Secrets of Summerland by Kathryn Moon

Author:Kathryn Moon [Moon, Kathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-28T16:00:00+00:00

6

I’d all but leapt out of Liam’s hold when we crossed the threshold of my cottage and I very seriously considered slamming the door in his, Dylan’s, and Felix’s faces. I would have if I thought I’d be able to convince myself to forget the entire night and everything I’d seen.

But there was no way I was going to put the sight of Xia in the sand out of my head. Maybe worse, I wasn’t going to forget kissing Nick Olwen and having winter run rampant under my skin, turning me into some wild, starving creature.

They followed me into the kitchen and I stood at the sink with my back to them, wishing wildly for something to do with myself to distract from the panic rising up and squeezing at my lungs.

“Xia will be back,” Felix said.

My fingers tightened on the edge of the counter until my entire hand hurt.

“How?” I asked, ignoring the stars in the corners of my eyes, the rock lodged in my throat.

“Raylon will take his body now to a resting place. He’s more like… sleeping. Until-”

“The winter solstice,” I said.

There was a pause and then Felix said, “A little before then, yes. And then they fight again.”

“And Nick dies,” I said.

“There’s a balance,” Liam said. And I could hear the floorboards creaking under his heavy steps as he made his way carefully over to me. Maybe I was that wild animal, the way they were all tiptoeing around me. I couldn’t tell. I was numb around the edges, ready to fall into loose pieces at any moment.

I spun in place and Liam froze, that charming nervous wide-eyed stare on my face, hands in the air as if he was trying prove he was unarmed.

“Sit,” I said, and he stumbled backwards to the little table where Felix and Dylan were already seated. “What is this place?”

“Our home,” Liam said quickly and Dylan shot him a heavy glare.

“Summerland is a town for gods,” Felix said, the words as fast as he could make them, like he was ripping off the band-aid.

The room was silent for a long time after that. I turned back to the sink, a dull ringing in my ears, like the silent echo in an enormous, empty space. Then I saw the kettle on the stove. I needed… something to do. And tea. Tea would be nice right now. I started heating water and digging through my cupboards for mugs and tea, ignoring the silence hovering in the room behind me.

“Lucy?” Liam prompted, quiet. I heard the floorboard creak beneath his shifting feet.

I wasn’t even processing the words Felix had said. They made no sense. They may as well have been a meaningless set of words that belonged to a completely different conversation. Still… they were waiting for me to answer.

“So you’re like… Zeus?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder. My eyes landed on the wall, carefully avoiding their faces, remembering the wild masks I’d seen on the beach. Or were those lovely, familiar,

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