Perilous Waters (35 page)

“I know,” she said. “You would die, too.”

“That isn’t it at all,” he said, pulling back to give her cheek a slow, tender caress. “Even if that weren’t true, even if we weren’t connected, I never want to see you hurt. You mean so much to me.”

Her lashes lifted and her gaze locked with Ethan’s. Instinctively she tried to form the channel between them, but she couldn’t. Not in Atlantis. And yet, it was as though they shared a different kind of connection. A force that made her want to pull herself close to him, and before she could think better of it, she returned her head to his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

She breathed deep, relishing the scent of him, the warmth of his closeness. An aching sigh left his lungs as he enfolded her in his arms. Images flashed through her mind—she and Ethan at the beach, laughing, easy in each other’s arms, kissing in Paris—she blinked at the memories of both her past and future self.

“Jules?”

The whispered word stole through her heart. She backed away. “What’s happening?” She lowered her hand from her brow, not having realized when she had begun rubbing at her forehead. “I keep having these weird images… like...”

She shook her head, unsure of how to explain.

“Like… memories?”

“Yes.”

Ethan’s gaze remained inscrutable. He stepped forward, closing the space between them again.

Julia pushed back the strange visions, shaking her head to clear it.

Ethan lifted his hand to stroke her cheek again. Julia turned toward the caress, swallowing tightly. Heat burned at her lids as they lowered. Chaotic emotions battled in her heart. As warm as his touch felt, it promised no comfort in the long run. With Ethan, confusion was the only thing she could ever count on.

~ Chapter 31 ~

Angie

They
left Brian in the safety of Meliah’s healing sleep. Julia led them back to the watery doorway, her fingers curled around the shell.

“Can you talk to one of the nymphs to see if they can help Ethan to shore?” Julia asked, her brows peaked. “Push the current so he can swim faster? He isn’t affected by magic, so the shell’s power doesn’t work on him.”

Angie scanned the cove-like room, wondering if any of the nymphs could be trusted, but Ethan headed to a row of stone shelves. Among nets and spears he found flippers and a scuba mask.

“When I first came down to Atlantis with Brian, I borrowed some of his snorkeling gear.”

“He won’t need those anymore,” Kaitlyn said.

Ethan’s gaze lowered, and Angie quickly added, “He likes surfing, right? With nymph powers he’ll be amazing. And now that he has access to a Timeway, he’ll be able to surf in Australia, Hawaii, anywhere he wants.”

Julia tilted her head, and Kaitlyn said, “Timeways can send you anywhere?”

“Not us. Not without a nymph’s help. There are a few recorded Timeways in forests, mountain caves, behind waterfalls, but different kinds of nymphs that guard them—”

“Okay, I get it,” Kaitlyn said.

Angie bit back her suggestion that they review the ancient texts. “We should go home and get some rest. Now that we know Brian is safe, the best thing to do is be at full power and return to our mission tomorrow.”

She looked to Julia, who lifted her hand, breaching the barrier between them and the sea. The moment the shell touched the water, it gave off its golden glow.

Ethan dove in first, and the girls followed right after, easily keeping up with him with the power of the shell. As they swam through the depths toward shore, Angie could see through the watery world through the seashell’s protective light, as though she were looking through glass. Sunlight streaked the ocean and caught on a school of glinting, silver fish. She would have gasped if she had been breathing. It had been night when they entered Atlantis. How much time had passed?

She watched Julia point excitedly at something and smiled at the sight of a pod of dolphins. They swam alongside them, causing streams of cool water to rush against her clothes.

One of the dolphins torpedoed ahead, swirling as high-pitched
ke-ke-ke
sounds echoed through the water.

They’re playing with us,
Angie realized.

This is incredible
, Kaitlyn said, her voice laced with awe. Angie felt the dark-haired girl’s pleasure wash through her mind. Another dolphin swam beneath them. Kaitlyn reached her free hand toward it. It leaned toward her before racing ahead, spraying a torrent of bubbles toward them. Kaitlyn’s feelings burst like droplets of bright color across Angie’s mind. Angie recognized the sensation as joy, and realized it was the first time she had ever felt Kaitlyn share the emotion.

