‘Esme! Esme, are you okay?’
Esme opened her eyes to see Daniel and Seth leaning right over her. The intense concern in their eyes turned to relief. She sat up.
‘I’m fine,’ she said to the class around her.
‘Are you sure?’ said Mr Donnelly, kneeling on the sand.
‘You weren’t fine five minutes ago,’ said Meera. ‘Seth and I saw you lose your balance, but before we could swim over, something saved you. Whatever it was, it didn’t look solid. It was some kind of silver mist.’
‘It was a giant turtle,’ said Fern. ‘Definitely a giant turtle. I was on the other side and saw you land on its shell.’
‘No, it was totally formless,’ Meera insisted. ‘Some … shimmering substance.’
‘Maybe it was an undine,’ said Seth.
‘That’s not what I saw!’ Daniel cried. ‘I saw a dragon shoot out of the water, car
