Always Remembered (25 page)

With one last glance back for their
confirmation, he left the room. Slate went next, followed by Meara
and Kieran. Dex and Evan brought up the rear.

The hallway was deserted. Evan didn’t expect
anything else. He hadn’t seen anyone else on this level yet. Deanna
claimed that the Blue Men used it, but the only ones he’d seen here
were his friends. Vesh walked quickly and stayed close to the wall.
The rest of the group mimicked him. Evan didn’t risk looking behind
him. They had one goal—to get out.

When they rounded the corner to the
stairwell, someone was there. The man looked vaguely familiar to
Evan. Before the guy could speak, Vesh knocked him out and propped
him against the wall. Then Vesh continued past the stairwell. Where
was he going?

Evan found out soon enough. They turned left
down another empty hall. An emergency exit loomed ahead. Vesh
messed with a box near the door, disabled the alarm, and held the
door open, motioning them through. When they were all waiting in
the shadows, Vesh keyed a code to relock the door and reset the
alarm.

“We’re going to change forms.” Vesh spoke to
them all, but focused on Meara. Was he developing a crush on her?
Not the wisest idea if Kieran’s scowl was any indication. The
Selkie looked fierce. “I recommend that you two don’t change until
we’re outside the city walls. You blend more in this form.”

Kieran and Meara agreed.

You can breathe underwater in human
form?
Evan asked her.

For short periods of time,
she said.
No longer than an hour or so.

Relieved she would be okay, Evan waited for
the others to change. The water stirred while the three men took
their true, much larger, forms.
At least I don’t stand out so
much now
, Evan thought. He really hated the color blue. Too
bad, it used to be his favorite.

“Next stop, Azuria,” Vesh announced with a
flourish. No one responded as they followed Vesh out of the Siren
dwelling. Each lost to his own thoughts.

Azuria—where they would succeed or they would
fail. It all rode on this mission.

I
never thought I’d say this, but it felt good to change back into
seal form. It was a more natural state for us to take in the water.
We could swim faster this way. As an added benefit, instincts took
over and freed me from my worries.

The swim ahead would be long, but no longer
than what Kieran and I had already traveled to rescue Evan.

Evan. He swam ahead of us with the other Blue
Men. It took me a good part of the night to grow accustomed to his
new form. Now that I had, I could see the Evan I knew underneath.
Heck, the dimples were still there when he smiled.

I was glad that he found Deanna. Okay,
scratch that, maybe a part of me wished he were holding out for us
to get back together. That part of me was dumb and selfish, because
I had Kieran. And I loved Kieran, and I knew, deep in my heart,
that I didn’t love Evan that way anymore. I still cared for him.
Cared—the way you did about a good friend or relative, not cared in
an I-want-to-kiss-you-breathless way. That was reserved for Kieran.
I felt bad for Evan too, knowing what I did about Ken being his
father. Evan had it so much worse in the dad department than I
did.

Kieran nosed my side.
You okay or are you
lost in your head again?

Both
, I answered.
Sorry
.

It’s a lot to take in. For a while, I
thought we were really done for.
He blew out a stream of
bubbles, and I knew he was remembering feeling trapped. It was an
awful feeling.
I’m not sure I trust them, do you?

I trust Evan.
That was a given. Last
summer, I had my moments of doubt, but now that he explained what
happened, it all made sense.
He won’t betray us. I think we can
trust Vesh, too, and the other two—

Barely say anything
, Kieran
interjected, causing me to snort out a laugh.

Right
, I agreed.
They don’t say
much so it’s hard to know
.

We swam in silence for a while, and then
Kieran asked,
What about Deanna?

I thought before answering, putting aside any
negative feelings that came from her being Evan’s new girlfriend.
Ken killed her mother, so if nothing else, ‘the enemy of my enemy
is my friend’ must apply. Finally, I said,
We can trust her. She
obviously loves Evan.

Her only fault.
Kieran’s voice was
light and teasing.
I like her.

You would.
I bumped him in the side
playfully.
She’s beautiful.

So are you.
He brushed along my side.
And I like you more.

Well, that’s good.

It came in a grumble, but he knew that his
words pleased me, especially when he added,
A lot more.

Kieran,
I sighed.
Focus.

On what?
he asked.
The
scenery?

We passed groups of fish, rock
formations—nothing unusual. Nothing we hadn’t seen many times
before.
Or swimming?
he continued.
Because I’ve got that
one covered. Been doing it since I was a cub.
His voice dropped
an octave and sent a shiver down my spine.
I’d rather focus on
you.

Evan smirked at me.
You two are kind of
funny together.

You can hear us?
My fur was going to
singe in mortification. Apparently, I wasn’t shielding. At all.

In my embarrassment, I didn’t notice that
Kieran stopped teasing me and came to a stop. I almost ran into
him. I was about to ask what was wrong, and then I knew. Vesh was
the first to speak.

“Shit.”

The one word perfectly summed up what was
before us. The destruction was wide spread. There seemed to be no
end to it, and the smell, oh god, the smell was atrocious, like
month-old garbage baking in the sun. I was surprised we hadn’t
noticed it sooner. We must have crossed some invisible barrier, and
once through, it slammed us in the face.