The dolphins sped away as quickly as they appeared. It wasn’t long before she and the others reached the shore.

“That was insane,” Julia said. “We swam with dolphins!”

“I never thought I would like the ocean,” Kaitlyn said, pushing wet hair off of her brow.

Angie turned slowly, ice rushing through her veins as the sun beat on her face. “We… we entered the Timeway at night.”

“Look how much time has passed,” Julia whispered, leaving a wide trail of sand in her wake as she dragged her drenched gown with each step up the shoreline.

Angie began tapping against her own sea-soaked gown. A rise of panic threatened to overwhelm her. They had entered Atlantis without freezing time.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Time passes differently in Timeways. You should have left time frozen.”

Julia’s eyes widened. “What if time moved past one day? What if it’s a whole year from now?”

“We have to ask someone,” Angie whispered as her pulse spiked. “David—”

“Relax,” Kaitlyn said, flicking her finger toward the lifeguard tower. “The tide chart right there shows it’s only been a day. No big deal.”

“
No big deal,
” Julia yelled. “My mom probably called the police by now!”

Angie’s pulse continued to rise, her heart hammering against her ribcage. Not for Julia, but for David. In two days’ time, the creatures could have killed him. “Journey us, Julia. Do it now.”

“Not so fast,” Kaitlyn said. “I’m exhausted and starved, and we need a plan.”

Angie pressed her lips together, her chest growing tight at the thought of taking much longer to return to their mission. She was about to tell the others that tired or not, they needed to return to the Caribbean immediately, but the dark smudges beneath Julia’s eyes and her slumped shoulders gave Angie pause. It would be a while yet before any of them had enough magic to use their greater spells. Even Kaitlyn’s normally vivid eyes appeared dull, and her skin held a grayish undertone that made Angie think she might get sick if she didn’t get some rest soon.

“You’re right, Kaitlyn,” she finally said. “We’ll have to regroup tomorrow morning. Early.” She took in the shambled appearance of the girls’ clothes, and could only imagine how she looked. “Our gowns should dry out by then, but if not, draw the water out with the Summon spell.”

Julia bit her lip. “Yeah. That one.”

“Kaitlyn held out her hand, her fingers waving slowly as a seashell rose from the sand. “Yes. This one.”

Angie schooled her features to keep from revealing how Kaitlyn’s ease with mastering new powers alarmed her. “Good job.”

Ethan took a step backward, his eyes on Julia. “I’m going home to get my passport, phone, and credit card, in case I end up in some foreign country when this is all over. Summon me when you’ve returned to the mission. And,” he hesitated. At least, Angie thought he hesitated, but she realized he had simply opened his connection to Julia. She nodded at whatever message he conveyed to her before turning and jogging back to the parking lot.

“Oh God. Please don’t tell me you’re blushing,” Kaitlyn said as Julia smiled after him.

“I’m not,” she said, but her cheeks only grew redder.

“You’re never going to get over that boy,” she muttered.

Julia spun around with a frustrated noise. “Are we going or not?”

Kaitlyn’s deep laughter was met with an icy glare from Julia.

Angie offered her hands. “Take us back to my house. That’s where we were when we left, so your stuff should all be there, along with Kaitlyn’s car. She can drive you home.”

The world shimmered from view as Julia took them from the coast to her home. It turned out Julia’s mother had called Angie’s parents when she didn’t show up. Angie’s mother suspected that the girls were on a mission. She had called Julia’s mother, telling her that Julia spent the night.

“I don’t feel comfortable with lying,” her mother told Julia. “You need to find a way to explain the magic to your mother. She loves you, and has a right to know what’s going on.”

The words had twisted around Angie’s heart, driving home the truth about her deception to David. Every lie she had ever told him was a wedge between them. She thought of the countless times he had nearly caught her using the magic, and she had covered it up with half-truths and falsehoods while distracting him with sweet smiles. This had to stop. Once she saw him and knew he was okay, she had to tell him the truth.

As Kaitlyn drove off with Julia, Angie released a pent up breath. She wanted to shower the ocean off of her and eat something before she talked to David about the magic, but for now, she needed to find out if he was safe.

Before she turned back to the house, David’s car came into view.

