Page 2 of Dark Island: Rescue
"Just go." Tula slumped down on the chaise, resting her head on the soft velvet pillow. "Go back to the library and make up an excuse for why I'm absent."
"You should hurry back before you're missed,"Areana said, walking over to Tamira and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You can tell the others that Tula isn't doing well emotionally, and that I'm taking care of her. We will join you at the library when she's feeling better."
Tamira nodded, cast one more glance at Tula, and followed the men out of Areana's bedroom.
Once they were alone in the presidential suite, the silence felt suffocating.
Tula closed her eyes. They had been so close. For one brief, shining moment, she'd believed they might actually succeed. That she might escape this place, might save her child from the fate that awaited him.
Now that hope lay in ashes, and she felt hollowed out, empty except for the growing life inside her that would be stolen away in a few months.
"Why didn't you come to me?" Areana sat on the chaise beside Tula. Not touching, but close enough that Tula could feel the coolness that always seemed to emanate from the goddess. "When you discovered you were pregnant and were desperate to avert the fate that awaited you and your child. Why didn't you come to me then? And I don't want to hear any nonsense about you not being worthy of the clan's help."
Areana might think that Annani would do that for Tula, but Tula knew better. Carol, who'd infiltrated the island and risked everything to try to rescue Areana, had offered Tula a chance at freedom, but Tula had refused to leave the goddess who had become her mother, her sister, and her best friend all wrapped in one.
That rescue attempt had been incredibly dangerous,and it had taken months of planning. Carol and her team would not do that again.
"The clan won't come for me," Tula said flatly.
"Why wouldn't they?"
"Why should they?" The frustration, the fear, the desperate hopelessness came pouring out. "Carol was sent to rescue you. The clan mobilized its resources to save Annani's sister. They didn't even suspect that I was here, and yet Carol offered to take me. I refused because I didn't want to leave you. I couldn't." She put a hand over her belly. "If not for the baby, I would not do it now either."
Areana's arms came around her, pulling her close. Tula resisted for a moment, then gave in, burying her face against Areana's shoulder and letting the tears flow freely.
"You are distraught and not thinking straight." Areana stroked Tula's hair in a gesture that was so maternal it made Tula's chest constrict again. "Wonder is your sister. And Wonder is Annani's best friend. If Annani won't do it for me, she will do it for Wonder, and what Annani says, the clan does."
Tula pulled back, wiping the tears that had accumulated under her eyes with her thumbs. "You said yourself that Wonder and Annani are not all that close anymore. They were childhood friends, but that doesn't mean that Annani feels obligated to Wonder."
"Annani will do it because it's the right thing to do." Areana's blue eyes were intense, compelling. "Do you truly think my sister would refuse my request?"
The truth was that Annani owed Areana a debt sogreat that she could never repay it. Areana had volunteered to take Annani's place as Mortdh's bride, enabling Annani's marriage to Khiann and probably saving her life. Regrettably, though, it had led to Khiann's murder at the hands of Mortdh, so maybe Annani was not as grateful to her sister as she should be.
Mortdh had died along with all the gods he'd killed, so Areana mated Navuh instead and, against all odds, she'd gotten her happy ending. No one could understand how and why the Fates had chosen to join those two. Navuh hadn't sacrificed for others or done good deeds that justified the boon of an incredible mate, a goddess no less, and Areana hadn't done anything bad enough to deserve such a rotten one.
Not that Areana thought of it that way. She loved Navuh, and to her, he was everything.
Annani had lost her mate while Areana had been rewarded for her sacrifice with a truelove that Tula wouldn't have wished on her worst enemy. However, Areana seemed content, while Annani was still mourning her murdered husband.
It was possible that there was some resentment toward Areana on Annani's part.
Would she refuse her sister because of that, though?
Tula was no longer sure. "I don't know, Areana. You might be overestimating Annani's devotion to you. She might not deny your request outright, but eventually she will tell you that it's too risky and she can't sacrifice her people to save me."
"Annani is a mother," Areana said. "She willempathize with your plight and admire your courage to try to change the fate of your child."
Tula shook her head. "The escape wasn't even my idea. Tamira and Elias were planning it for weeks, maybe longer, and they didn't intend to take anyone with them. When Tamira saw how devastated I was by my pregnancy, she and Elias offered to take Tony and me with them. It was their generosity, not my courage."
Areana was quiet for a long moment, her expression thoughtful. "I suspected Tamira and Elias were plotting something," she said finally. "For a long time, actually. But I didn't know that you and Tony were involved." She paused, and something that looked like hurt crossed her face. "When I saw you at the tunnel entrance, I'll admit that it stung."
Guilt twisted in Tula's stomach. "I'm so sorry, Areana. I would never have left if not for the pregnancy."
"Don't apologize." Areana's hand covered Tula's, squeezing gently. "I understand why you jumped at the offer. If I were in your position, I might have done the same." She smiled ruefully. "But I might have been more diligent about finding out more about the submarine and if it was operable before making such an attempt."
Tula was sure she would have. Areana was always careful, methodical, and didn't suffer from impulsiveness like Tula.
"What happens now?" she asked.
