“Okay. We’ll have that stuff on the plane,” Liv said. “And I’m sure I do not have to spell out that you are not to tell anyone about this, Dr. Fuller. Not a soul. I’m letting you come here so you can help us and have some of your questions answered. But if you take one misstep, speak one more word about any of this to anyone, there will be no end to the havoc Phil will wreak on your life.” Finally. A purpose for someone like Phil. “Are we clear?”
“I understand.”
“See you soon, Dr. Fuller.” Liv ended the call, now genuinely beginning to believe that none of this was a coincidence. It was all too weird. All too manufactured, like the island was moving the chess pieces around the board and had been from the moment that fishing boat sank. She’d drifted to this place only to meet Roen, who also had just “coincidentally” been there, too. Her and Roen’s powerful connection was no accident either. She was his mate. And the island had made sure they were put into a situation that would, without question, bond them immediately as well as put Roen into position to run the island. Then, the island made sure the two of them were separated—but only long enough to make them suffer, to make them realize that there was something stronger between them worth fighting for. And fight they had. Roen had to fight to save her. She’d had to fight Shane, and now she was fighting to save Roen.
But what was the point to all this? She was being backed into a corner so tight, she had no choice but to act out of desperation.
And everything is about to come to a head. She felt it.
Liv groaned with frustration. She had to go back to the Great Hall and try to confront the island. It had to know something. It just had to. The question was, what would the island want in exchange from Liv?
But first she needed to call Cherie and see what she could dig up on Dana’s plane. She’d also get her “genie” working on the supplies and having the plane readied for Dr. Fuller.
Maybe I’ll have her raid the local grocery stores, too. There was no food anywhere on this damned island. Hmmm…I wonder if mermaids will eat Dog Chow? They could get a lot of that stuff on a plane, right? She tried to imagine feeding them in little bowls like pets.
Never mind. I’ll have her load up the plane with frozen steaks.
~~~
Liv had gotten two of the women to help move Roen onto the mattress she’d placed on the floor in his room. There he’d at least be comfortable and off the cold tile.
Then she tried to get him to drink water again, but he was out. So she rewrapped his wound and then covered him with a blanket.
It was impossible to look at this man—once so beautiful and strong and unbreakable—and not want to scream at the top of her lungs.
She lay down next to him, pressing her nose to his cheek. The discoloration of his skin had grown, and his breaths were tiny puffs of almost nothing. “Roen, I know you can hear me. At least, I think you can. I’m still here. I’m still trying. Just don’t go, okay?”
Roen groaned. “Liv. Liv, why did he kill you?”
She popped up, shocked as hell. “Roen! I’m not dead, Roen. I’m right here.”
~~~
In the back of Roen’s mind he heard the beautiful sound of Liv’s voice, but the words were all jumbled up, floating around inside him. Then he was back at that fire, being pushed away by that woman who refused to let him get any closer to the warmth of the flames.
Liv is dead, he thought with a heavy heart. I want to be with her. “Liv. Liv, why did he kill you?”
“Roen! I’m not dead, Roen. I’m right here. Roen!”
He opened one blurry eye and saw Liv leaning over him, her face stained with tears.
Was he dreaming? It didn’t feel like one. He was in his room, the smell of Liv’s delicious scent filling his nostrils.
“You’re alive?” He choked out his words. His entire body burned and ached.
“Yes. Ohmygod.” She pressed her sweet lips to his.
“But I watched Lyle kill you when you escaped the tank,” he whispered.
“No, honey.” She placed her warm loving hands on his cheeks. “Shane took me from the island. I was never in any tank.”
Foking hell. Who did Lyle kill? “What’s happening to me?”
“Roen, the island is dying. You’re dying. Tell me what to do…” The turmoil in her eyes was almost too painful to look at.
Everything around him turned to black.
~~~
Liv could not bear to watch any longer. Roen had passed out, and the color of his skin was darkening even further, as if something was sucking the life right out of him.
“Roen?” She gave him a gentle shake. He was dead to the world again, his breathing now shallow pants, like his body was giving one last fight.
She was out of time.
Liv grabbed her backpack and flashlight and rushed from his room, downstairs and out the front door, sprinting toward the mountain. It was about a quarter mile through fallen trees and branches in the darkness.
The entire way there was that feeling again of someone watching her. You’re not dead, are you, Crazy Dirt? You’ve just been waiting for me to show up, begging for his life. And now the island was going to get what it wanted.
“Okay!” Liv bolted inside the cavern, pivoting on her heel. “I’m here, Crazy Dirt. Tell me how to save Roen!”
Silence.
“For fuck’s sake, I know you’re there. I can feel your creepy fucking vibe all around me. What do you want? I’ll do anything. Anything.” Liv wiped the tears from her eyes, panting like mad. “Please.”
“Hello, human. I’ve been waiting for you…”
CHAPTER EIGHT
The island’s words confirmed Liv’s fears. They were all nothing but giant rats in a giant maze. Crazy Dirt had been, in fact, waiting patiently for this moment. Liv could hear the sadistic delight in Crazy Dirt’s voice.
“Let’s get it over with. What do you want?” Liv snarled.
