“I know how to swim,” he objected. “Didn’t you see me not-drowning back there?”
“I mean really swim. Swim with efficiency and speed.”
His stare suddenly became intense before he forcefully turned away. He pulled the sopping wet shirt from his back and twisted it, squeezing all the excess water onto the sandy ground. My eyes roved the perfection of his body, yearning for the next time I might have him pressed up against me.
“That’s assuming I would be spending a considerable amount of time in the water,” he said, continuing our conversation in a dangerously low tone. “Are you insinuating something?”
My mind instantly went numb. “No. I mean, maybe. I don’t know.”
In all honesty, I hadn’t put much thought into the sentence before I’d uttered it. Though truth be told, I had already warmed up to the idea that he and I would be spending a lot of time together if we managed to not die on this mission.
Alanza had apparently overheard our conversation as she helped Danny from the water, because she strolled over and patted Cruz’s shoulder.
“If you’re thinking about making yourself a siren, then you better do it before we return the damned stone. After it’s in place, the magic will be balanced once more. If you turn yourself after that, you’d be tipping the scales all over again. Personally, I don’t want another apocalypse on my hands.”
I gaped at her words. I had never once considered the possibility of Cruz, or anyone else, becoming a siren. As far as I knew, after they’d turned the first batch of us, the mages had sworn to never do so again.
Cruz swallowed hard and confirmed my theory. “That’s illegal.”
Alanza snorted. “So is holding the human king and queen hostage. And pirating. And stealing magic stones. And just about anything else we’ve been doing since we first broke the ocean’s surface back near Tapachula.”
His brown eyes nervously darted over to mine. “Unearthing the stone has intensified things drastically. Who knows how much worse it would become if I used the old magic? I’d be crazy to ever try.”
Alanza shrugged, then turned to me. “I guess you can consider that a breakup, then.” And with that, she sauntered off, as if she hadn’t just cut me open and poured sea salt into the wound.
“That’s not at all what that was,” Cruz said reaching for my hand, but I carefully pulled it away.
I wasn’t upset at him for doing what was right. I could totally respect and understand his reasoning on all of it. But for some reason, it still hurt. Hurt so much that I couldn’t stand to touch him or even look at him in that moment because I was afraid I might cry.
As much as it pained me to admit, Alanza was right. Cruz and I would never have a future together. Either we died in this quest to find the sacred resting place, or we lived and went back to our two separate worlds. There was no in between. I had a kingdom to rule. It’s not like I could just vacation up to the surface every other weekend.
A queen is worth nothing if she does not care for her people.
My place was in Seabella. My people needed me. The mage...didn’t.
Swallowing down the burning lump in my throat, I brushed past a stunned-looking Cruz, and silently waited for everyone else at the wood line.
As soon as Alex had finished filling the canteens, we were off.
And I made damn sure not to look over my shoulder behind me.
Chapter 21
“I’ve been thinking,” I said, as we trudged through the overgrown jungle, sticky with sweat which I’d grossly become accustomed to. “Since we’re going to pass Yaxchilan—yet again—we ought to stop at that little village and check in on the others. Maybe they’re healed up enough to rejoin the group?”
Catalina turned her head and smiled at me. “I think that’s a great idea.”
Alex turned to look at her. “Oh really?”
We were like some screwed up cranial version of that old dominos game our grandsirens had told us about. One right after the other, heads turning to eye the person behind them.
I’m sure he knew damn well that it’d be logistically safer to have three extra sirens and an extra sea dragon with us, but I had a feeling he was letting his jealousy of Kayo bubble to the surface.
Fortunately, Catalina was smart, and she picked up on his insecurities right away.
Unfortunately, she was a bit of a sarcastic asshole. Not all that different from Alanza, really, except that she was my best friend and I loved her. Though, admittedly, Alanza was growing on me too, somehow.
“Yeah,” Catalina said, turning around to face him. “I miss those—what’d you call them?—Greek God twins?”
He glowered and turned back around to face the front. “Yes. That’s what I called them. But you didn’t have to agree with me.”
Catalina chuckled. “There’s no point in denying the truth. They are handsome.”
“Thank you, Red, for clearing that up.”
Her shoulders shook, and I knew she was silently laughing.
“Too bad I prefer a decent personality and rugged good looks over absolute perfection. Perfection is boring.”
Alex said nothing for a while, and I had no idea what he might’ve been thinking.
Eventually, he took the bait. “Perfection isn’t boring when it’s also sassy as hell. At that point, perfection is aggravating beyond words.”
“I’m not aggravating,” she snapped.
“How’d you know I was talking about you?”
“Oh please. How’d you know I was talking about you?”
He glanced over his shoulder again. “Because I’m the only one around here who’s ruggedly handsome with a decent personality.”
“Hey!” Danny objected. “I’m a pirate! It doesn’t get much more rugged than that.”
I rolled my eyes. Danny was pretty, not rugged.
Alanza took the words right out of my mouth, then added, “The mage is more rugged than you. And that’s saying something because he’s definitely a pretty boy.”
Do not look back at Cruz, do not look back at Cruz!
“If we’re both pretty, then why’s he more rugged?” Danny sounded a little confused and a lot offended.
