Page 5 of The Forgotten Queen
His hard expression softened into something she hadn’t seen from him yet. “Somebodyshouldtell the king that.”
“Right.” She nodded. “Maybe if he knew, he wouldn’t keep an aquarium anymore. Do you think he’d listen?”
His eyes scanned over her. “Don’t you recognize me?”
“No.” Sydria straightened. “Should I?” This was exactly the type of situation that kept her up at night—people expecting her to remember them when she didn’t. “Have we met before?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Then why would I recognize you?” Her voice came out harsh, and she instantly felt terrible. She shouldn’t take her memory loss frustrations out on him.
“I guess you wouldn’t.” He stared back at her with a blank expression.
If he wasn’t going to stop her, then she needed to continue untying the knots. “I need to remove the nets before your friends come back.” She looked out at the waves. The space between them was getting longer. If she got into the water, she could probably get the rest of the knots untied, and then she could dive down and push the weights off the bottoms of the nets. She took a step forward, but he grabbed her arm.
“Wait.”
She turned to look at him, bracing herself for his anger, but his eyes were unreadable. He looked behind him down the beach. It was still empty. Then he glanced back to her. They stood there for a moment, him holding onto her arm as they stared.
“Let me do it,” he finally muttered. He kicked off his shoes and handed them to her. “Hold these.” Next, he pulled his shirt over his head. Sydria glanced away. It seemed like the respectful thing to do. She was already more acquainted with his chest than she should be. And he was hopping in the water for her—well, herandthe sea animals.
He scaled the rough rocks with his bare feet, like he’d done it a million times before, and dropped into the water, resurfacing a second later. He sucked in a long breath then went under. Sydria peeked over the side of the rocks, watching him untie the knots through the foam sloshing against the rocky edge. He held his breath for a long time then came up again for air. His chest moved up and down, and he gave her a miffed expression.
“You’re doing a good thing,” she reassured.
“Right,” he grumbled before taking in his next breath and sinking down. After a few seconds, he came up again. “It’s untied. Now what?”
Sydria pointed to the net. “You’ll have to push the weights off the bottom.” He nodded, sucking in air to go under again. “And,” she said, stopping him, “you’ll need to pull the net out of the water. If you leave it loose, the fish might get tangled in it.”
His teeth clenched, and his annoyed eyes bore into her.
She shrugged her shoulders innocently. “You’ll be a hero.”
He sighed, adding a wry smile. “I’ll bet.” Taking a deep breath, he gracefully dove forward, kicking his foot, sending a splash of water into the air. His muscled arms cut into the water and pulled back, slicing through the liquid as if he were a fish himself. He was a good swimmer. Did Sydria know how to swim? She watched his strokes and his leg kicks, and she thought she did.
He pushed the weights off the bottom one at a time, gathering the large net in his arm as he swam to the next one. His breathing was labored, and his strokes slowed the longer he was out there. An overwhelming sense of gratitude washed over her. There was no way Sydria could have done all that by herself.
When he reached the other side, he threw the net on the rocks and lifted his body out of the water. He looped the net around a few big boulders so that it wouldn’t fall back into the ocean and turned to look at her.
His tall physique, long arms, and broad shoulders had him looking like he was meant to live in the water instead of walk on land. He waved his hand out in front of him. “You’re free now,” he called to the fish. “Go back to where you came from. Swim to Northland.”
Sydria laughed at the soft tone of his voice and the way he’d joked. He sent her a big smile from across the bay then dove into the water, swimming back to her.
“They’re going!” she said, pointing at the animals as they explored the area outside of the bay. “Look!” She glanced down at the man, fully expecting him to be watching the fish too, but his eyes were pinned on her. His expression was veiled, and she fidgeted with her fingers, not sure what else to do. “Aren’t you happy they’re free?”
He raised his eyebrows, letting out a small laugh. “I don’t know. I’ll tell you tomorrow.” He hoisted himself onto the rocks in front of her. This time, Sydria didn’t look away. She watched each curve of his arm muscles move as he lifted himself until he stood directly in front of her. He was a fit man. There was no denying that. Tall and trim but with enough defined muscles it was obvious that looking good was important to him. His abdominal muscles weren’t chiseled perfectly. They were more unassuming, taunting her with glimpses of their cut edges each time his breath went in and out. Blonde hair hung down his forehead, and he shook his head so water didn’t drip into his eyes. When that didn’t work, he lifted both hands to his hair, brushing it back from his face. The movement made his biceps on his arms and the lats on the side of his back pop out. It was like there was a spotlight on his rounded arms and sides. Those muscles were front and center—the main event. She watched him, feeling nervous. What was she supposed to say now? The fish were free. His shirt was off. She was staring. Her dress was wet and possibly see-through. It wasn’t the typical kind of situation Sydria was used to, as far as she knew.
Her body shivered, and he nodded his head toward the fire. “Come on. Let’s get you warm.” He grabbed her elbow. The heat of his touch emanated a different kind of warmth that slowly moved through her bloodstream. He helped her across the rocks until they were on the sand.
Sydria handed him his shirt and shoes. “Thank you for your help. I hope you don’t get in trouble because of it.”
He laughed, something light and deep. “I hope I don’t either.”
Her eyes widened. “Could you really get in trouble? Do you know the king?”
His mouth shifted into a crooked smile. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” He sat down close to the fire, sitting in the same position he’d been in earlier, with his arms wrapped around his knees. Except this time, he was shirtless.
Sydria slowly knelt beside him and winced. The sand irritated the scrapes from the rocks, causing her to reposition herself.