“It’s not about what I want—it’s about what you want. Water, yes?” she said with a sugary-sweet, evil tone. She knew she’d won and was savoring the moment. But what did she win? “I fear, however, I’ve been weakened. And since the mermen don’t give to me willingly, then I must take what I need.”
The voice was coming from somewhere inside the cavern, but Liv couldn’t determine the direction.
“Roen is dying, so there’s no time for your cryptic bullshit. What do you want?”
“For you and I to have a talk.” The floor crumbled beneath her, and Liv screamed, clawing at the air as she fell, landing with a splash in a bright green glowing pool.
Liv’s head broke through the surface for a breath and then she saw them. Male bodies. Floating in the water. She screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Now, now, Liv. A girl’s gotta eat,” the voice said coyly.
Liv swam as fast as she could and pulled herself up onto a narrow stone ledge that hugged the dripping walls. Her skin buzzed and tingled, but her stomach was a nauseous knot. Five men floated in that glowing green water, one of them face up. It was that old shriveled bastard Naylor, the elder who’d ordered her to be executed.
“What the fuck?” Liv pressed her back against the wet wall. Well, now I know what happened to the five elders.
“Don’t be so weak, human.”
“What did you do to them?” Liv asked.
“They sacrificed themselves to keep me alive a little longer.”
She doubted they’d done it voluntarily, although who knew? “So…what? You sucked the life right out of them?”
“Something like that.”
Oh, God. She’s going to kill me, too. Liv turned her head, looking around the cave. There was a small opening in the wall across the water. She guessed it led outside. She also guessed she would have to get back into that water to get out of there because the ledge she stood on didn’t go all the way around. Then she heard a weird grinding sound above. Liv looked up and watched the floor of the Great Hall—which was the ceili
ng of the small cave she stood in—slowly close itself. Rock by rock.
“This isn’t happening,” Liv whispered to herself.
“But it is, Liv. It is happening.”
Liv moved her gaze around the small cave, the green light of the water bouncing and sparkling off the dark gray walls. “Where are you?”
“I do not have a body.”
“Then how can I be hearing you?”
“Because I’m powerful, and reaching inside you is child’s play for someone as magnificent as me.”
Magnificent. That didn’t seem like the right word. Dangerous. Mysterious. Impossible. Sadistic. Manipulative. Parasitic. Those were all words Liv would use.
Liv looked at the small opening on the other side and then again at the water. The good news was that there was water on this island to save Roen. The bad news was there were dead mermen floating in it and the island probably wouldn’t let her take any. Not without paying.
“What’s your price?” Liv asked.
“Ha. Straight to the point, I see.”
“Yes.”
“Liv, it is no mistake I brought you here to me. I’ve been searching for someone like you for a very, very long time.”
And I’ve been desperately trying to avoid you. “Searching for me for what?” Liv asked.
“Liv, I sensed you the moment your life started. I felt your soul, your energy. You are the one.”
Someone had been watching The Matrix. “Tell me what the fuck you want, Crazy Dirt.”
“Out of all of the women I’ve brought here, you are the first to show promise. You are resilient and strong.”
“Wow. I’m thrilled with all of the compliments. Get to the point.” She feared the worst.
“I will let you leave here. I will let you take whatever water you can carry to heal the men. I will cease draining the life from them. In exchange, I want you. Your body.”
Liv gasped. “My body? You want to—” she swallowed the lump in her throat “—to use me like you used them?”
“Yes. Isn’t Roen worth your life? Isn’t the livelihood of mankind worth your life?”
“I don’t believe you are that spark Roen talked about. I think you’re nothing but a parasite.”
“Believe what you like; however, Roen has but moments to live, as do the other men. Make your choice, Liv.”
Liv let out a breath. The island was a master chess player. And she had her back tightly against the wall.
“Fine. I will give up my life for Roen’s.”
“You cannot tell him, human. You cannot tell anyone about our deal.”
Liv wouldn’t dare. Because Roen wouldn’t allow her to die for him. It went against his nature—a man who protected what he loved, loyal to a fault. Hell, he’d even give his life to save the men on this island. Many didn’t deserve saving.
“That’s not a problem,” Liv replied.
“Good. Then you are free to go.”
Liv stared at the water, trying not to vomit. “What about the bodies?”
The island laughed. “They don’t bite.”
Liv looked up at the ceiling, praying for strength. She then whipped off her backpack, which was now soaking wet, and got out two small water bottles. She poured out the fresh water, cringing and dry heaving as she filled them up with sacred water.
“How much time do I have?” Liv asked.
“Days, hours, minutes. I haven’t decided, human.”
Liv only wished there was a way to kill this thing off. Who was to say that it would keep its word and not hurt Roen again in the future?
“Now, you’d better hurry. I do believe your lovely merman has stopped breathing.” She chuckled.
No. No. Liv jumped into the water, the tears streaming down her face. She pushed past the bobbing, waterlogged bodies and climbed up to the other ledge. She gave one last look behind her. This creature was after something more, but what?
Liv ducked into the small tunnel, trying not to scream as she felt her way through. The floor was wet and mushy like mud mixed with something spongy. The ceiling’s jagged edges scraped her backpack as she passed. Where would this lead to?
