Page 105 of Bitter Prince
I waited until they came up, gasping like fish out of water and making us laugh.
“Want to give it a try?” Amon offered and I shook my head.
“No, I like it better here.”
The yacht drifted slowly and the name, which I hadn’t noticed before, came into view. My eyes widened as the words and accompanying symbol registered.
“Amon, the n-name,” I stuttered. “The symbol.” I could feel his body tense and my gaze found him. “How? Why?”
It seemed I was unable to articulate the words.
“I think it’s always been you, cinnamon girl.” His voice was husky and deep, doing so many things to my insides. “I just didn’t know it.”
“But the kanji symbol,” I started, my hand coming to my neck. I tensed, touching only bare skin. I brought my other hand up, feeling around frantically.
“What’s the matter?”
“My mother’s necklace.” My stomach clenched. Panic flared. My eyes darted around, looking through the clear water. We hadn’t moved that much, had we? “I had it on,” I breathed, every little sparkle catching my eye from the surface. “I never take it off.”
“Slow down.” Amon’s voice pierced through the panic. His hands came to my face and cupped my cheeks. “We’ll find it.”
“I can’t lose it, Amon,” I muttered.
“We’ll find it.” The conviction in his voice calmed me, although deep down I knew finding a piece of jewelry in the sea was like looking for a needle in a haystack. “Let’s swim aboard and then I’ll come back to look for it. I’ll get a few crew members to help too.”
“Okay.”
We swam back to the boat where Dante stood. He took one look at me, my chest rising and falling, before he said, “What happened?”
“She lost her necklace. Keep an eye on her,” Amon ordered. “I’ll grab some of the crew and look for it.”
“A necklace?” Dante seemed confused. My bottom lip trembled. I’d never taken her necklace off, even when I surfed. It was her last gift to me and I cherished it. “How much is it worth?”
I blinked, my tears burning the backs of my eyes. “Not much,” I whispered, my fingers reaching for my neck and then stopping midair. It wasn’t there.
“Then why the panic? Just let it go. Hell, I’ll buy you another one if Amon won’t.”
I swallowed. “It was my mother’s.” My panic was skyrocketing as the memories gripped my throat. “She gave it to me while she was dying,” I admitted, tears starting to stream down my face.
Dante gave me a strange look, but I didn’t care. Amon pulled me into his chest, our bodies still wet from the water. “I’ll find it. I promise.”
I hung on to his words, trying to ease my inner turmoil. Nodding, I murmured something that must have reassured him.
“Should I get her friends and her sister?” Dante offered, but I snatched him before he could take another step.
“No.” I shook his arm. “Please don’t. Let them be.”
I’d rather my sister not witness the panic attack that was starting to bubble up. I hung on to Amon’s and Dante’s calmness, but I could feel the ripple of it slowly building.
“Are you sure?” Amon asked, watching me worriedly.
I nodded and even managed a smile. “Yes.”
I must have been convincing, because within the next two minutes, he was back in the water with a few of the crew members and I was under Dante’s charge. Amon warned his brother to keep an eye on me while I stared at the clear blue water.
I tracked his movements while trying to calm my breathing, watching his hue of dark hair bobbing around as he directed the search effort. My eyes were having a hard time focusing though, and the trembling started.
Not now. The words kept repeating over and over again in my brain.Please, not now.
