Page 53 of Waves
“Thank you.” I managed to drudge up a response, but it wasn’t much, and I had no clue what sort of expression I offered because I was aghast in a way I’d never been before.
I wasn’t certain what to think or do.
A dark part of me didn’t believe we’d find either man.
Though Didero had been the most kind of any of the mayors in the towns I’d visited, I didn’t trust her. She’d been welcoming but absent. Accommodating but also hadn’t given tours or insisted on meetings. The mayor had gone about her days dealing with the town’s business as usual. And while helping harvest some fully grown sea anemones had seemed like a valid excuse at the time, now I was second-guessing every moment we’d spent in Kremos.
Of course, lashing out at the mayor’s distant ways was simply a side effect of my deeper worries. The unknown was circling me, snapping and biting, churning up trepidation and the solid belief that whatever news came…it would swallow me whole.
Valdez was missing.
That had been a shocking surprise when Mateo mentioned he was gone just hours ago.
I’d just interacted with the dolphin-shifter yesterday and not noticed that anything was amiss, until our parting—when he said he had to meet a friend.
No one knew who the friend was or where they met.
Had there actually been a friend?
Had the friend betrayed him?
Had Valdez simply left?
A frustrated sense of self-loathing coursed through me as my suspicion mounted. Though I had no firm evidence of something suspicious from him, the pirate was always so smooth, so quick to use that seductive magic of his. Intuition whispered to me he had ulterior motives…but what they were, I wasn’t sure.
Sahar suggested earlier that he simply decided to leave the tournament. That was possible.
But Valdez was openly competitive. He’d said so. While I didn’t believe everything out of his mouth, I believed that. He was so close to winning… wouldn’t he at least have wanted to sign the withdrawal document? Keep his manhood intact?
Something told me that neither Valdez nor Taft just swam off.
Something told me darker forces were at work.
That they wouldn’t be found.
Eyes closing, I tried to stop the avalanche of possibilities hurtling through my mind. A million options tumbled, merged, and grew into a muddied mess that was dragging me under.
Breathe, idiot,I scolded myself.
In and out, I took several deep pulls of water. Tried to force my lungs to control my racing pulse by feeding it oxygen slowly.
But I failed completely. Ice chips nicked at my spine, a horrid chill full of worry creeping over my bones. While I was concerned about Valdez, the situation with Taft was one thatwas personally devastating on a different level. Unlike the pirate, who’d nearly seduced my body, the nixe had seemed honorable. Steadfast.
Dammit.
I’d been suspicious when he’d sidled up to Mateo but then I’d trusted my first love and lowered my guard. An unwieldy wobbling sensation took over my middle and I clutched at my stomach.
Either I had put my trust in Taft and that was a mistake, or something bad had happened to him. No matter the outcome, there was a sinking sense of failure coursing through me. A heavy disappointment that clogged my throat.
Where was Taft?
Did someone from his prior life catch up with him? He’d talked about darker days, but those had seemed well behind him. But perhaps his nightmares chased after him.
Had both men left together?
Was there some conspiracy afoot?
Was the situation with the rebellion far more out of hand than I believed?
