Page 1 of Dark Island: Rescue
1
TULA
"It's over then." Letting out a strangled sound, Tula crumpled onto the floor. "All of this, all the planning, the risk, the hope, it's all for nothing."
She couldn't stop the tears. They kept coming in waves that left her breathless, or maybe it wasn't the tears that robbed her of air but the crushing weight of failure. It constricted her chest, making it feel too tight for her lungs. She pressed both hands against her face, trying to muffle the sounds, but another sob escaped anyway.
Tony dropped to his knees beside her and wrapped his arms around her, but there was nothing he could say or do to console her.
Tula felt hopeless, desolate, the sound of her grief echoing off the walls.
Areana joined Tony, kneeling beside Tula, and motioned for him to step back. She took her into her arms, cradling her like a child.
"Hush," the goddess said, stroking Tula's hair. "Allhope is not lost. You know that there is another way." There were unshed tears in Areana's eyes. "I'll get you off this island." She turned to look at the others. "All of you."
Tula wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Is that even possible?"
Areana shrugged. "If it was done with one, I don't see why it couldn't be done with four." She swept her gaze over them again. "The four of you need to return to your duties and pretend that this has never happened." She shifted her eyes back to Tula. "You should have trusted me."
Tula lowered her head. "Forgive me. I didn't think I was worthy. I'm a nobody. I'm a glorified maid."
"Oh, Tula." A tear slid down Areana's cheek. "Don't you know that you are like a daughter to me? I love you, and I will be inconsolable when you leave, but I will always put your well-being and happiness before mine." She rocked Tula in her arms as if she were indeed her child. "But you can't allow yourself to get so deeply emotional, so distressed. It's not good for the baby."
Areana was such an angel, and she believed in the innate good in others, including her terrible mate. However, she was naive in thinking that the clan would mobilize its forces and risk confrontation with the Brotherhood in order to rescue a former servant girl and her three companions.
The realization, combined with the goddess's empathy and kindness, undid the little control Tula had managed to muster. The sobbing intensified, rocking her entire body. "I can't help it. I'd rather die than let them take him from me."
"They are not going to." Areana hooked a finger under Tula's chin. "I promise you that your child is not going to be born on this island."
The goddess was wrong. The only way the clan would come to save Tula and the others was if Areana told her sister that she was ready to leave Navuh and asked to be rescued. Annani would do that for her. But that wasn't going to happen. Areana would never leave Navuh, not to help Tula escape a fate that Areana herself had endured with grace and dignity, and certainly not to help the other three to get off this island.
"Come." Areana wrapped her cool fingers around Tula's wrist. "Come sit down and calm yourself."
Tula let the goddess lead her to a chaise facing the glass doors to the balcony overlooking the interior courtyard.
"Sit," Areana commanded.
Tula sank onto the chaise. The velvet was soft against her skin, luxurious, but she found no comfort in its welcoming embrace, not while watching Elias close the tunnel's secret door. The rotating bookcase ground into place, sounding like the crypt's closing, locking them in.
Talk about a perfect analogy.
Areana turned toward the men. "Take the plant back to the courtyard. You can tell the guard that I didn't like the fern. Then put everything back where it belongs before anyone notices it's missing."
"Yes, my lady." Tony dipped his head. He looked just as heartbroken as Tula, but he was masking it better. To someone who didn't know him as well as she did, helooked composed. He met Tula's eyes across the room. "Are you okay?"
"No, but I will be." She took a deep breath and then waved him off. "Go. The sooner we put this disaster behind us, the better."
Areana pinned her with a hard look. "This disaster, as you call it, would have been much worse if I hadn't caught you in time. You might not have made it back at all."
Elias grimaced. "I'm glad Tony stopped me from cutting the electrical wires connecting the surveillance cameras in the tunnel. I wanted to do that after we found the submarine during the power outage and realized that we needed fingerprints to access it, but Tony suggested that we wait. Dead cameras would have been a dead giveaway."
"Thank the merciful Fates." Tula didn't bother to hide the bitterness in her tone. The Fates hadn't been merciful. They had been cruel to dangle a possible escape in front of them, an escape that wasn't possible at all.
Tamira flinched, guilt flooding her beautiful face. "I'm sorry for giving you false hope. I'm sorry it didn't work out."
"It's not your fault," Tula sighed. "The escape plan was stupid and doomed from the start. We were idiots for even trying."
"Tula—" Tamira started.
