My lungs burn in warning. The moment before they burst, we’re spit out onto a bed of pink sand.
The sounds of our choked gasps fill the air as I blink away the white spots in my vision. Dover is on all fours, pounding at his chest, vomiting water. Once he catches his breath, he moves to turn Marideth over.
“Mar,” he coughs, giving her shoulders a shake.
Blood slides down her chin and neck, staining the top of her bodice a pale blue. Her eyes crack open.
“That fucking hurt.”
Dover lets out a weak laugh and dips his head to kiss her. I look away, ashamed of the envy I feel.
I know I shouldn’t feel this way. They’re just as unlucky as Serena and me—Dover, with his unbreakable engagement, forced to marry despite having found his mate. I think what I’m most jealous of is the fact that they don’t care. They won’t let something as immaterial as a piece of paper and a couple of rings stop them from the fate the gods planned for them. They are unafraid of the consequences.
I’m not like that. No matter how much I wish I were.
“Where are we?” My hoarse voice slices through their tender moment as I get to my feet, glancing around the unfamiliar territory.
The sun’s beams catch on the waves that ejected us—the effect near blinding. Blues, purples, and greens swirl together like a painting before washing up on the sugar-fine sand. Behind us, the beach is lined with vibrant wildflowers and towering palms shivering in the light sea breeze.
Aegar doesn’t have beaches like this. My homeland is filled with rolling hills and valleys. Mountains and green forests.
“I don’t know,” Mar says, wiping the diluted cobalt off her face with the back of her sleeve.
“You don’t know?” I explode, my tone vicious. “You transport us to the middle of fucking nowhere, and now you tell me you don’t know where we are?!”
Unbelievable.
This.This right here is why I prefer doing things alone.
“That isn’t how water walking works,” she explains, wringing out her skirts. “Without knowing where she is, I can’t get us to an exact location. But I can get close. I don’t know how close, but I’m willing to bet we’ve just cut your travel time on horseback in half. You’re welcome.”
“I’ll thank you when you’ve gotten us to Serena.”
“Everyone relax,” Dover cuts in. “We’re in Vod. I’d know our beaches anywhere.”
“You don’t have to be an ass. We’re on the same side here,” Mar says.
A cloud of shame settles over me. I’m sleep-starved, and from the moment Serena was taken, I have been frothing at the mouth, ready to bite off anyone’s head who so much as blinks at me.
“I’m sorry. I’m just—” I squeeze my eyes shut and drag my hands down my stubbled jaw. “I’m losing my mind.”
Mar places a gentle hand on my shoulder, her gaze loaded with sympathy. “I know.”
Sighing, I squint over her shoulder at the glittering waters of the Praxian Sea.
“She has to be at the palace. How close are we?” I ask Dover.
“Maybe two, three days on foot.”
“Two days.” I shake my head.
“Beats two weeks,” Mar offers.
“Right.” I turn to her with a gentle nod. “Well done, Blue.”
2
ZADYN