A faint light up ahead gave her hope. But it was still the middle of the night. She pushed on, and when her head popped out, she knew exactly where she was: Roen’s basement. The room where he and the elders had met. Did Roen know this small tunnel existed?
She got to her feet and rushed up the stairs that led to the kitchen, then through the dining room and upstairs to Roen’s room.
“I’m here, Roen! I’m here.” She threw off her pack, grabbed the water, and quickly lifted his head. He wasn’t breathing. “No. Don’t go, Roen. Don’t go.” She poured a small sip into his mouth, hoping some would slide down. “Drink, Roen. Drink.” She poured a little more and then stroked his cheeks, placing his head in her lap.
Nothing happened.
“We had a deal, you bitch. We had a fucking deal.” Liv held back a sob. What would she do without Roen? She remembered telling him once that they were meant to be together because she wasn’t afraid to love him. She wasn’t intimidated by his stunning good looks, his defiant personality, his seemingly cold exterior. She’d seen right through him.
But now I am afraid, Roen. I’m afraid what will happen if I lose you. She felt so much anger and rage surging inside her. She could feel herself drifting further and further away from who she was supposed to be.
She hunched over and pressed her cheek to his. “I can’t, Roen. I can’t if you’re not here.”
Roen suddenly gasped in her arms, his green and hazel eyes wide open in shock. “Liv?”
“Roen…” She pushed her lips to his forehead, clinging to him for dear life. “Thank God.”
“What’s happening?” he groaned, completely out of it.
“The island, Roen. The island happened.” And I have to find a way to end her hold over you. This has to stop. For the first time, Liv understood why Roen would give anything to free his people from this place. Living here was like living on a ship sailing straight to hell. And that crazy bitch is the captain.
CHAPTER NINE
While Roen rested in his room, healing slowly from his wounds, Liv went downstairs to the library and took care of poor Lyle. She gave him a little water and then left him lying there flat on his back, snoozing like a log, but he’d probably be up and about in minutes. Liv then dashed into the enormous chef’s kitchen, just off the dining room, and started dividing up the water into empty jars and bottles she scavenged from the cupboards. She’d wanted to give Roen every drop she had, to heal him faster, but she had to think about everyone. Roen would want that.
Liv then packed up the water and went to find Amelia.
“How did you get this?” Amelia asked, standing in the doorway of Jason’s cottage, blinking at the bottle in her hand.
“Doesn’t matter,” Liv replied. “Please, just be sure you give it to as many men as you can.” She simply would have to trust that these women would act honorably and fairly. But just in case… “If I find out anyone gave more to any one man than Roen got, I’ll kill them. You hear me?” It sounded harsh. Yes, it did. But she’d just agreed to give up her life for that water, and the man she loved only got enough to keep him from dying.
Amelia nodded. “I’ll see to it.”
“Thanks.” Liv turned to leave.
“Thank you, Liv. I can only imagine what you had to do to get this. I know the men will appreciate it.”
All she’d really done was manage to buy more time. If the plane got here soon, that would buy them a little more. However, after another day or so, they’d all be right back in the same boat. Liv suspected the island was merely waiting for the opportune moment to make her grand scheme known. What would she demand this time?
World domination and an endless supply of wrinkly old assholes for her pond? She mentally cringed as an extremely distasteful and very literal image popped inside her head. I will never eat Fruit Loops again.
<
br /> Liv gave Amelia a solemn nod. “Let’s all just focus on getting through this.” Liv hiked back to Roen’s and up to his room. There wasn’t much left to do now. Just wait. Wait and spend what little time she had left with Roen.
She walked through the doorway of his bedroom and made a sharp, appreciative exhale. His mattress was still on the floor, but he no longer looked like a man on his deathbed. His olive skin had returned. His lips were pink and plump. He looked more beautiful than ever, including those big strong arms lying over the blanket tucked tightly around his body.
“Are you going to stand there staring or come over here and kiss me?” he said, in a deep groggy voice.
Liv blinked at him and smiled, the joy in her heart too overwhelming for words. She felt like running and throwing herself over him and doing very, very naughty things—things they’d yet to do. But he was in no condition for that. Still, she wanted him so badly it hurt.
“Stand here and stare.”
He cracked open one gorgeous hazel-and-green eye. “Then I’ll have to get up for my kiss.” He started peeling away the blanket.
“Don’t you dare move.” She walked over and kneeled beside him, touching his forehead, careful not to show her true emotions on her sleeve. “How do you feel?”
“Alive. Alive and grateful to see you here with me.” He smiled, and it was the most gorgeous smile she’d ever seen him make, despite his heart-stopping dimples being masked by a short brown beard.
She reached for his bandage and lifted up one edge. The skin underneath was bright pink, but the missing chunk of his shoulder was growing in. More importantly, the bleeding had stopped. “It’s almost healed. Do you have any idea why you’re all sick?”
He shook his head. “At first I wondered if we were all going to turn into some sort of monster, but now it’s fairly obvious we were all dying. I wonder if…” He winced as he moved a little on the bed. “I wonder if the water is a lifetime commitment.”