Darkness Arisen by Stephanie Rowe

Author:Stephanie Rowe
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780988656628
Published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

He'd never been a sunlight guy, and he'd never been the one to notice the wind on his face or the freshness of the air.

But when their algae-covered boat popped out of the ocean and landed with a splash on the surface of the water, Ian felt like he'd just been granted a slice of heaven.

As the chirping dolphins gallivanted merrily across the sea, dragging the little dinghy behind them, Ian raised his face to the sun. It was warm, healing, and seemed to seep right into his cells.

"Oh, wow." Beside him, Alice flopped back on the wooden seat, throwing her arms over her head and arching her back, exposing herself to the sky. "Returning to the surface after being underwater feels as amazing as coming back to life after being dead." She took a deep breath, her breasts straining against the blue fabric, her flat belly peeking out from under the hem of the shirt as she stretched. "Can you feel the heat of the sun? Unbelievable. It never gets old, does it?"

Ian tore his gaze off her limber body and did a careful inventory of their surroundings. As far as he could see, there was only ocean. Nothing else. Not an island. Not a beach. Not a single piece of land. The only living creatures other than their escorts were a few seagulls circling above. Their rough calls to each other were the only sounds beside the splash of the water against the hull of the boat and the happy squealing of the dolphins.

He sensed no threats. Not at the moment, at least. He let out his breath and looked back down at Alice, who had closed her eyes, as if she were drinking the sun into her very pores. "You look like you're relaxing on a tropical beach."

She grinned and flipped her damp hair back from her face. "I feel like I am." She held up the pearl. "I have a respite for now, and it feels good." She pressed it to her lips, and then carefully zipped it back into the front pocket of her shorts.

Ian looked around again, uncomfortable with how relaxed she looked. "Now isn't the time to relax. We're on our way to deal with a black magic wizard who was one of the most deadly Order members in existence a thousand years ago. The shit's about to come down."

"I know what he is. He killed me, remember?" She stretched her arms above her head. "The thing is, Ian, life is too short. Not only is it brief, but it's full of so many hard things that there's never a time to breathe or recover. So, when you get a moment like this, you have to drink it into your soul to sustain yourself when all that's around you is darkness." She sighed. "I was so stressed down there that I forgot about slowing down and appreciating each moment that I have. This moment is a blessing, and I need to notice it.

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