Page 3 of The Forgotten Queen
The muscles on his face twitched like he wasn’t happy about the way she’d sicced herself on him, but then he turned his face to the girl’s, meeting her lips. His hollow kiss didn’t match the way the other men were kissing their women. His hands remained around his knees, and his body was rigid. Something about his kiss reminded Sydria of the empty smile she’d been giving Edmay and Von for the last three months. Was this man hiding his unhappiness too? The brunette pressed her body into his, and frankly, Sydria was surprised they both didn’t topple over from the woman’s passionate aggression.
“Cheney,” the blonde girl across the fire called out. She’dfinallysplit apart from the large muscular man at her side. It was good to see her talk. Sydria had doubted she’d been getting enough oxygen. “Let’s go walk down the beach.” Her words were pointed at the ear-kissing brunette and the blonde-haired man.
Cheney pulled back from the man. “I’ll go ifeveryonegoes.”
All eyes went to the blonde guy, and the entire scene paused, like if he moved, then the rest of them would move too.
The blonde girl held out her hand to the man she’d been kissing. “Kase is coming, so we’ll all go.”
The muscular man, whose name was apparently Kase, stood. He wrapped his arms around the blonde girl, and she let out a squeal as if he had tickled her. She was a cute girl—average height, a contagious smile, animated eyes, flowing long blonde hair. She reminded Sydria of someone, although she couldn’t remember who. Maybe she had a friend back in Northland, a bubbly blonde who liked to kiss boys.
The blonde man slowly stood, and immediately the brunette looped her arm through his. His eyes darted to her hands like her touch had annoyed him, but then why kiss her? Cheney ignored his grumpy face, leaning into him even more. She couldn’t be deterred easily. It was admirable to have that much determination and confidence. Sydria wondered if she’d ever been like that.
She wasn’t like that now.
The rest of the group stood and followed the blonde’s lead to go for a stroll. Sydria’s heart picked up its pace. They would walk right past her. She slumped into herself, trying to become as small as possible. Her black hair would blend in with the lava rock she was pressed against, but there was nothing she could do to hide her lavender dress. She held her breath as the group walked by. No one seemed to notice her.
She was as invisible as she felt.
Once the group had walked far enough away, she stood, swiping at the sand on her skirt. She would wait a minute and then walk down the beach. The moment she passed them would be awkward, but there wasn’t much she could do about that. It was her only way home.
Sydria hopped onto the rocks she’d been hiding behind, and carefully stepped across the sharp curves, stopping ten feet from the edge. It was as far as she dared go before she’d be in the wet zone from the crashing waves. The sky burst into a soft glow of oranges and pinks, reflecting the colors onto the rippling water. She looked out to the ocean, feeling the salty breeze brush against her cheeks. Her eyes pulled to something white bobbing up and down in the sea. She followed the white float to another one fifteen feet away and then another. A trail of buoys dotted across the water to the cliff across from her. She waited for the nearest wave to crash against the rocks, then she quickly stepped forward, trying to learn the purpose of the floats.
A black net was fastened to the side of the rocks, dropping down into the shallow water. Silver weights held the net in its place, swaying slightly with the force of each new wave. Sydria stepped back, turning her body away as the water crashed into the shore. The cold liquid splashed above her head, drenching her clothes and hair. She swiped at her eyes and bent over the edge again as a school of colorful fish swam past. Their bright yellows and reds stood out in the clear liquid. She smiled to herself. What if this was her first time seeing tropical fish? More colorful fish, every shape and size, darted out from rocks and coral. Then a turtle swam by and several stingrays. It didn’t seem normal to have so many different types of sea life swimming in shallow water this close to the shore. If it had been a giant coral reef, Sydria would understand, but it wasn’t. From where she stood on the rocks, she could only see a few coral formations scattered about.
She glanced at the net again; then it hit her. The sea animals were purposely kept captive in the small bay.
Trapped like her.
