“You can’t save everyone.”
I turn to see Tao. “I didn’t even have a chance to save that little boy.” I shake my head. “I’m not used to this much loss. How do you cope?”
He wipes a tear from my cheek. “Trust me, it’s not something you ever get used to.” Tao lightly touches my arm and tiny shivers cover my skin.
“I want to go home.” Back to the home I once trusted and loved, not the one I left.
“I know.”
He pulls me into his arms. The warmth of his body next to mine gives me the comfort I need so desperately. I close my eyes and breathe in the scent of him. The sparks of energy between us as our bodies are pressed together heats my entire body. I want to stay like this until all the death and hurt pass. Reluctantly, I open my eyes. Over his shoulder, I see Esther coming in our direction. I hurry to break our connection and lower my head in shame. This man belongs to her, not me.
“There you are,” she says. The look on her face matches the unease and irritation in her tone. Her eyes slide from Tao to me.
I need to get away from this place, from him. Since the second he came into my world, everything I ever knew had changed. Tao’s gaze finds mine. Regret is etched on his face. I excuse myself and leave him to do any explaining of why his arms were wrapped tightly around me. I fight the tears from falling as I run toward the beach, toward the ones who live in the water. I need them and their mysteries as a distraction from the emotions flooding through me. They are in the water, yet I feel like I’m the one who is drowning.
I fall onto my knees in the sand. I wipe away the wetness on my face. Getting to a sitting position, I wrap my arms around my legs. As I watch them, I’m still baffled and fascinated by these people who live under the ocean’s surface. Most of them speak, but others use their hands to communicate. Tao explained to me that’s how they talk to each other under the water.
The sky is clear, and the sun is high. A young girl breaks the water’s surface. She spins and twirls in the waves, then stops when she sees me watching her. She tilts her head to study me. I realize I have done the same gesture to her. Her lips curve into a smile and she offers a small wave. I return the wave and smile.
I’ve lost count of the days I’ve been here. Even though I’ve taught the water people how to care for their sick, they still won’t let me leave. Their people get better. Then the sickness takes them again. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong or why they continue to get ill.
The smile drops from the girl’s face. She suddenly looks horrified. Her gaze swiftly shifts from me to over her shoulder. For a brief second she glances at me and darts under the water. I didn’t like the look on her face before she swam away. I feel cold in the heat of the day and wonder if I’m getting the sickness. But, the instant my eyes scout out what the water girl had seen, I realize it’s not the sickness, it’s fear. I stand to get a better look; to make sure my eyes see things as they really are.
In the distance is a boat like the one Keyon and Tao brought me here on. The cloth sail bellows as the wind blows it toward the beach I’m standing on. The waves churn as the ones who live in the water become frenzied with the approaching vessel. As it nears, my stomach sinks and my breaths become short and labored. Standing on the bow of the boat is Makoa.
They’ve come for me.
“Alania!” I turn to see Keyon running toward me. “Come on. I have to get you somewhere safe.”
I didn’t know where I was safer, with Keyon or my fiancé. This was my chance to leave this place. But, leaving here also meant leaving Tao. The boat is almost to the shore. I glance into Keyon’s deep blue eyes and take his hand. We run through dilapidated and fallen buildings. I don’t know where he’s taking me, but I have to believe it’s safer than whatever the men on the boat have planned for me.
A loud crack booms behind us. “What was that?”
“Nothing good. Keep moving! Don’t stop!” Keyon yells.
We don’t stop.
The war and greed Haku told in his stories are very real and are about to be relived.
THE END OF SHORE OF GRAVES
Read the conclusion in the Underwater Island Series
Nether Tears
Miranda Hardy’s Newsletter
Ainsley Shay’s Newsletter
ALSO BY MIRANDA HARDY
THE ROAMING CURSE
ALSO BY AINSLEY SHAY
THE ECHO RITUALS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Miranda Hardy writes literature to keep the voices in her head appeased. When she’s not in her fantasy world, she’s canoeing in alligator infested waters, or rescuing homeless animals. She goes to coffee shops to do most of her writing while drinking tea. Unable to reveal too much, she has the most boring superpower ever (hint: you have to be a close relative for it to work). She resides in south Florida with her two wonderful children, and too many animals to mention.
Read more from Miranda Hardy
www.mirandahardy.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ainsley Shay’s passion for writing sparks from her love for the fantastical world of fiction. It’s in those enchanted and mystical places she dwells and conjures cursed and magical beings, spells, hope, madness, desperation, and love; all the ingredients for an unputdownable book. She surrounds herself with positive people and strives for balance in everything (rarely finds it, but she’ll never give up looking for it!). She sleeps with dreams and stones in her pillowcase, loves audiobooks, and has more jeans with holes than without. Ainsley lives in South Florida with her incredible husband and three amazing daughters.
Read more from Ainsley Shay
www.ainsleyshay.com
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
The End of shore of graves
Also by Miranda Hardy
Also by Ainsley Shay
About the Author
About the Author
Shore of Graves (Underwater Island Series Book 1) Page 7
