Page 6 of Lucky Shot
Then Azure is coming back to the surface. He breaks a few feet away from me and smiles. “Ready?” he asks.
Am I? I bite my lip for a minute as I consider and then give him a single, determined nod. “Let’s do this.”
“I’ll stay next to you.”
I nod again and gather every ounce of courage—and a deep breath—then push myself underwater. I fight what feels like a rope around my chest, tugging me toward the surface and head for the ship instead.
My arms bring me a few feet closer with each motion. I concentrate solely on reaching the ship. Then I’m suddenly there and I have to stop short before I launch myself into it. I blink dazedly for a minute and let out a little air from my lungs.
I’m taken by the enormity of it. Of course, it’s big when you’re looking down, but now, floating within reach, it looks like it could actually carry people at one point. More than a few. It’s enormous.
Wow!
I let more water out of my lungs and just stare. Transfixed. Mesmerized. Until my lungs burn and I reluctantly start kicking my way to the surface. Thank fuck for fins, because I make it in no time and suck in air once I breach the surface.
Azure watches me. Gauging my reaction. Studying me as I pant for breath. My lungs ache, but I’m grinning so big that my cheeks hurt. “That was incredible.”
“Want to go again?”
“As long as you don’t plan to drown me, yeah,” I tease.
While the corners of his lips tick up, the amusement he’s shown me until now doesn’t show. Once again, chills race over my skin. “You’re safe from me,” he assures me, his tone serious. There’s no hint that he’s joking in return.
I decide not to focus too fully on it and instead concentrate on the experience he’s opened up to me. Not that he suddenly sounds dangerous.
THREE
ELIXON
I’ve always foundit a little disorienting to look out the window at night when the ship is quiet and see nothing but a stretch of darkness with nothing but the moonlight and stars reflecting back. The sky is so clear tonight that it looks like the moon has made a path leading into the distance. The stars are little fairy lights, lighting the way. There's no distinction between where the sky and the ocean meet.
It’s enchanting. I’ve taken so many pictures, but they never do the sight justice. It’s too magical to be caught in an image.
However, I’ve been laying here for hours, and sleep just isn’t coming to me. I can’t blame it on the weather because it’s calm as fuck outside. I don’t know if the party is over or whether everyone is just far enough away that I can’t even hear the beat of bass in the distance. There’s no civilization to watch and muse over the lives of unseen inhabitants.
There’s just nothing there.
Sighing, I climb out of bed and dig out my laptop. Thank fuck for the internet. And that this yacht has internet!
I could do something useful like check emails. That’s probably boring enough to put me to sleep. But I don’t.
I don’t even pull up social media to amuse myself with what’s going on in the world. Even that seems too boring tonight.
Instead, I pull up Second World, a massive multiplayer game, and log in. I haven’t been on in ages. Probably not since the last time I was bored—some time around last Christmas when we were on a short break, and I had nothing to do.
There was a time when I used to log in every chance I got. I’ve made some pretty cool friends that way. Some of which I’ve even kept up with.
I think I almost fall asleep as I wait for the circle to stop slowly spinning with the little bar that’s crawling across the screen telling me my progress for the latest update. If nothing else, I should keep this shit updated. It takesso long.
But when it finally pops up, I smile at my avatar. I’m a level thirteen druid. After clicking on my stats, I’m still within the top 8% for my guy, even though there’s two more levels to reach. It takes a lot of dedication to get to this level.
And money. I shudder to think what I’ve dumped into this game.
For a minute, I familiarize myself with what’s in my storage and then change my player’s outfit so I’m wearing some hodgepodge quilted tunic with glowing thread and dragon scales sewn into it. I forgo all the extra shit like the big wing shoulder things and the weird ass goggles. The hood I keep, though.
Then I go through the quests I was working on and choose one that has evaded me for what feels like lifetimes. Probably because I can’t find the stupid skunk pelt. Irritating that something so common in the real world has been the bane of my existence in a game.
Once I’ve equipped myself with whatever little magical gadgets I can fit into my pouch, I begin the quest. It takes a minute as I tap my fingers on the flat part of the keyboard to wait. Impatiently.
