Forever Breathing (Just Breathe #3) (17 page)

Chapter 27

Ever

I arrive back at Alex’s dwelling pretty furious with myself. I ‘will’ the door open and go straight to ‘my’ room, at least for the moment it is. Who knows if Alex will change his mind and tell me to go back. He is pretty much washing his hands of me. I guess that is to be expected though. We have no ties anymore. Well, we never did, but now he knows for sure there is no chance for us as a couple. I throw the bag of fruit across the room and apples spill out, slowly sinking to the floor. I hear the door close and know he followed me back. I fall onto the bunk face first and for the first time in a long while feel homesick for my home on land with my parents. Maybe it’s my bedroom that was my safe place for so many years. I can feel his presence. I roll over to my side and peek out of my arms to see him hovering in the doorway.

“Ever, there’s so much I’ve come to find out since I arrived here.”

I grimace at him, “Well, enlighten me then.”

He sh, I3eed akes his head, “I can’t.”

“Yes you can, you’re
choosing
not to.”

He comes closer and sits next to me on the bunk. I scoot over reluctantly and huff at him. I intend on making this very
hard for him. I think the part that upsets me the most is that I have finally found my place and he won’t even help me keep it.

He rests his hand on the bunk and looks at me as if trying to see inside my head. I have to look away. I don’t think I like creepy Alex.

“You know about my parents. They believed in keeping mer-people in the sea, they devoted their entire lives to it. I have to stay here for them.”

I shake my head angrily and argue, “No you don’t. We’ve had this conversation. It obviously hasn’t sunk in. Look at Jack and Amber, they lost their parents fighting for the same cause and now they are fighting not for that but for what is right. And me, what about me Alex? If Roman gets what he wants, what will happen to me?” I am almost pleading with him at the end of my rant and I really don’t like the way I sound. I have to get myself under control. Whining is unbecoming on my new outlook.

“Ever, yes, those are all right, but not right for me.”

This is really exhausting. He won’t listen to a word I say. I must be missing something. Maybe he is trying to tell me something.

“Alex, is there something else? I know you loved your parents but that was a really long time ago. There must be something else that is keeping you here.”

He shakes his head and gets up.

“Get some rest. Roman wants me to bring you to the castle tonight.”

What? When was he going to tell me this? He leaves and the water behind him stirs as if it knows the turmoil going through me. I pick up an apple and toss it as hard as I can at the closed door. It barely makes it there.
I’m such a wimp. Alex infuriates me like no other.

***

I am again completely intimidated by the castle as we approach. I turn to Alex and ask for the hundredth time on our short swim here, “Are you sure we have to do this?”

“Yes Ever, now quit asking and start pretending.”

I square my shoulders and try for the confidence I know is way out of my grasp. The good thing though is that Alex and I came to some sort of truce. I took a much needed nap to clear my head and he came and apologized for being a jerk. I accepted and apologized for badgering him. So I guess we’re good, at least for a little while.

He opens the door for me and I glide in. This immense room never gets old. I look up at the ceiling and see a great white shark swim past the glass. This brings a chuckle. We are the contained ones down here. On land SeaWorld and other marine places contain the fish for people to gawk at. Alex looks down at me, frowning at my internal joke and asks, “Are you ready?”

I nod, “As ready as I’m going to be.”

He grabs my hand and leads me through the entryway to a side hall. When we stop I hold m stg ty breath at the sight of the room. The walls in this room are covered with swirls of gold dotted in pale pinks. Sitting in the center is a matching golden table set for twenty. No one is in the room so Alex leads us to a hidden room off to the right. This one is overfilled with furniture and people. We enter and find about eight other people sitting around. I recognize Roman and Metea immediately. I notice Mersa, Metea’s mother, off in the shadows by herself.
Guess she is still alive and kicking.

The others I don’t recognize. I scan their faces and my gaze lands on a blonde sitting closely to another girl chatting animatedly. The thing about the blonde is the death daggers she is glaring at me while the other girl competes for her attention. Alex pulls me in and starts to introduce me to the faces I will surely forget. He saves the blonde until last. The entire time he introduces us, she gives me that look. Her name is Celia and when Alex says her name it’s different. The tone of his voice changes slightly. I look over at him to see anything different in his look but he has moved on to greet Roman.

I swim along with him, bracing myself for Roman, when the girl grabs my arm lightly and whispers so softly I know only I can hear her, “He’s off limits, keep that in mind.”

I look back to her and meet her eyes. They are a vibrant turquoise. A color I recognize but can’t place. I nod once to her and follow as Alex’s arm is taut on mine.

Roman’s deep gravelly voice pulls me out of whatever thoughts I had about the girl.

“Ever, you made it.” He embraces me just as Jaspen had that first time I met him in the Erebus caves. I pull back uncomfortably.

