Page 8 of Dark Island: Rescue
"Go tell Okidu we're ready." He set her down.
She ran off, nearly colliding with Anandur.
"Whoa there, speed demon." Anandur caught her with ease. "You're getting faster every day. Soon, you'll be outrunning me."
"Let me go." She wiggled out of his hold. "I need to get Okidu."
Kian closed the luggage and handed Anandur two pieces and Brundar the other two. "Shall we?"
"Yes. It's time." Syssi handed him the two carry-ons, while she took Allegra's little pink one, with a cartoon character printed on the front whose name Kian couldn't remember.
They all climbed into the large golf cart the brothers had arrived in, and after the luggage was loaded, Anandur jumped behind the wheel and drove to the pavilion.
When they emerged at the underground parking, three additional Guardians were waiting beside the bus. Brodie, Callum, and Alfie.
"Morning, boss," Alfie said.
"Good morning," Kian replied as he climbed into the vehicle. "Everyone packed and ready? I'm sure none of you have brought as many pieces of luggage as we did."
Kalugal, Jacki, and Darius were already on the bus, along with five of Kalugal's men as well as Phinas,Jade, and Drova.
"You'd be surprised," Kalugal said. "Traveling with children is challenging."
"Morning, boss." Drova saluted Kian from where she was sitting all the way in the back with her mother and Phinas.
Kian regarded the small force escorting his family to Safe Harbor and wondered whether it would suffice. Ten immortal fighters plus two powerful compellers should be more than enough security for a peaceful trip to their own island, but not when said island was in Navuh's backyard, so to speak.
4
TULA
Tula sat on the edge of the pool's deck, her legs dangling in the shallow end, the semi-sheer cover-up wrapped around her body to hide the swell of her belly. She watched the water shimmer under the artificial lights, the patterns fractured by the gentle ripples created by the swimmers' movements.
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and they were taking a break from the book restoration to enjoy some physical activity. It was supposed to be relaxing, and she had no doubt that the others were having a good time, but she was too tense, too worried to enjoy herself.
Tamira was doing okay, putting on a brave face and pretending that everything in her world was fine, and Areana was swimming endless, leisurely laps.
"Are you going to sit out there all afternoon?" Raviki called from where she was floating on her back near the center of the pool, her dark hair fanning out around her like seaweed. "Come in and float with me."
Tula forced a grin, the expression feeling tight on herface. "I'm enjoying the view. Having fun does not equate to being in constant motion like a school of hyperactive fish."
Hopefully, that had sounded like her old self. A little sarcastic, teasing, with just enough bite to be amusing without drawing blood, but while before it had been effortless, now she had to force it, and the result wasn't as witty.
Raviki laughed and splashed water in her direction. "Hyperactive fish? That's the best you can come up with? You're losing your edge, Tula."
She was. "My edge is fine."
Across the pool, Areana cut through the water with her usual fluid grace. Lap after lap, her strokes were perfect, seemingly effortless. Her skin shone, but not because she was using her inner glow. It was just the overhead lighting bouncing off her nearly white skin. Her expression remained serene, untroubled, as if she had nothing more pressing on her mind than the simple pleasure of movement through water.
How did she do it?
How did Areana maintain that perfect composure when so much was on the line? When she was planning to betray her mate, an act that could damage their relationship in an irreversible way?
For Tula, it was an effort to maintain a façade for a few hours by the pool, and she couldn't fathom how Areana was managing to do it when all the while hiding her scheming from Navuh.
Practice. The goddess had had a lot of practice over the five thousand years she'd been mated to him.
"You should get in," Sarah said as she slid through the water to rest her arms on the deck beside Tula's legs. "Your belly isn't that noticeable," she said in a whisper that was meant for Tula's ears alone.
