Elodie of the Sea by Shari L. Tapscott

Author:Shari L. Tapscott [Tapscott, Shari L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romantic, FairyTale
ISBN: 1986243923
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2018-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

Elodie

Footsteps crunch on the sand-covered rock behind me, but I don’t turn. I stare at the ocean, watching the dolphins. I could sit here for hours, though I’m always a bit sad when I finally leave. It’s worse today, though I’m not sure why.

Bran lowers himself to the rock next to me, dangling his long legs off the edge of the small cliff that overlooks the sea. “You missed the evening meal.”

Giving him only the slightest nod of acknowledgment, I continue to watch the playing dolphins. They swim farther out to sea, into the sunset waters, leaving me.

Not that I could follow them, not like this.

“Elle,” he says softly.

Bran’s studying me; I can feel it. I hold out until the dolphins are gone, too far in the blue water to see anymore. Then I turn my head to face him.

“Rosie sang tonight,” he says conversationally, pretending it’s not strange to find me here again. “I think you would have enjoyed it.”

Without saying a word, I squeeze his arm and turn back to the water.

Most men would leave me to my brooding—most men would have given up on me weeks ago. Not Bran. I cannot count the number of times he’s come looking for me, the number of times he’s sat quietly and watched the tide rise or fall by my side.

“It’s almost as if they’re calling to me,” I tell him softly.

He shifts, finding a more comfortable position. The last of the sun’s light catches his fair hair, making it gold. The stubble along his strong jaw matches, and I rub my fingers over his cheek in a teasing manner. “You forgot to shave.”

“Perhaps I didn’t forget.”

“Growing a beard, are you?”

He leans a fraction closer. “Maybe I just like it when you touch me…Elisondra?”

It’s our game now, one Bran enjoys immensely.

I shake my head at his guess. That’s not right—it’s not my name. I know that like I know my reflection. But it’s close, so close. The true one is on the tip of my tongue, always just out of reach.

One day I might remember—that’s what the physician keeps telling me. One day when I least expect it, my memory might return. But it’s been six weeks since Bran found me on the shore. I’m losing faith.

And I’m not sure I care anymore.

Bran and I sit in silence as the sun sinks into the water and the first of the evening’s stars dot the velvet sky.

A light appears in the ocean, far out, near the place the dolphins disappeared. It’s a green glow, almost like a star below the waves. I narrow my eyes, studying it. It triggers a memory, one the fog won’t let me have.

“Are you ready to go back?” Bran asks, startling me enough I turn to him.

“Yes,” I say absently, turning back to the sea. When I try to locate it again, the light is gone.

Strange.

“Yes,” I say, rising. I don’t mention the underwater glow to Bran. He’s already worried about my headaches, which have grown far worse in the last few weeks.

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