Vesh covered his nose and mouth. Through his
fingers, he asked, “How did you handle this, man?”

Evan gave him a bland look. “I had no choice,
maybe?”

“There is that.” Vesh grinned behind his
hand, and then coughed when he got a mouthful of rot. “Ugh. Gross.
Can we get around this?”

“If we head east about a mile, we should
clear it.” Evan took the lead. We swam in silence, holding our
breath as long as we could. When we had to breathe, it was awful.
The bile rose in my throat every time the taste of decay filled my
mouth. Then we were clear of it, and I gulped the clean water
greedily. If I never experienced that again, it would be too
soon.

“
That
is headed to Ronac?” I knew the
answer even as I asked it. Ken wanted to wipe us out, and if the
mantle plume reached our island, I was afraid he would succeed.
Months ago, Kieran and I encountered a sampling of the plume’s
destruction, but it was nothing like what we just swam through.
This was death, and nothing within its grasp was spared.

I’m sorry for my part in this.
I
tried to stop Ken and I couldn’t.
Evan’s voice rang in my head.
I won’t let anything happen to you. I will protect you and the
Selkies with my life.

It’s not your fault,
I told him and
meant it. I didn’t blame him at all. As for his promise, well, it
was one that he probably wouldn’t be able to keep. I appreciated it
all the same.

“How much further?” Kieran asked. We couldn’t
communicate with humans in our seal form, but we discovered we
could still talk to the Blue Men, which was convenient.

“We’re within an hour of our territory.” Vesh
was once again in the lead. He reclaimed his position once we were
back in clean water. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until Kieran
spoke. We’d been swimming most of the day. My head was heavy, and
we were slowing.

“Once we are within their range, we must be
on constant alert,” Vesh cautioned. “If you want to rest, I suggest
we find shelter soon.”

Sleep sounded lovely. Azuria’s presence
permeated my mind, a cool touch at the base of my skull. She showed
me a cavern that was a few minutes to the northwest of us. It would
be perfect for our needs.

“Come on, guys.” I swam in the direction of
the cave. “I know of a spot.”

“How do you know where to go?” Vesh
asked.

I turned back and raised my muzzle. “Azuria
showed me.”

His mouth snapped shut, and he looked around
with a mixture of awe and fear. The woman had been dead for
hundreds of years, yet she still wrought strong emotions in her
sons. She must be extremely powerful, especially to have such a
strong presence as a spirit. I wondered again why she chose me
instead of one of her own children.

I am not able to communicate with
them.
Her voice was soft and kind.
Perhaps you are a gift
from my Zane.

His name brought such intense emotions forth
that I gasped.

Are you okay?
Kieran asked.

I’m fine,
I said. I pointed at the
cave.
There’s our refuge.

The cavern was large enough to allow us room
to spread out, although Kieran curled his body around mine. Within
minutes, I drifted to sleep.

“You are doing well, my daughter.”

Azuria stood before me on a beach. A real
beach covered in fine white sand, the kind found in the Caribbean,
not the gray pebble beaches of Scotland.

“Where are we?” I asked. A white, strapless
sundress covered me. The sun’s heat baked my skin while a light
floral breeze teased my hair.

“Anywhere you like.” Azuria shrugged a slim
shoulder. Like me, she wore a sundress, only hers was turquoise
blue—the exact shade of the water and her stunning eyes. “I thought
you might like a small respite before the challenge ahead of you.”
She beamed at me. Then, her smile fell as her eyes grew serious.
“Believe me, it will be a challenge. Ken will not give up
easily.”

Her bottom lip trembled, and she wrapped her
arms around her waist. I wanted to give her a hug, but I wasn’t
sure how she would receive it, so I stayed where I was. “I wish I
had known what destruction my absence would cause. Perhaps…” She
trailed off, turning to watch the waves roll into the shore and
smooth the sand before retreating.

“Would you have chosen differently?” I
asked.

She faced me and pursed her lips. “A wise
question, but one that I cannot honestly answer. I’d like to think
so, but…”

I remembered the scene she showed me and the
emotions. Pain cut through me like a knife. It would be hard to
choose life and endure through the torture of missing your only
love, especially if you were immortal. I met her eyes, and she
nodded.

“You understand,” she said. “And you and your
Selkie share something similar, something as powerful as what Zane
and I had.”

I sank into the sand, letting her words
settle in. Wiggling my toes into the heated ground, I sifted the
granules through my fingers. The stream of sand made me think of an
hourglass, which reminded me that I was still sleeping. “How much
time until we need to go?”

“We have a few minutes.” She sat next to me,
stretching her long legs. Her toes were painted bright pink. I
admired the color, and a second later, mine matched hers.

“You could make a killing in the pedicure
business,” I said, which made her laugh.

Frozen drinks, topped with jaunty paper
umbrellas, appeared in our hands. Mine tasted like fresh peaches,
one of my favorite fruits. Azuria slipped large, dark sunglasses
down her head and over her eyes. “Relax, Meara. I’ll get you back
in time.”

Leaning back, I sipped my drink and watched
seagulls soar in lazy circles around us. I’d face hell soon enough.
I could take this moment in paradise if Azuria was offering it.