“Have you even looked at him?” Alanza asked, astounded. “The guy looks like he lifts trees for spell practice.”
Damn, his body really was incredible. The image I conjured up made my chest ache all over again. Not just because he was physically flawless, but because he was also one of the kindest and most selfless beings I’d ever met. I wished beyond anything that we could somehow be together. But this was the apocalypse, and wishes didn’t really come true.
Cruz ignored them, I guess, because he never said anything. His silence made me worry that he was no longer behind us. I shot a frantic glance to the end of the line and exhaled a loaded breath when I found him still bringing up the rear.
But his expression wasgrim. Like someone had just brutally murdered his pet kitten.
Or like someone had just broken his heart.
The realization gutted me, but I never said a word. I couldn’t, or I’d break apart completely, and I had to stay as intact as possible until that stone was returned to its resting place. After that, I could cry all the tears in the world for our failed relationship. Like star crossed lovers, we were doomed from the start.
I should’ve known better.
///
By the time we reached the little village outside of Yaxchilan two days later, the sky was dark with only a few stray stars dotting the bleak horizon. There were no sounds. No signs of Malisa, Arlo, Kayo, or Feroz anywhere on the breeze. Nothing, other than the occasional shuffling of random creatures.
We moved closer, exploring the ramshackle houses one-by-one, but the other half of our team was nowhere to be found.
Were they dead? Had they been killed and eaten by mutants?
The very real probability of that fear, sent me crumbling to my knees in the dirt. Tears spilled down my cheeks, hot and painful. By
leaving them here, had I condemned some of my very best friends to an unspeakable death?
An involuntary sob crept up past my throat, and my muscles went lax with grief. I fell the rest of the way to the ground, but just before my face crashed into the dirt, two strong arms caught me and pulled me into a fierce hug.
“It’s okay,” Cruz cooed into my hair. “We don’t know what happened yet. Just breathe.”
But I couldn’t breathe. His words sounded washed out and far away. A shadowy vignette crept into my vision, and twinkling black dots winked in and out of sight.
“Hey,” he said, shaking me slightly. “Breathe. Listen, maybe they healed up enough to move, then came looking for us? Maybe that’s why they’re not here?”
Finally, I did as he urged, and I took a deep gasp of air. But as soon as my lungs filled up, the sobs intensified. Whatever cracks my heart had sustained previously—the death of my parents, failing to protect my sea dragons, mine and Cruz’s breakup—were now smashed wide open and oozing pain throughout my body. Everything hurt, lost in an all-encompassing numbness I couldn’t escape from. I was losing everything I ever cared about in a quest I would probably fail to complete. Everyone would die and it would be all my fault. I was the supposed queen of this region. Returning the Legacy Stone was on me, and no one else.
The stone throbbed against my chest, seeming to agree with that assessment.
Cruz stroked my hair and rocked me, uttering that it was okay, over and over, until I almost believed him. Time, space, and all of reality drifted away until my eyes eventually dried up.
The skin of my face was tight and puffy, and my throat was sore as I rasped, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, voice still a whisper in my hair. “I meant what I said, though. It’s very possible that they’re out there, right now, trying to find us.”
I took a deep, shaky breath. “I hope you’re right.”
I went to push up onto my feet, but Cruz suddenly froze, holding me tight.
“Did you hear that?”
My guard instantly flew back up. “Hear what?”
But even as I said it, the sound floated over to my ears. A deep, vibrating hum. Like thousands of feet stampeding towards us from a distance.
The Legacy Stone pulsed almost rhythmically, and I couldn’t tell if it was responding to the noise, or if the creatures making the noise had been reacting to the stone all along. I wanted to rip the damn thing from my chest and throw it into the woods, but that wouldn’t solve anything. In fact, it’d probably damn us all to Tartarus. Something I refused to allow. So ultimately, I left the treacherous rock in my skinsuit, cursing it the whole time.
“Come on,” I said, pulling Cruz up, “we need to alert the others.”
We rushed through the tiny village to where the crew had gathered around a little crumbling well to refill their canteens. We all had the same look on our faces, and our weapons drawn, so I knew they’d sensed the impending mutant attack, too.
The rumbling grew louder, rattling the earth with an intensity that shook me to the core. Whatever was coming, there were a lot of them, and that was absolutely terrifying.
“Here we go again,” Alanza muttered, trying to sound casual and sarcastic, but there was a definite edge to her tone that spoke of nervousness at least, if not fear.
I pulled out my favorite sword and glanced up a Bravo, who was flying around like some crazed, oversized bat.
“Bravo!” I hissed at him, trying to quietly get his attention.
Reluctantly, he spiraled down to the ground and pranced around. He was clearly as restless as everyone else.
“Calm down, okay?” I said, hedging closer until I rested my palm on his greenish, scaled forehead. “Don’t even think about trying to be heroic, either. If these mutants have acid in their veins, then I want you out of the fight. Understand?”
He huffed at me, blowing a puff of smoky steam at my face.
“Don’t give me your attitude, brave boy. I watch your back, you watch mine, remember? This is me keeping you safe. You have to trust me on this.”
