Page 41 of Unmoored

Desire coursed through me, and I slipped into the water, holding onto his shoulders as his hands wrapped around my hips.

“Hazel,” he breathed, his eyes travelling over the swells of my breasts.

“Thank you for warming the water,” I said, immediately wondering why I chose those words.

He cursed, shaking his head and holding my body away from his. “You’re doing things to me that I don’t understand,” he said, sounding almost angry.

“I think I do, though,” I said, “because you’re doing the same things to me.”

“I just… I want to consume you, but at the same time I want to worship you. I can’t... I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“Stop fighting it,” I said, pulling his face to mine.

He hesitated for a moment, then pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was frantic, and I wrapped my legs around him as tightly as I could. In truth, Iwantedhim to consume me, to wreck me, to claim me as his and make me forget all the pain he’d put me through.

His hands roamed my body, claws softly scratching against my skin as he explored every curve and plane. The sway of his tail beneath us brushed against my most sensitive spot, and I ground my hips against the ridges at thebottom of his torso. My hands found their way to the gills on his hips, and I stroked the pads of my fingers over their soft openings. He bucked against me, letting out a groan as his hands grew tighter, and a small smile crept across my face as I realized he likely drew blood.

“Fuck!” He exclaimed, suddenly pulling away. He pushed me backwards towards the edge of the pool, shaking his head as he opened and closed his fists.

Guilt wracked my body, and shame enveloped me as his rejection became evident.What is wrong with me? Of course he didn’t want me in that way.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Hazel, I… I can’t do this. I must go.”

He pushed himself out of the pool and shifted back into his human form, and I tried as hard as I could to force my tears to stay behind my stinging eyes until I heard the door to my chambers shut.

I stayed in the pool for a moment, willing away my tears and counting my shaky breaths. Crying over Draya was pathetic, and I knew better. Letting myself get lost in his powerful aura was foolish, and I deserved the heartache it caused me. My body and heart were heavy, and I didn’t want to face the restless night I knew was waiting for me when I reached my rope bed. Or, god forbid, the ministrations of Cordelia and her assistants.

My patience was wearing thin, and my will to keep fighting was dwindling. As much as I tried to convince myself that this new life was better than my fathers estate or Akala Island, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was delusional. No sane person would find happiness or hope in the things I’d been through.

The water eventually grew so cold I began to shiver, so I forced myself to finish my bath and leave the pool. By the grace of the spirits of the ocean, my room was quiet and I was left alone. A meal had been placed on the table beside the door, and I ate half of it before falling wearily into my bed. Sleep evaded me, as I had assumed it would, but the soft cocoon of the bed and the quilts tightly wrapped around my body gave me some semblance of comfort. I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling until I drifted into a half-sleep daze.

27

DRAYA

Hazel was less than thrilled to see me when I knocked on her door the following day, and I couldn’t blame her. I’d allowed myself to get far too intimate with her, and had spent the last twenty-four hours trying to calm my tumultuous thoughts.

I had never felt like this aboutanyonebefore. Hazel entered my life with the force of the hurricane that lay dormant inside her, and she’d taken hold of my very soul. In a way, I hated it, how weak she made me, but another part of me craved her.

Unfortunately, our tasks ahead couldn’t wait for me to figure out how to deal with these newfound emotions, so I pushed it all aside and strode up to her door as if nothing was wrong.

Hazel did not utter a single word as we made our way to the Queen’s residence, nor as we gathered around the slab of driftwood in the center of our meeting room. She stayed close to me, flanking my left side, but never close enough to touch. Commander Adri was already there, along with theQueen and everyone who had accompanied us on our visit to Lord Emerson’s ship.

Maki recounted the events of the journey, which I was grateful for, because the thought of having to repeat what Lord Emerson had said to Hazel made my blood boil. The Queen was expressionless for most of the story, but her face fell at the mention of the horrendous use of Talassi skin and blood we had discovered in his chambers. She held her head high and showed little emotion, but I imagined it must have been awful to have her worst fears about her son confirmed.

“Where is my son being held?” She asked, after a moment of silence.

“We don’t know for sure,” Maki said, “but we suspect he may be on Akala Island.”

Her eyes immediately focused on Hazel, who stiffened beside me. She still wasn’t able to shift fully, so she stood on the floor. The rest of us were floating in the water, and it was a bit awkward to have someone just standing there. I’m sure the Queen’s wrath didn’t make her feel much better.

“You mean to tell me that my son was in the same place as you fortwo years?” Fury laced the Queen’s words.

“I didn’t know,” Hazel responded. “I was an inpatient at the Akala Asylum, bound by their rules and regulations. From what I was told, the only thing on the island was the Asylum. The landmass is quite small, with only a beach, the hospital, and a cliff side.”

“I find it suspicious that you appear to be so clueless,Miss Emerson,” the Queen pressed further. I bit my tongue, my jaw tensing as reminders of the horrendous torture Hazel had endured in that place surfaced in my mind.

“Your Majesty, pardon my disrespect, but I am not clueless.”