Hearken (Daughters of the Sea Series) (33 page)

             
“What are you doing here?” I demanded of her. I knew I should be mad at her, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember why.

             
“Oh, Anastasia,” she purred at me and then stepped closer. I clenched the moonstone against my body protectively. Her dark hair fell against her pale eyes, and her silver eyes reflected the water nearby. “Do I really need an excuse to visit my only living granddaughter?”

Chapter 33

Olivia

             
“You suffered these burns…at the hands of the girl?” a gentle, antiquated voice inquired in Greek. The partially closed door blocked my view of the castle nurse tending to a disabled Sebastian. Small in stature, but profound in presence, she was a hard woman to argue with. Her silver-white hair had been pulled into a traditional bun and was secured with a dazzling ruby encrusted clip. Her frail body was slightly hunched over from old age, but her green eyes were full of fire and life. I instantly liked her. Although I was on my way to the restroom, I couldn’t resist the urge to stop mid-hallway to listen in on their conversation.

“She caught me very much off guard,” I heard Sebastian respond with the lilt of a smile in his tone. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware that my date was a walking lightning storm.”

I hastily camouflaged myself and peered through the thin opening into the room. I could just make out the curves of Sebastian’s calves and feet, and inferred that he was lying on a table while Seraphina attended to his burns. I clenched my left hand into a fist repeatedly in an effort to ease the intense scorching pain sizzling across my palm. The all-seeing eye trace would not relent until I found Stasia, and at this rate, it would be a while.

“I believe she may be a suitable match for you,” she requited poignantly. “It is a strong woman who possesses the ability to incapacitate the likes of you.”

“That’s an understatement,” he laughed, and I felt my heart swell. Then I remembered the precarious situation he’d gotten me into and it quickly froze over once more. Bitterness puddled into the pit of my stomach, and I reminded myself of the very real possibility that he could have sabotaged the night’s events on purpose. Trust was a precious commodity that I dared not hand out freely. 

“I’m afraid she does not deem me to be a suitable match, however. It is a humbling experience to be seen by naive eyes.” 

I piqued at his description of me and felt my blood begin to heat. A moment of silence hung in the air before Seraphina prospected with disbelief.

“You have not told her that you’re-”

              “Eavesdropping only serves to feed the vanity in our hearts,” a melodic voice breathed in my ear; blocking out Seraphina’s words and making me jump. My own vain heart skipped about three beats and I spun around in surprise. I really needed to make it a point to remember that Meara was immune to my camouflage ability. 

“However, it is deliciously impossible to resist,” she continued with a knowing wink. My skin prickled at the light breeze that blew across my back as the door swung open all the way. I moved to the side, but remained camouflaged and held my breath.
Seraphina curtsied slightly to Meara before speaking.

“My lady, I am happy to inform you that our injured guest will recover nicely,” she announced merrily. The room beyond appeared to be somewhat of a nurse’s station. There were apothecary bottles, gauze and medical utensils I recognized, while others I didn’t. When my eyes landed on Sebastian, they widened involuntarily. His bare chest was still wet where
Seraphina had washed the paint from his skin. His white pants were laid across a small couch in the corner of the room, and my eyes widened at the thin, white briefs he wore. He ran his hands through his wet blonde hair before climbing down from the table and retrieving his pants. As I watched him pull them on and secure them on his waist, the memory of my hands running over his paint-covered chest made me shiver.

He met the wise eyes of
Meara and smiled graciously before she inspected the damaged skin of his chest, which was now only a patchwork of light pink splotches.             

“Thank you,
Seraphina,” Meara acknowledged the nurse with a formal nod of her head. The red locks flowing down her back fell forward in a brilliant cascade of wicked fire and ashen earth. “You have once again proven the high level of mastery you have for your craft.”

“May I have a word with you in private,
Meara?” Sebastian requested. I didn’t miss the casual manner in which he addressed the Queen of Atlantis. 

