Page 59 of Scalebound

I scoffed, my eyes not pulling away from his. The darkness of his irises peered back, not breaking the connection. My mouth threatened to curve into a smile, but I willed the urge away. He felt different. There was something different about him. The softness that I knew was there, shone through. He did care about me. “Well, it’s a deal,” I said, moving closer to his body as he smirked, picked up the paddle again, and rowed us off to the island that held still in the distance.

Glancing at my boot, I put the one he gave me in it, matching how he held his own. I couldn’t help but smile, knowing that he had given me his knife that meant so much to him–something that he was passionate about. Was I giddy with the thought that he wanted to learnSatas Lerma,or that he gave me his knife? I couldn’t help but wonder if the flutter in my stomach had anything to do with starting to care more about him, and if he felt the same.

1.Nas: No

Chapter thirty-nine

DAMIAN

After Sebastia, I had promised myself that I would never allow the warmth back into my heart. I knew that I would keep the shadows of death wrapped around that living organ I wanted to rot and get moldy with dust, being unused and maybe even unwanted.

However, at this moment, Aurelia was in my vision; her pink hair gleaming, the gold in her blushed cheeks sparkling, melted the cobwebs that surrounded my heart. The bones around my heart rattled, showing that there was a sign of a beat—that it was alive.

I had an urge to protect her and to keep her safe.

She was my complete opposite, but something drew me to her.

She became more than just a passing thought. Her presence stirred emotions in my heart that I promised myself to never feel again. With her beside me, I felt driven to shatter the barriers of my own restrictions, no longer content to linger in the shadows between life and death.

I didn’t want to live in the dark anymore. Aurelia had shone the light, and I knew I could never return.

Chapter forty

AURELIA

As we reached the island, we were encompassed by lush green foliage covering its surface. Moss-covered rocks peppered the shoreline. Delicate flowers splashed colors in between crevices through the mountain that stood tall in the center.

Spending hours looking for the egg along the shorelines and around the base of the mountain, we couldn’t see anything.

Nothing.

With nighttime around the corner, we took a break, resuming in the morning. We found a secluded area to camp. It was off to the side where the bushes on the exterior of the mountain hung low, greenery covering every inch beside the patches of rocks, so even if people were to use tools to see us closer, they wouldn’t be able to see us or our fire.

The sky grew dark, and the moon flickered over the waves of the water, reminding us of its presence.

Damian had set up a fire near the base of the rocks, and Belle was curled up close. I felt absolutely disgusted and couldn’t go another day without washing. There was still mud from one of the first days that clung to my clothes and my ears, and I could still feel the cuts on my body when I was sliced by each of the men.

The water reflected the large full moon above, drifting from side to side with the waves. The idea of passing the surface was a daunting one, but the smell of my own skin was making me nauseous.

Belle's breathing slowed to a gentle rhythm as she nestled into herself, her tail curled snugly around her body near the fire.

“Damian, I am going to wash. Shall you be a gentleman and turn around?”

Damian grinned at me. Not a lustful grin, but a kind and generous one–maybe even a mocking one. “Of course, my Queen,” he bowed as he said so, and I scoffed at him.

“Stop it!” I said jokingly. “I’ll be back.”

The water was only about ten feet away. Damian had turned, and I started to strip the pink bodice and black pants that clung to my body, which were as disgusting as ever.

I stripped and was half-naked, wearing only my underthings. Glancing at Damian, he was poking a stick into the flames, making them combust small sparks into the air. He looked distracted enough.Turning to face the water, I saw my reflection on its surface and didn’t recognize myself. I looked awful. Bloody, beaten, and dirty.

My toes dipped first into the water, testing the temperature. The cold liquid was freezing, however, I needed to clean myself in order to continue any further on the journey. The cuts across my skin concerned me, not wanting to get an infection. I waded deeper into the water until it was up to my knees, then my waist, and then until it covered my breasts, the water reaching myneck. I took time in intervals for my body to grow accustomed to the temperature of it. However, I had never been in anything like the ocean, and it scared me more than I was willing to admit.

Fear curdled in my stomach that I would be eaten alive by some creatures beneath my feet, or that the water would suck me into its core, never letting me complete my quest. Or something dragging me to the darkest pit of the ocean, drowning me before even knowing my fate.

I shuddered, thinking of my fears, and quickly brushed them aside, anchoring myself in the grainy sand, unwilling to let the feral waves take me with them.

The sand felt soft in between my toes, and seaweed tickled my body as I inched further into the depths of the sea, wrapping around my ankles. It made me nervous initially, but I relaxed, trying to calm myself.

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