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over as we ate, as if trying to be as small as possible.
    Our captors spoke our language in a harsh, unfamiliar accent as they looked us over like cattle, discussing the size and appearance of each of us. They seemed to be looking for the strongest among us. Their faces were hard, their features strange, unfamiliar to me. Some of them had dark hair, some light. Some were tall, with gaunt cheekbones and long noses, and others were shorter and thicker-boned. They appeared to have come from a variety of villages, but they all shared an air of confidence and cruelty, and they all wore the same strange, one-piece garments that clung to their bodies like a second, dark skin.
    When we were finished eating, they bound us again.
    “Please,” one of the boys dared to beg as his hands were lashed together behind his back. “Let us go.”
    “Shut up.” One of the men slapped the one who had spoken. The boy whimpered, drawing his legs up to protect his body. The man kicked him, striking again and again. We all sat motionless, listening in horror as the boy’s whimpers turned into groans.
    “Hey,” Nol yelled, catching the attention of the captor. “Only cowards hit people who can’t hit back.”
    The man tipped his head to the side. He crossed the room to Nol and grabbed him by the front of his shirt.
    “Only idiots involve themselves in others’ business,” he said, and lifted his fist.
    Nol didn’t make a sound as the man hit him. His hands were tied, so he couldn’t even shield his face from the punches. His head snapped back, and he shut his eyes. The blows landed fast, with sickening thuds.
    I tasted bile on the back of my tongue. I bit my lip holding back a scream as I watched.
    “Enough,” Myo said.
    The captor dropped Nol to the ground and stepped away.
    Myo looked at everyone slowly. His eyes found mine, but then they passed by as if he didn’t know me at all.
    Nol wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with his shoulder.
    I lay down and closed my eyes.
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    “Aemi,” Nol said softly in my ear.
    I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling that looked like silver. The round, flameless lights embedded in it glowed faintly, like the start of a sunrise. They were sometimes bright and sometimes soft. I had decided that they followed the sun’s path somehow. I did not understand it.
    “Aemi,” Nol said again.
    I rolled over and looked at him. His face was pale, and he looked fragile as a shell.
    “Do you think they’re all dead?” he whispered. “The others?”
    I didn’t answer. I thought of Nealla, her hands red from the heat of the fire as she made cakes. The Old One, muttering as he mended the nets. Kit, smiling at me, laughing as he told a joke.
    Tears choked me, but they didn’t fall.
    I looked at Nol’s face and something in me tugged. He’d lost everyone too. I moved a little closer, inexplicably drawn to comfort him. I wanted to touch him, comfort him.
    “I don’t understand,” Nol continued bitterly, not noticing my movement toward him. “Why did they take you, but leave Tagatha?”
    His words struck me like a slap. I froze and inched back so there was space between us again. I turned my face away without responding. I had no desire to hear him speak anymore.
    Men came again, bringing us more food and water. These ones looked less cruel than the ones who had come before. When they returned to collect the water bowls, I grabbed the sleeve of one of the men with my fingers as he bent down.
    “Please,” I whispered. “Where are we?”
    He looked like he was about to shake me off, but something in my face must have made him change his mind, for his mouth softened, and he glanced around before responding. “We’re a mile below the surface and a day’s way from your village,” he said gruffly.
    I looked around us at the windowless walls. “Below the surface?” I asked, feeling a sense of panic. I hadn’t felt the familiar rocking that came with traveling on the water. Did we