“Of course,” she obliged, and gracefully entered the room. I stepped aside to allow
Seraphina to pass and had every intention of following Meara inside, until I realized she had other ideas. She leisurely closed the door while staring at me pointedly, and then spoke to Sebastian with an obvious authority meant for me. “We must be quick, as I know Olivia will be awaiting our presence in the front parlor.”

My face soured with disappointment, but I knew from the stern lines of
Meara’s face that I should follow her orders. I nodded to her before returning to my makeshift changing room several doors down. Meara had given me a new white dress to wear in place of the torn, muddy and paint-covered skirt I’d worn up until that point. Fresh water had been provided for me to dissolve my face and hair of the bright neon evidence of our night at the club. Although I appreciated Meara’s hospitality, my thoughts continually centered on my first priority: finding Stasia. The seeds gave me instant sobriety, and the warm concoction of liquids she’d delivered to my changing room energized my body and mind instantaneously. I already felt like a new person, and we’d only been there fifteen minutes.

             
I gathered my soiled clothes and walked back out to the foyer to wait for Sebastian and Meara. I wanted nothing more than to run as fast as I could in the direction of the tree houses…if only I knew what direction that was. The incessant burning had commenced to crawling up my arm; causing my bicep to cramp painfully. I paced back and forth across the exotic tiled floor of the parlor. Sebastian had been telling the truth about the castle. The showy gold exterior provided no insight as to the elegant, yet functional interior.

             
Simplistic décor was mirrored by reds, browns, and oranges on the interior castle walls and tile floors. It smelled of cedar and summer rain, with extravagant floral arrangements adding vibrant colors and lines to every room. I peered down the hallway with impatience.

             
If they didn’t hurry, I’d be forced to leave on my own, kidnap a random resident of the city and demand they show me the way out. I almost had the entire farfetched plan mapped out in my head until I realized I never
was
a good criminal. When I was six years old, I took a red crayon from a restaurant in Wilmington because it matched my dress - but after only a couple of hours I’d forced Mom to drive me all the way back so I could give it back in person. Never mind that by that point, it had melted into a big, red puddle from the suffocating heat of our car. I could lie to my own grandmother with a straight face, but a stolen crayon weighed on my conscience like a wet pancake.

I also needed to find the other girls and find out what they’d dug up on the blood moon. I peered out a nearby window and glanced up at the glowing disc above with chagrin. Thankfully it was the same golden yellow it was every night. I was half expecting it to start bleeding or gushing evil when I heard footsteps behind me.

              “I have arranged transportation,” Meara informed me with a sly grin as they joined me in the parlor. I met the weighted gaze of the now-dry Sebastian with pants, and quickly diverted my eyes back to Meara. The image of him clad in only a pair of briefs would forever be burned into my memory. But right now I didn’t have time to figure out the complicated emotions running through me, triggered by his presence. I needed to stay focused on Stasia.

             
“We’re running out of time,” I reminded them, and rubbed my arm to ease the agonizing pain shooting through it. Sebastian immediately stepped forward with concern, but I turned and walked out the ornate French doors to avoid him. If his presence elicited so many conflicting emotions, I could only imagine what his touch would do to me. Little did I know that what was waiting for me outside in the well-manicured courtyard would have me clinging to him for dear life.

             
Upon first glance, I flirted with the possibility that our mode of transportation was invisible. Then I heard the thundering sound of hooves storming around the left side of the castle. Two stunning, imperial horses galloped through the light fog that had settled onto the grounds; gliding into the courtyard before ambling around us and stopping obediently in front of Sebastian’s outstretched hand. Both steeds dipped their heads at him, while they swished their tails around like a couple of Labrador Retrievers happy to see their master. 

