The House in the Cerulean Sea

Linus ignores his curiosity all the way back to the island. On the ferry, as Sal tells Zoe how much Linus helped him today, he thinks he’s already far too attached to the children. Once they arrive at the house, Arthur announces to the sleepy kids that they'll have dinner early. Before Linus knows it, he’s the last person in the van. Zoe opens his door and asks if he’s okay, clearly taking note of his thick folder. Linus insists he’s fine. She then thanks him for his much-needed help today—and Linus worries privately that they might be using him. He excuses himself to go check on Calliope. After pacing for a while and talking to Calliope about how this file from Extremely Upper Management is obviously a manipulation tactic, Linus opens it. He reads through Arthur’s basic info. This file includes a “species of magical being” section.

Dinner is awkward, as the kids are confused as to why Linus isn’t eating—they don’t believe that he’s still full from the ice cream. As they discuss whether Linus is just disturbed that “Lucy almost killed a man,” Linus, against his better judgment, finds himself charmed by Lucy’s protestations. Finally, Sal quietly asks Linus to eat, and Linus can’t refuse him. After dinner, Linus tries to excuse himself. Arthur catches him at the door and lets Linus know that if he needs something, he can ask for it. Linus insists he needs nothing, hurt that Arthur has “kept so much from him.”

Unable to sleep later, Linus wonders if the kids know “what” Arthur is. He imagines how, when Arthur first told the kids someone from DICOMY was coming, they would’ve suggested killing and burying him. Arthur would’ve told them no—but Linus is convinced that as an alternative to murder, Arthur made Linus develop feelings for him. Linus considers how much he loves it here—and then he wonders if, perhaps, DICOMY is lying to him. He knows how to prove that, but he resolves not to go investigating. Linus thinks of the children—how kind they are, how passionate they are, how much they love one another, how welcoming they’ve been. He thinks of Arthur’s smile.

Linus steps out of the guest house with the key from DICOMY in his pocket and walks to the cellar door, understanding now where the scorch marks came from. He pauses at the door, recognizing that he could abandon this adventure, stay professional for the next week, and then return to his dreary life in the city. But door unlocks, and Linus opens it steps inside. The other side of the door is metal, and there are five lines etched in it—as though a child-size hand scratched them into the door. Chilled, Linus descends the stone stairs and finds the light switch. The room is small, stone, and covered in soot. There’s a burnt desk, a bed with no mattress, and more than 60 tick marks scratched into the wall. DICOMY didn’t lie to Linus.

Arthur appears behind Linus. Linus asks if what’s in Arthur’s DICOMY file is true, but Arthur doesn’t know—he’s never read his file. Arthur clearly isn’t angry, and he looks vulnerable, barefoot in his pajamas. He notes that Charles Werner gave Linus a key, and Linus remembers how Arthur alluded to Mr. Werner seeming like he might stay on the island before he was promoted and “changed.” Arthur notes that Mr. Werner was somehow trying to intervene by leading Linus down here, and he admits that Mr. Werner is manipulative. Linus in turn admits that according to Mr. Werner, this was an “experiment” to see if “someone like [Arthur]” could run an orphanage. With prodding, Linus says that Arthur is a phoenix.

Arthur explains that as far as he knows, he’s the last phoenix. As a child, he says, he couldn’t control the fire, and the master at this orphanage was cruel and hated magical children, particularly Arthur. But the village back then was reasonably accepting, so Arthur “made a grave mistake” and tried to send a letter to DICOMY, alerting them to the master’s abuse. He knew if he did nothing, he’d snap and hurt someone. But the master discovered Arthur’s plan and locked him here in the cellar. Linus feels sick, but Arthur continues that as a child, he didn’t know how terrible and inappropriate the master’s abuse was. The master told Arthur he deserved the punishment for being magical, and Arthur believed it. As he speaks, fire burns along his body, spreading into huge wings and a towering bird’s head.

As the fire dies, Arthur explains that he attempted to burn the cellar down and escape, but he soon figured that wouldn’t work. In the end, Arthur spent about six months here, though at the time he thought it had been only a couple of weeks. Someone came to the island eventually, and another child let the caseworker know what was happening. Arthur went to a DICOMY school after that, which was marginally better.

Linus asks why Arthur returned to Marsyas after all that, but Arthur says he wanted to make it a home for others. DICOMY agreed because it would allow them to track Arthur and be a convenient place to put “dangerous” children. They assigned Charles to help get it started, which he did, but for his own purposes. Zoe, Arthur says, warned him, but he didn’t listen. When Linus tries to blame Zoe for not helping Arthur years ago, Arthur defends her, noting that DICOMY would’ve hurt her somehow back then. He explains that he and Zoe decided she wouldn’t hide during Linus’s visit, as she wanted Linus to understand that she’s going to fight it if he tries to make the children leave.

Finally, Linus asks why DICOMY allows Arthur to care for children. Arthur notes that they feel guilty for the abuse Arthur suffered, but they also want to keep that scandal a secret. DICOMY also figures that this is an easy place to control and that Arthur is easy to manipulate. But Linus sees that Arthur has actually manipulated DICOMY: he’s given the children more love, support, and freedom than DICOMY ever expected. But Arthur didn’t expect to find himself attracted to Linus, and Linus reveals that he’s afraid Arthur is manipulating him, too—after all, Arthur never told the truth about what he is.

Linus is shocked when Arthur says the children don’t know that he’s a phoenix. Arthur defends the secrecy, though. For one, the children need to focus on themselves, and for another, DICOMY swore him to silence on the matter, afraid of what Arthur might do if he could tap into his power. He believes it’s just a power trip, as DICOMY fears him and likely believes he's building an army here. Linus insists that the kids need to know the truth about Arthur. It would show them they can be anything and that things change. Linus insists that the children admire Arthur and love him like a father. He’s done something amazing here, and they need to know that. At this, Arthur cries.

Confused and unsure of what to do or say, Linus says that when he returns to the city, he’ll make it clear to Extremely Upper Management that the orphanage should stay open. Arthur is shocked that Linus is going to leave, but Linus insists he needs to return to his life in the city. He now realizes just how important his job is. In a dull tone, Arthur agrees and promises to be helpful during Linus’s last week here. He assures Linus he’s never used him and never would—Linus is “precious,” “like one of Theodore’s buttons. If you asked him why he cared about them so, he would tell you it’s because they exist at all.”