“Oh,” she blurted, blinking in utter surprise. The smile that automatically sprung to her lips at the sight of him was impossible to suppress. “David. You’re here.”

“Did you forget?” he asked, his brows arcing as his gaze swept over her soaked, disheveled form. “We were going to go to the Festival of Sail today to see the pirate reenactment.”

She had completely forgotten about the flyer she had shown him at the barbecue. The idea of watching a pirate reenactment was almost nauseating. Not to mention the fact that she had to rest in order to be at full strength when they returned to the mission.

This was exactly why he needed to know about the magic.

She accepted his hug, but pulled away as she realized she was getting him all wet.

“Why are you soaked?” He snuck a kiss on her cheek before releasing her. “And what are you wearing?”

She cleared her throat, unsure of how to proceed. Normally she would come up with a lie to tell him, and convince herself it wasn’t a lie. The mission, the Fates, the magic all had to come first.

She stared up at him, feeling unprepared to begin this monumental conversation. “Let’s go inside,” she finally murmured. “I have to tell you…” she trailed off, clueless of how to verbalize her thoughts.

“What’s going on?” David asked softly, taking her hand as she led him to the house. “It seems like you’re hiding from me. You’ve never kept anything from me before, angel. Not as long as I’ve known you.”

They reached the living room and her mind rushed with words she needed to say, overwhelming and jumbled. “There’s so much to tell you.”

He kissed her hand. “Before anything, do you want to change clothes? Those wet things can’t be comfortable.”

She nodded, both grateful for the reprieve and dismayed at the thought of postponing this any longer. “I won’t take long,” she said, handing him the remote control to the television.

Her room offered her comfort. The safe, familiar setting helped settle her thoughts, and she was glad to be free of the sodden, heavy gown. She made quick work of her shower, brushing out her wet hair and putting on a simple, pale blue sundress that flowed as she walked.

David turned off the TV when she came back downstairs, patting the sofa seat beside him.

They sat together, side by side like so many times before, and she leaned into his shoulder as his arm came around her, tucking her close. “I just… it’s just that…” She closed her eyes. The amount of information she needed to share was staggering, and she couldn’t unjam her thoughts and figure out a coherent explanation.

I have a secret.

The words echoed in her mind. She could start with that much.

Her lashes lifted and she sat up to face him. “I have a secret.”

He took her hand and laced their fingers together.

A shaky breath escaped her lips. “One I’ve been keeping for a long time.” She searched for the words to continue. After so long keeping magical secrets from him, she hardly knew how to reveal the power. She moistened her lips, wanting to say more, but no sound came out.

“You’ve been hanging around Kaitlyn Tesoro a lot lately,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “You’ve been acting differently, seeming so scared. I don’t know what’s going on or what she’s telling you, but—”

“This has nothing to do with her,” Angie began, then shook her head, her eyes squeezing shut. “Wait. Yes, it does, but that part is recent.”

“Tell me what it is.”

Air left her lungs in a rush.
Tell him? Just tell him?

“This is becoming unbearable,” he whispered. “What are you leaving me out of? Whatever it is, I need to know.”

His fingers left hers and she stared at her suddenly empty hands. With a slow, deliberate motion he ran one hand up her arm, sending a soft shiver up her neck. His fingertips traced the golden lines of her mark of magic. Angie’s eyelids fluttered against the sensation.

“I noticed something.” His thumb made a gentle sweep across the crescent moon. “Kaitlyn has one of these, now.”

Her pulse thundered in her ears. She forced herself to nod. He wasn’t stupid, and he didn’t deserve to be lied to anymore.

He continued caressing the mark on her arm, sending a tremor from the golden symbols down to her heart. The mark shimmered faintly. She lifted her gaze to face him, on the cusp of erasing the memory from his thoughts as she had done so many times before.

But she didn’t. Instead, she let him see the mark blaze white, and watched his eyes widen.

“What’s happening to your arm?”

She shut her eyes as the magic grew, building and coiling inside of her. “I have—I have—” her face grew warm.
Tell him,
she ordered.
Just tell him.

But that wasn’t right either. Words weren’t enough, because he might not understand or believe her. She couldn’t just tell him.