             
I watched with a slack jaw when he stepped up to the first horse and rubbed its nose while speaking quietly to it. I’d never been so intimidated by an animal as much as I was by those magnificent examples of brute strength and raw beauty standing before me. The first horse had a brownish-red coat with a rich chestnut mane. As Sebastian whispered to him, he scuffed his front hoof in the dirt happily and nudged him with his long nose. Sebastian laughed and moved on to the next giant beast of an animal awaiting its turn for undivided attention.

             
He repeated the same greeting ritual with the second horse, which was slightly taller than the other, but not by much. Its velvet coat was the purest yellow I’d ever laid eyes on, and a cascade of golden honey hair made up his mane. But what caught my attention the most were his eyes. They were a glorious, gilded color that rivaled the sun. Sebastian turned to me with pride and ran a hand over the beast’s mane with apparent affection.

“This is
Xanthos.” He strode over to the other horse. “And this is Balios.”

“Sebastian’s horses are kept in our stables here on the castle grounds. We ensure they are groomed regularly and fed well,”
Meara informed me. I gawked at Sebastian in an attempt to find the words to express the astonished thoughts circling through my mind.

“You have…horses?” I choked out. Apparently succinctly expressing my thoughts was not a strong suit of mine. “As in plural? More than one?”

“As in plural, more than one.” He flashed a heartbreaking smile in my direction. “I wouldn’t put my trust in any other creature to return us safely back to the east side of the island.”

He knelt down and meticulously checked both horses’ hooves and patted down their leg muscles. The horses, as if sensing impending freedom, stood slightly taller and waited patiently for him to grant his approval of their stead.

“I will ride Balios.” Meara thought for a moment. “You should ride with Sebastian, since he is the more experienced rider.”

I stared at her in awe as she expertly hooked a boot into the leather stirrups and threw her leg over the saddle. She balanced her weight and picked up the reins with an ease I found myself jealous of. Those thoughts were quickly followed by the startling comprehension that I would be riding a horse with Sebastian.

After sufficiently checking the horses for preparedness, he skillfully mounted Xanthos as if he belonged in the saddle. His confident posture and the prestige with which he instructed the horse by nudging him gently to the right, hinted at the theory that he did, in fact, belong exactly where he was. 

I hesitantly stepped up to the horse’s side and my thoughts became scrambled with anticipation. I cursed my heart for racing. I cursed my palms for sweating. I cursed my eyes for drinking in the magnificent sight of a bare-chested Sebastian sitting atop a beautiful stud, holding out an open hand to me with an annoyingly tender smile. The moonlight played across his golden shoulders; accentuating the strength of his muscles and the sparkle of excitement in his blue eyes. It took me several seconds to wipe the thick fog of longing from my thoughts and force my legs to move. I took his outstretched hand, but stood there for a second too long. Sebastian cleared his throat.

“Place your right foot in the stirrup.” He slid his own foot out and motioned for me to follow his lead. “Now, on the count of three you’re going to jump, push up on the stirrup and swing your leg over behind me. I’ll pull you up, but you’ve got to throw your leg over, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed without thinking. The horse’s back was at least six feet off the ground, but for some reason I had a feeling Sebastian wouldn’t let me fall. He held my gaze and slowly counted to three. I shifted my weight onto my right foot, leapt up and swung my leg over the saddle like I’d seen
Meara do. Sebastian almost pulled my arm out of the socket, but before I knew it I was sitting on the back of a gigantic horse. With my legs around Sebastian. I wasn’t sure which of those realizations shook me up more.

“Whoa,” I breathed. A sloppy, exhilarated grin slid across my lips as a breeze lifted my hair from my shoulders.

“You’ll need to wrap your arms around me and squeeze your thighs together so you don’t slip off.”

I quickly did as he instructed and tried not to think about squeezing my thighs around his waist instead. I wrapped both arms around his waist and melted a little inside at the softness of his skin, along with the taut muscles beneath. I twisted my head to the side and laid a cheek on Sebastian’s back, so I could use my entire arm span to clench onto his waist.