Page 33 of Loving Nightmares
“This is…Idon’t really have a word for what this is,” I whispered, my gaze surveying the landscape in absolute awe. Not only at what I was seeing but the fact that I’d traveled across the ocean, to a completely different country, in less than twenty-four hours. I think what shocked me more than having done it, though, was the fact thatIwas doing it. For so long I had never left the institute, mostly content to stay nestled in Northern Michigan, but in the past two weeks, I had traveled to so many unique places.
South Africa, specifically Cape Town, promised to be the most interesting by far.
From where we stood at the harbor, waiting for our charter, I had a perfect view of the city, which wound around the slopes of the massive mountain that appeared to overshadow the rest of the landscape. The mid-day sunshine was casting shadows, and palm trees were swaying with the coastal breeze.
I’d never been so glad to have packed a sundress. The light pink material was covered in deep purple hearts that matched my combat boots. It wasn’t as elegant as I usually dressed, butit felt good to have my skin exposed to the sun and the breeze rushing through my hair.
Plus, my mates, particularly Ashur and Amun, kept looking at my bare legs, and it made my skin prickle with excitement. The latter was standing right behind me, his hand wrapped around my hip as I watched my men interact with the humans. I’d already tried to intervene as they spoke to the rental agent, but Ashur had trapped me here.I know—so upsetting, right?Unfortunately, not everyone was out here to watch the spectacle of Saint trying to act like chartering the boat we did was ‘normal.’
Damian and a few of my less ‘human’ looking mates were still in the dark SUV we’d rented, not wanting to attract too much attention. Although with how busy the harbor was, literally no one was paying attention to us anyway.
“It’s beautiful and vibrant,” Ashur said, his voice light but filled with a serious note that made me know he’d put in some thought about how he wanted to describe it. I nodded in agreement before smiling at Blackwell as he walked over, already shaking his head.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Saint is being an idiot,” Blackwell noted, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear in an almost subconscious movement. I arched a brow in confusion and leaned over, adjusting my sunglasses as they slid down my nose. At the institute I hadn’t needed to wear my glasses at all, so it was odd being back to wearing them again. I guess it was good we lived somewhere darker, at least for my vision.
Whatever argument or debate that had been taking place was apparently over, as Saint and Razar joined us, leaving Zain to sign some paperwork. Already in the distance I could see the gorgeous white ship making its way into the harbor from wherever it had been stored. Obviously, I knew it was a yacht,but calling it that felt a bit over the top. It was obvious that ‘subtle’ hadn’t been part of this plan at all.
“I’m excited; I’ve never been sailing,” I said softly, knowing that it was probably a similar case for many of my nightmares. Almost all their missions had been stateside, and the locations that weren’t had usually been reached by jet, not boat.
“I think some humans can get seasick,” Ashur murmured, sounding concerned.
“Really?” Razar looked at him with wide eyes. “Maybe this isn’t—”
“I’ll be fine.” I smiled as Saint chuckled softly, catching on to where Razar’s thoughts had gone.
“It’s a fairly large boat, so she probably won’t feel the motion as much. Plus, it looks calm out there,” Blackwell said, but his eyes were shaded with worry. Now probably wasn’t the time to mention I’d been feeling a bit off since getting on the jet. Nothing crazy, but a small headache, and the back of my neck would randomly get super warm. I assumed it was from traveling and a lack of sleep.
So yeah,totallynot mentioning it to them.
“I will be totally fine,” I said. “I never get sick to my stomach; what are the chances of it happening now?”
Apparently the chances were high.
From the moment we left the harbor, I started to feel queasy. I would have claimed it was because of being on the water, but I didn’t think seasickness usually came with dizziness. Not that I was going to say that out loud. As far as my nightmares were aware, I was happily lounging out on the back deck as we cruised to our destination. Something that was fairly easy to fake by keeping my eyes closed and listening to my mates talk about our plan once we got there. We didn’t have a map of the island, which was a snag, but there was some basic protocol that we would follow.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t take the normal joy that I did in planning logistics because I was so damn sick. I groaned quietly as my stomach turned again and bile rose up in my throat. My eyes snapped open, and I tried to focus on my surroundings. The boat was beautiful, the lacquered wood and modern white furniture accenting our surroundings instead of drawing from them. Unlike normal for a boat this size, there was no crew, only a captain who was being paid a ridiculous amount of money to not ask questions. I just wondered if he would stick around to give us a ride back…
“How bad?” Cy asked, appearing next to me, his lips brushing over my hand and speaking in a near whisper.
“How bad what?” I asked, swallowing down the thick sensation in my throat.
“How sick are you?”
I blinked, staring at him and wondering if I had it in me to lie. I didn’t, and he knew it. His eyes were nearly hypnotic as I drew my lip in with my teeth and considered just what I should say. While they weren’t actively listening right now, I knew that my nightmares always had ears on me.
“Not that bad, just a bit dizzy and nauseous,” I admitted, inhaling as I took a sip from a glass of ice cold water nearby.
“And it started once you were on the boat?” Cy continued to brush his lips against my hand, distracting me.
Not enough to stop the small amount of bile that rose up in my throat, though.
“Sort of. I’ve been feeling off since getting on the jet.” I let out a long sigh, knowing that it was only a matter of time until—
“You’re not feeling well?” Razar appeared on the chair next to me and reached a hand to my face, his eyes filled with panic.
“It’s probably just a little cold or something,” I said as Cy brushed his lips against my hand for a third time.