Sydria had to do something. She had to help free the animals. She leaped forward as a wave crashed into the shore. Water sprayed over her, soaking her again, but she ignored it. She bent down, reaching for the bolt that the net was fastened to.
Then her hands paused.
Someone had obviously gone to a lot of effort to get all these fish into the shallow water. Was she really going to undo all of that? It seemed like the right thing to do, but then her thoughts drifted to a nameless person who might get upset that the sea life had escaped. What if Sydria got in trouble, or worse, what if she got Uncle Von and Aunt Edmay in trouble? She’d already been a nuisance to them. Nerves gripped her stomach, making her feel uncomfortable. She didn’t like the idea of causing a problem or someone being mad at her. How was it that setting the fish free felt like both the right and the wrong thing to do?
A turtle swam by, tangling its foot in the net. The sea animal struggled, then finally freed itself. Sydria’s heart broke. She had to release it—she had to release all of them. She began tugging at the knot again. When that one was untied, she reached her hand into the water, found the second knot, and began working on it. The next one was farther down, and Sydria had to lay down on her stomach to reach it. Her chest ached where her scar was, but she wasn’t going to let her wound hold her back. A huge wave tumbled over her, and she stopped untying to brace herself against the rocks for when the tide retreated into the ocean.
She grunted, feeling the powerful pull of the water. She didn’t have a lot of strength. Being in a coma for months will do that to a person. Uncle Von said it was called muscle atrophy, but right then wasn’t the moment to lament her wasted-away muscles. She glanced out into the ocean. She had a few seconds before the next wave would come, and her hands worked furiously over the tie.
“Please!” she pleaded. This entire situation felt veryunlike her, but she was in too deep now.
“What are you doing?” a sharp voice demanded.
Sydria whipped her head around. It was the blonde man from earlier, and now his glare was fixed onher. He must’ve come back from the walk by himself because no one else was around. His expression held a mixture of confusion and irritation as he took in the situation. His grumpy stare darted to her legs, and Sydria’s eyes followed. The water had pushed the skirt of her dress up to her thighs. It was the most unladylike position she could imagine. Her natural reaction would have been to save herself from disgrace by immediately pulling her dress down, but the next wave splashed over her, and she had to stop herself from being taken with it. Her bare legs scraped against the sharp rocks, and she let out a yelp as the rough edges cut into her skin. The water was so strong, and her weak muscles were tired. Just when she thought she couldn’t hold herself back any longer, the man grabbed her waist, lifting her into the air as if she were as light as a seashell. His touch was warm, spreading through her wet clothes, and before Sydria knew what was happening, he’d cradled her in his arms.
She looked up at him. His features were angular and sharp, but in a good way—a way that made him look fiercely handsome. Light blonde hair curled over his ears and neck. Hazel eyes that complemented his golden complexion stared down at her with a thousand questions running through them. Then his gaze switched to the water, and he flinched. Sydria knew what that meant. She buried her face into him, her cheek rubbing against solid muscle.
She was skin to skin.
Cheek to chest.
Nose wedged between pectorals.
The position had Sydria questioning why the man didn’t fasten all of the buttons on his shirt. That’s what buttons were there for…to bebuttoned.She shut her eyes tight as if it would take away the embarrassment of the situation. But she couldn’t be embarrassed for long because another wave plummeted over them. She half expected the water to take his feet out from under him, but somehow, they were still standing. When the spray stopped, she lifted her chin, happy to put some distance between her and the curve of his pecs.
His lips pulled into a smile. It was small, but a nice look on him, regardless. Better than the frown he’d been sporting with his friends. “I can’t figure out what you’re doing,” he said.
A cool breeze blew around them, reminding Sydria that her wet behind was out in the open. She pressed her hands against the man, wiggling her body until he lowered her to her feet. She tugged at her lavender dress, making sure everything was properly covered. Then she looked up at him. Would he be angry? His wide stance added to her rising fear.
