Page 57 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

Mazie gave him an odd expression.

“Listen to me. When have you ever cared what someone thought of you? Even your own mother?” He dropped his hands and crossed them across his chest. “You left this place because you didn’t give a shit about this life. The way they treated you after Bay died—you’re better than anyone here—especially your mother.”

Raven gave him a subtle nod, but as she turned to walk on her own, she heard a feminine voice in the distance.

“I’ll take her to bed, Lincoln.”

They both looked up as Veronika padded across the lawn, picking up a glass of water from a table next to her.

“Here.” The curly-haired woman handed Mazie the mug, but she gagged it out immediately after she drank.

“The bloody—” She spat on the ground. “Tastes like dirt.” She looked around. “I’ll take some whiskey if you have some.”

Lincoln smiled. “Thanks, Veronika,” he said, nodding for Mazie, who still had a scowl pointed at the nasty water.

Veronika greeted him and looked at the girl she once loved, holding up her hand. “Care to dance with me?” she asked.

Mazie’s vision blurred, spinning around like the sky was closing in on her. “There’s no more music.”

“We’d make our own songs, remember?” The gorgeous woman said, pouting her lips.

Veronika gripped Mazie’s hips and pulled her close to her, wrapping one hand around her waist, giving her a tight squeeze. “We used to dance to no music—once upon a time.”

Mazie laughed sluggishly. “Oh yes, those were the days, weren’t they?”

I’ll go now, I guess,the captain thought, discreetly winking at his mate.

Lincoln bowed at them both and excused himself. Raven stepped closer to Veronika, who also inched forward, and landed her lips on Mazie’s. When she felt Veronika’s tongue run across her lip, she stepped back.

“What are you doin’?” Mazie asked.

“I’ve missed you,” the woman said softly, pouting her lips again. “Everything is different now. Stay.”

Mazie’s gaze blurred again. “I—”

Veronika moved towards her, but that time swiftly, gripping the back of the pirate’s head and pulling her in for another kiss. The girl’s tongue claimed hers, swirling around seductively while dancing to the music of their own. Raven’s eyes shot open and pushed her back, creating distance between them.

Kissing Veronika was not new. Since they were twelve years old, they would sneak behind their parents’ backs to kiss. But that intimate moment was not what Mazie remembered. It felt different. Wrong. She tasted wrong.

“I can’t,” the pirate breathed. “I can’t do this with you—not anymore.”

Veronika frowned. “You seem a bit moodier than you used to be,” she accused, “You sure have changed, Mazie!”

Her complaint sounded venomous.

Mazie pinned her with a cutting glare. “Aye, I have.” She stood. “Because I refuse to accept what you and everyone else we have grown up with, turn me into something I am not. I should have never come back.”

Mazie staggered back, holding her hands up as if pushing towards a barrier.

“I can help you back to the tent—”

Mazie flipped up her middle finger. “Fuck off,” she cursed, feeling herself spin again, holding back the vomit she knew was coming. She tromped towards the tent, running her tongue over the bitter taste she still had in her mouth.

Placing her hand on the zipper of the tent, she quietly pulled it up. She peered inside before she walked in, eying Nola curled up into the captain’s arms. Mazie sneered in their direction. She was pissed. But, luckily, she spotted Hill in time, laying on the far end with all four limbs sprawled out. The black-haired pirate placed both hands on her head, feeling vertigo hitting at her brain, then stumbled forward a few feet, face planting into her pillow.

Fuck, I am wasted!She gathered her thoughts.

Then she pushed herself up to the sudden guttural cries that rang in the distance. They sounded like small children wailing out in pain. Her breath quickened before the wails died out, blending into the sounds of nature around them.

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