Page 50 of Dark Island: Rescue
That was the crux of it. The hidden communicationbetween sisters was their most closely guarded secret. If Navuh learned that Areana had been feeding information to the clan, his rage would be terrible, and Areana would bear the full brunt of it.
"We will find a way that protects everyone, including Areana."
As Annani's phone began to vibrate, Wonder jumped, her hand flying to her throat.
Annani picked it up with steady fingers, though her heart was racing.
"Clan Mother." William was on the line. "I'm patching Areana through."
"Annani?" Areana sounded frantic, and Annani knew immediately that Esag's vision was true.
"Hello, sister of mine. I assume that you have something important to tell me."
"How did you know? Never mind. I don't have time for that. Tula is pregnant. Nearly four months along, and she wants off this island before the baby comes, or rather, before she can no longer hide her pregnancy."
When Wonder made a small, pained sound, Annani reached out with her free hand, and Wonder grabbed it, holding on.
"I assume that Tony is the father," Annani said. She knew he was, but wanted confirmation.
"Yes. He wants to go with her, of course. He loves her." Areana paused, and there was something in that pause that made Annani's instincts prickle. "But there's a complication."
"What kind of complication?"
"Tula isn't the only one who wants to leave." Thewords came in a rush now, as if Areana needed to get them out before she lost her nerve. "Tamira and Elias have been planning an escape for weeks, and they offered to take Tula and Tony with them. Their plans would not have worked, and I stopped them, promising that I'd find another way to get them out of here."
Annani closed her eyes. Areana was asking for the impossible. There was no way they could extract four people from Navuh's fortress of an island.
"I do not know if that is possible," she said.
"Please, Annani. I promised them. I told Tula I would get her off this island before her baby is born."
Wonder was crying silently now, tears streaming down her face.
Annani squeezed her hand tighter. "Areana, extracting four people is exponentially more complicated than extracting one."
"I know it's difficult. But I'm begging you." There was raw desperation in Areana's voice now, the careful composure cracking. "Tula is like a daughter to me. I can't let her child be taken. I can't watch another baby be ripped from his mother's arms, especially when the mother is Tula."
The pain in those words, the echo of Areana's own losses, her sons taken and raised as warriors, cut straight through Annani's heart.
"We can probably get Tula out the same way we got Carol," she said. "But I cannot make promises about the others. Whatever plan we devise, it cannot reveal the clan's involvement or yours. If Navuh suspects that you were behind this?—"
"I know the risks."
Areana thought that Navuh's love for her would protect her, but that was naive. Navuh did not need much to turn into the monster he was to everyone other than Areana. He might kill her and regret it later.
"Do you?" Annani kept her voice gentle but firm. "He is your truelove mate, sister. The bond between you is sacred. But if he discovers this betrayal, that bond may not be enough to protect you from his rage. He will kill you."
Silence on the other end. Then, so quietly Annani almost missed it: "I know the risk I'm taking."
"There's another problem," Annani continued. "The escape must look natural, must have a believable explanation. When Carol left, we staged her suicide. Tula could do the same—a pregnant woman, desperate and distraught, throwing herself from the cliff. It would be sad, and believable given her circumstances. But no one would believe that Tula, Tony, Tamira, and Elias all decided to kill themselves together on the same night."
Wonder's grip on Annani's hand tightened almost painfully. She was shaking her head, silently mouthing "no, no, no."
"There has to be a way," Areana said. "What if—what if they staged an accident? Part of the cliff crumbling during an evening walk? It could have been weakened by the earthquake."
"Navuh would investigate it. He would want to know why that section of the cliff failed when it has been stable for decades. His people would find evidence oftampering."
"Then what do we do?" Frustration bled into Areana's voice. "There has to be something. I promised them, Annani. I looked Tula in the eyes and promised her I would save her child."