“I hope Alex is accommodating you well.”

I nod not intending to say anything to him.

He looks around the room and announces, “All of our guests have arrived. Shall we make our way to the dining room for a meal?”

I look back behind me and find that probably five more faces have joined the rest. Oh my, this is going to be a long night.

***

Halfway through the meal which consists of everything under the ocean that is edible, a man with curly red hair sitting to my right, I think his name is Ramous leans over and asks, “I hear you are from Seamus’ old city.”

Before I can answer, I hear a small gasp come from across the table. I look up and spot Metea with a scowl.
Boy is she good at that look.

She growls, “Ramous, how dare you…”

Roman places his hand over hers, “Now, now, darling, you know he didn’t mean anything by it. He is just making conversation.”

She turns to Roman and bows her head at him. He pats her hand once more and turns his attention to the man to his right.

I focus back on this Ramous guy and tell him, “Yes, I am from there. I needed a change of scenery in light of the most recent events.”

A belly laugh breaks from him, “Right you are, right you are, but no worry, it will soon change again and you might want to venture back.”

I nod and a sudden thought occurs to me. I ask him hesitantly, “Are you from this city?”

“Oh no dear girl, I am from across the ocean near the Netherlands. I’m here to help take care of that problem that popped up back in your home.”

“Oh, that’s good to know. Maybe I will be able to go back after all. I mean once the dust settles.”

He chuckles, “Yes, maybe, it might be a while though.” And he winks.

He flippin winked at me
. I’m suddenly squirming in my seat. I realize now who all these people are and why they are really here. Before I blow it, Alex grabs my hand under the table. I look over to him with worried eyes but his easy smile relaxes me a small bit. I wonder if this whole thing is for show. Maybe Roman knows why I am really here. I look over to him and he is engrossed in a conversation with that same man he’s been talking to the whole time, to his right.

I lean over to Alex and ask, “Who is that man Roman is talking to?”

He looks over and tells me after a bite of fish, “That is Bernard.”

“Which city is he from?”

The look I get tells me he was hoping I wouldn’t figure it out. How could I not figure it out?

“The Australian coast.”

I look back around and focus on how many there are. In addition to Ramous from the Netherlands and Bernard form Australia, I count five more. That is seven other places in addition to Roman’s that are going to go after Jaspen. A shiver runs down my spine. And Jack. I suddenly want nothing more than to go back and get Jack. We could swim away and live somewhere else. Or we could go and live with my parents. This is just impossible. What was I thinking standing up to this? There is no way we can win. No wonder Alex is holding out and staying here. He knows a losing fight when he sees one.

I look around after trying to get it together and meet the eyes of Celia. She is glaring at me, of course. Her eyes avert to look at Alex. Then I watch as she looks away almost
embarrassed. I glance over at Alex and he smiles down at me. I don’t know what went down with these two but obviously there’s something. Maybe she’s an ex. Oh! Oh wow! Speaking of exes. I look back over at her and hope for her to look at me again I want to get a good look at her but she makes sure to avoid me at all costs. I wonder if she’s related to Sara. That would be something. No, she couldn’t possibly.

Suddenly I have a ton of questions for Alex. This dinner can’t end soon enough.

Chapter 28

James

I have been awake for a total of twenty-four hours plus and it is finally hitting me. I can tell that Alody is in the same boat. She wants to watch over her father so I find a spot against the wall close to his bunk. She situates herself between my legs and leans back against my chest while holding onto his hand. If I didn’t know any better I might mistake this for heaven. I lean back and close my eyes. Garrett would give me so much shit for this but at this moment I could care less.  I reach my hand around her waist, hugging her to me and doze off.

***

I am jarred awake by ragged coughing. I lift my head from the wall and remember all the incredible events that happened in the last day. A face moves down into my line of vision and I realize Alody isn’t in my arms anymore. I focus on the face and realize Jenna is talking to me.

“James, he’s not any better.” Fear in her face. I was afraid of this.

It might be too late to help him. I stretch my arms and ask her, “Do you still have that knife?”

“Yes, I’ll be right back.” She rushes out the door.

I stand up and move to sit by Alody’s side. His coughing stops and she wipes his forehead with a cloth.

She looks over to me and states without any emotion, “We were too late, weren’t we?”

I brush the hair out of her face and tell her, “I don’t know. It’s not an exact science. I think it just takes time.”

She looks back to her father. His face is sheer white and beads of sweat dot his face where she hasn’t wiped. I’m afraid it is too late. I fear what this will do to her.

Her father opens his eyes and glances over to her. He reaches over searching for her hand. She grabs his and kisses it.

His voice is so soft, I can barely hear it. He wheezes out, “Jenna… said… you found… your… promised.”

Alody nods, “Yes dad, it’s James.”