Page 174 of Salt Between the Wolves

A quiet laugh reached her through the wind as Leander stopped beside her.

For a while neither of them spoke, while the waves continued their endless conversation with the shore.

Eventually his gaze dropped toward her hand.

"The sea gave you something."

Eira opened her palm, revealing the shell resting against her skin.

Leander nodded in approval.

"A fair exchange."

"I wasn't aware we were negotiating."

"The sea negotiates with everyone."

"Who wins?"

"The sea."

The answer came far too quickly, and Eira found herself smiling again, which was becoming an increasingly suspicious habit.

Leander glanced toward the harbor above them.

"Come."

"What if I prefer the sea?"

"Then you're already becoming a citizen."

He offered her a hand, which Eira ignored, though Leander appeared entirely unsurprised by the reaction.

Together they climbed back toward the city as the harbor gradually unfolded before them.

The noise reached them first, carried on the wind in the form of countless voices speaking with different accents, rhythms, and languages.

By the time they reached the docks, Eira felt as though she had crossed into another country entirely, or perhaps several at once.

Sailors moved between ships carrying cargo she couldn't identify, including spices, timber, barrels marked with unfamiliar symbols, and bundles of fabric dyed in colors she had never seen before.

A group of men passed them while speaking rapidly in a language Eira didn't recognize, and Leander answered without breaking stride.

The men laughed, one of them replied, and Leander responded again before both parties continued on their way as though nothing unusual had happened.

Eira stopped.

"What was that?"

Leander looked genuinely confused.

"A conversation."

"You speak their language?"

"Yes."

"You understood all of that?"