He huffed again, and for some reason, I just knew he was comparing himself to Feroz.
“Yes,” I agreed softly. “Feroz is fierce in battle. And so are you, for that matter. But your big brother would want you safe and alive above all else. Wouldn’t he?”
This time Bravo let out a strangled little screech that threatened to rip my broken heart back open.
“We have to believe that they’re alive and well,” I told him, leaning my forehead down to touch his. “It’s the only way we can get through this.”
The slow rumbling intensified, coupled with the sound of splintering trees crashing to the ground. Their leafy tops dipped below the canopy as the mutants crashed through the forest, headed in our direction.
Suddenly, Cruz’s arms were around me, pulling me into another tight hug.
“I don’t know what happened earlier,” he said, running his fingers up my neck and into my hair. “But I’m sorry. Whatever I said or did to upset you, I didn’t mean it. I don’t intend on dying right here, but if I do, I at least need you to know that.”
My breath caught as my throat choked up. That’s what he thought? That he’d done something to piss me off? The guy was damn near perfect! The only thing he did wrong was make me fall for him at the worst possible time in history.
A tingle suddenly spread from my head, down my spine, across my thighs and out to my toes. Magic. An alluring sensation that had me kissing his neck without even thinking about it.
“No, I’m sorry, Cruz,” I said, as a fresh round of tears welled up and spilled down my cheeks. “You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, not even once, since the day I met you.”
More trees crashed to the ground. There would only be one or two rows left before the new mutants broke through the tree line.
“It’s not that I don’t want to be with you, it’s just that it’s literally impossible. That freaking guts every ounce of my soul, Cruz. This breakup—or whatever it is. I mean, we were never technically together, anyway—is an act of self-preservation.”
His eyes bored into mine with a fiery intensity. “Let me get this straight. You broke up with me because you want to be with me? Not because you don’t?”
I swallowed and more tears spilled. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but—”
He kissed me, cutting off what would no doubt have been a half-assed explanation. I had no idea what I was doing or talking about. I’d never been in a position like this before. There’d been other men before him, but none that lit my soul on fire like him.
He abruptly broke our kiss and powered up his magic.
Speaking of magic...
“What spell did you put on me, anyway?”
“Protection, of course,” he said with a quick smile. “You might’ve broken up with me, but I still care about you, and I want to keep you safe.”
Safe.
Exactly what I was not feeling as the ginormous mutant finally emerged from the trees.
It was colossal, like a blue whale with no fins and hundreds of tiny bug-like legs. It even had a tail. But instead of baleen, it had long, skinny fangs dripping with stringy saliva. Most of its skin was a sickly gray but was pink in patches, which made it look like it was peeling off. It was horrendous. And the worse part? It wasn’t alone. A whole line of these deadly whale-bugs poured out around the leader, forming a line of attack as fast as their tiny legs would carry them.
I didn’t know what to do. The idea of rushing toward something so huge made me want to vomit. Maybe in the sea, I’d have the nerve to try it, but not on land.
Alex glanced at me. “The legs.”
I nodded. Of course, we’d have to get that close.
The ranger, more than any of us, was probably sweating bullets. He was used to firing shots from afar, not engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
Cruz, too, for that matter. I peeked over at him, but his features wer
e void of emotion as he stared in the mutants’ general direction.
I then turned to the mutants myself, all lined up neatly in a row. There must have been thirty of them. Their anatomy would probably make it hard for them to snap at us if we were off to their sides, which should actually set us up pretty well for getting to the legs. As long as we could dodge the teeth of the others before we got to our chosen target.
Doing my royal duty—or at least, playing my royal part—I stepped forward before anyone else and crossed my fist over my chest.
“Honor and glory!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.
One unanimous thump sounded loudly behind me. “Courage and sacrifice!”
“Charge!”
Chapter 22
I clutched my sword and ran as fast as I could, pleased to find my land-legs had become much more dexterous over these past few weeks.
The whale-bugs reared up off their first few rows of limbs, and let out a moaning bellow that morphed into a squawk by the end. It was a strange sound, one that gave me goosebumps, and forced my teeth to clench.
Then the mutants charged, too, meeting us in the middle as quick as their little legs would carry them.
The faster our opposing sides converged, the more I worried that I would die. Escaping those needle-like teeth no longer seemed so easy. Avoiding getting crushed beneath their massive bellies seemed all but impossible.
Even still, I ducked low and I reached out with my sword as I ran, slicing my target’s legs in one fluid motion, one right after the next, until it crashed to the ground, lopsided, wriggling like a fish out of water.
Perfect. Now to figure out how to kill it.
I jabbed its side with my sword, but to my surprise, its skin was tougher than any other whales’ I’d encountered. Switching tactics, I quickly pulled a different baton from my belt and popped it open into a crossbow. I launched a harpoon at it, but the stupid arrow simply bounced off its skin and skidded across the ground.
Damn it!
I swapped weapons again, this time grabbing my jeweled dagger, and stabbed as hard as I could into the whale-bug’s side. But the energy I’d thrown into the jab, simply bounced back, knocking me onto my ass.
Siren Awakened (The Cursed Seas Collection) Page 18
