Grand Coven by Shanon L. Mayer

Author:Shanon L. Mayer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shanon Mayer

12

Aquos was every bit as beautiful as Ahna remembered from childhood. The storm that had threatened them as they left Sapphire quickly fell behind them until it was nothing more than a distant memory. Beneath an impossibly azure sky, miles upon miles of pure white sand encircled the island, interrupted only by the occasional coconut palm tree. A warm, gentle, salt-tinged sea breeze blew across the beach, ruffling the leaves of the palms overhead and carrying with it the inherent promises of serenity and peace. Crystal-clear aquamarine water danced along the shoreline, darkening to a deep, rich blue a short distance away from land. The smooth expanse of sea was marked only by the reefs of coral and the occasional school of rainbow-hued fish who flocked to the island by the hundreds, countless varieties of exquisitely-shaped figures beneath the glassy water. There was no sign of the colony of merfolk who were rumored to live below the waves, not that Ahna was surprised. She had heard tell of the merpeople of Aquos her whole life and had never seen so much as a glimpse of any of them in all of the years she and her family had vacationed on the island.

Wooden walkways led out into the water, sun-bleached boards worn smooth through the passage of feet and the occasional storm, leading to a row of cabanas, small buildings with thatched rooves where guests could lounge in the comfort of shade with no interruptions to their relaxation. More cabanas waited further inland, larger spaces that guests could rent for overnight or longer stays. Since they weren’t certain how long they would be on the island, the group had rented one of the larger cabanas for three days with an option to stay longer if needed. Since the busy tourism season had not yet started, they had their choice of locations.

“I didn’t realize how badly I had needed this,” Ahna sighed as she settled into the warm, comforting sand, digging her toes into the warm softness, which wrapped around her in a sun-heated embrace. The sand had absorbed the sunlight as it beamed down from the sky, which it passed along to her in soft waves of heat which entered her skin and flowed all the way into her very soul.

“You said your family comes here all the time?” Zavala asked as she settled into the sand next to her. “I am so jealous!” She flopped backwards, sending a small spray of sand in all directions and sighed in contentment. “I think this is what the heavens must feel like.”

“Too hot,” Vox said, although the complaint was half-hearted at best. His people hailed from the far north so he was much more comfortable in colder climates, ones filled with slopes of snow and ice-hardened lakes. Tropical islands such as Aquos weren’t often high on their lists of places to visit. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun and scanned the beach. “But the water looks nice. Is okay to swim in it?”

“Of course it is,” Ahna laughed at the large man’s discomfort.

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