Indignation burns in my chest. “What did you say?”
“Are you bloody joking?” Victoria has a fire in her eyes; it’s the first likable thing she’s said so far.
Reggie rolls his eyes. “Don’t risk Winston’s life for the sake of adog.”
“No one was saying that, mate,” Henry says gently. “Between the three of us, we can manage them both.”
“Then go,” Reggie orders. “The noninjured American and I will gather luggage.”
“If anyone sees my black Prada bag, please save it,” Victoria says over her shoulder. I roll my eyes at the back of her head.
“Why do we need luggage?” Brooke asks.
“In case rescue takes more than a few hours to get here and we need supplies,” Reggie explains.
“I guess that makes me the injured American?” I ask.What a legacy.
“Youjust focus on getting to shore. Flip on your back and kick if you get tired. You’re losing blood and you look paler than a polar bear,” Reggie says.
“What about me?” Theo asks.
“Swim to shore.”
Theo exhales in frustration.
“Welcome to the club; I’m too weak and you’re too important,” I say.
“You’re not weak, you’re injured. When you get to shore, find Winston,” Theo says, then turns to Reggie. “I can help. I want to help.”
“Your Majesty.” Reggie nods his head in a quick bow. “Are you willing to take orders from me?”
“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Don’t treat me differently than anyone else.”
“Help us with luggage and keep an eye on this one.” He nods in my direction, which is annoying.I’m fine! I don’t need Theo to babysit me!To prove myself, I swim toward a scrap of metal floating about ten yards away and untangle the black purse hanging off it. I wrinkle my nose when I see the Prada logo. Of course it would be Victoria’s bag.
I loop it across my body and start to swim, but the leather strap across my chest and the small drag as I swim make me anxious. I kick and kick and kick, but the purse feels like an anvil; every pull makes it harder to breathe. My head is spinning, and a panicky feeling is mounting in my veins. Tears burn my eyes. I unloop the bag from my chest and hold it in my hand instead.
Without the weight of the bag across my chest, my anxiety ebbs. I flip to my back and gently kick myself to shore, the swell of each wave propelling me forward.
A reusable water bottle floats by my head. To avoid beingcompletelyuseless, I grab on to it and keep my eyes on the sky until I hear voices.
“How do we climb it?” Victoria asks.
I roll onto my stomach and crane my neck up.
We’ve made it to shore. Unfortunately, this shore is not like the one where Theo and I once said our vows. Instead of soft moonlit Grecian sand, we’ve washed up to a craggy cliffside straight out ofWuthering Heights.
I make eye contact with Victoria.
“No sharks?” she asks in a disappointed voice before flicking her gaze back to the rocks.
I unclench my fist and let her Prada bag sink.
“This route looks like our best bet.” Henry’s finger traces the outline of a rocky set of steps naturally carved into the cliff. “I’ll carry Winston up first.”
We form a line, and by the time I’m climbing the craggy bluff, Theo, Brooke, and Reggie have caught up and are tossing luggage onto a rocky outcropping at the base of the cliff.
My stomach feels violently empty, every limb in my body shaking with exhaustion as I crawl over the ledge onto the spongy green moss. My throat is screaming with thirst. I untwist the metal bottle still clutched in my hand and tip it over my mouth.
