught fire. William and Felix leaned over them. They warmed their frozen hands and dried their bodies.

The flames grew hotter as they added more fuel. Smoke was soon billowing up into the sky above them. Someone off the coast might see the pillar of smoke and come to rescue them. Yet they saw no ships on the ocean before them. They began to feel their limbs again, which was something. Even so, his lips and mouth were horribly dry, and he felt hungry.

"Gods above, I'm thirsty," said Felix. "What I wouldn't do for some water and food."

"I wouldn't take either from a satyr," said William, trying to sound bold.

The weariness they had been trying to fight off gradually came on them. Then, finally, the darkness overtook the light. William realized they had been at this all day. Then, eyes drooping, he found himself drifting off. His last thought before falling asleep was that he hoped to wake up in the morning.