Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
He still wasn’t a hundred percent and still needed a cane to get around. I shuddered at the idea that I could have lost him and never reconnected with him at all. My mother had so many crimes to answer for. I didn’t think I could ever come close to forgiving her.
Alyx was quiet and brooding a bit, and I knew he didn’t like the idea of me going after my brother though for me, that was non-negotiable. To distract him, I asked about the crew.
“Won’t they think it odd to drop us off in the middle of the ocean?” I asked.
He glanced at me and gave a shrug of his shoulders. “These humans are being paid well enough that they shouldn’t have to think at all,” he said, and I smiled. There was the old Alyx I knew and loved. For a while there, I thought I’d broken him.
We stayed out on deck until the wind turned cold and the Miami skyline had vanished, and then we went inside to luxurious lounge. Right away, stewards came with trays of drinks and food. It was nothing I was used to, though Alyx and Keion seemed to take it in stride. I could enjoy it while it lasted, though, and proceeded to do just that.
Afterward, while Alyx and Keion talked quietly, I got up and stretched. “I think I’ll go find a room to lie down in for a while.”
Alyx started to jump to his feet, but I waved him back down. “It’s fine—stay here with your brother. I still get a little tired easily. I’ll take a nap and you can wake me if you need me for anything.”
“We’re only a couple of hours out from one of the Atlantean outposts. The plan is to get them to get them to drop us there and we can take a portal to Atlantis. I can come and get you when we get close.”
“You do that,” I said, and leaned down to take his lips in a hungry kiss. His arms came up around my neck and he sighed into my mouth as I swept my tongue inside. I left him wanting more as I pulled away and waved as I sauntered out of the lounge.
It seemed as if I’d only just closed my eyes when I felt the bed dip next to me and I rolled over to see Alyx beside me. “Keion is working on the crew to get them to put us down on the ocean. It’s time to get up, love.”
“How in the world is he doing that? I know you said you paid them enough for them not to ask questions, but…”
He’s compelling them to think there’s a ship that we’re rendezvousing with. Making them see it in their mind’s eye, so to speak. It’s farfetched, I know, but they really are motivated by money, and though their consciences might not allow them to abandon us in the middle of the ocean, if they think we’re just transferring to another boat, they’ll be fine with it.”
“Okay, good. What about our bags?”
“Leave them. We’ll tell the captain that we’ll pick them up when we return.”
“So I can just go like I am?”
“Why not? We’ll all be transforming once we’re back in the water.”
I grinned at him, excited to finally be moving. I could sense that Adan was getting weaker all the time. I was anxious to get to him as soon as I could. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and took Alyx’s hand to go outside to the deck.
We took the stairs down to the lowest deck and to the cargo bay where they were opening the doors enough to let us disembark. They had offered us a lifeboat, but Keion was convincing them that one from “the other boat” was already outside. After a little more difficulty when some large waves washed inside and scared them, the seas calmed down remarkably—almost as if they knew we were coming—and we were able to slip out and into the water.
Immediately, I began tearing at my clothes and they fell away as my body transformed. I laughed out loud as the water slid over and around me, enveloping me with welcome. Beside me, I was aware that Alyx and Keion were changing too.
I swirled around to look at them and saw two handsome Atlantean warriors, looking much the way they had when I’d first seen them. They were bare-chested, but wore tight-fitting material over their hips, legs and feet. It was iridescent like the scales on my tail. Their hair, which they kept shorter than normal for Atlanteans, was floating around their heads in halos. I hadn’t thought Alyx could get any better looking, but he’d proven me wrong.
Alyx glided closer to me and spoke in my ear. “The outpost isn’t far. Follow us.”