It feels like a lifetime ago now, but the emotions come flooding back to me. The only way to get through a week in the darkness of the prison below was to lock away all my feelingsand harden myself, so the onslaught of the emotions returning is overwhelming. I try to swallow them down again, knowing full well I can’t have them if I’m going to get through Weston’s inevitable mind games.
But looking at the beach, I can’t stop my cheeks from heating, not only with the memory of Dane’s hands on my body, but also with embarrassment as I stare at the clearly visible stretch of beach from a ship full of people.
“How…I…did…” I stammer, trying to process all the thoughts sprinting through my mind.
“One at a time,” Sig says. “I’ll answer whatever questions I’m allowed.”
A cool breeze off the water rustles my still damp hair, and I look up into the sky, trying to find the words for what I want to ask. The suns are on their way down, and the evening is coming quickly.
“We’re on a ship, in a cove on Dawnlin,” I say.
“That’s not really a question, but I’ll take it as one. Yes, we are.” She hasn’t moved, still leaning comfortably against the rail and watching me process everything.
“Why can’t we see it? It’s in plain sight. Why couldn’t we see it?” I’m sure I sound ridiculous to her. The shock of my voice in my own ears is foreign, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind about how none of us, none of the Voyagers for years, could see this giant ship anchored right in the middle of the bay.
She shrugs. “You’re gonna have to take that one up with Dawnlin. I don’t have an answer for you.”
Her response isn’t enough, but there are so many things about Dawnlin that we can’t explain. I’d just been a victim of the lack of explanation with the healing waters. My stomach turns at the memory, but there’s something bigger bothering me.
I don’t understand why the island is hiding the Castaways, protecting them from the eyes of the Voyagers, especially with Weston’s intent to steal the water.
“Don’t try screaming either,” she says, interrupting my thoughts. “No one on the island can hear anything from deck, unless they’re one of us.”
I look back at the beach, and remember the glowing waves I watched crash through this cove. They rolled so smoothly, with no obstruction, only beauty, as the neon colors rippled and tumbled to the beach. In reality, there was a giant ship sitting right in the middle of them, but the magic kept us from knowing.
What else is it hiding from us?
“How long has it been here?” I ask, my head snapping back toward her.
“A long time. I don’t have an exact amount of time, but since we needed it.”
“Great, but I mean, how long has it beenhere? In this spot.” I jab my finger into the wooden rail as my heart rate rises, the beats pounding in my ears and stifling her response.
Her eyes sparkle with understanding, like she knows exactly what I am asking.
“We haven’t moved for…a while.”
Oh gods.
I drop my head into my hands and lean over, resting my elbows on the railing, and let out a loud groan. From where I am standing, I can look out and see the exact spot Dane and I stood looking at the glowing animals in the rocks, where the waves crashed over us, soaking us to the bone. With just a little lean, I can see where we eventually went to the beach, back to the fire, and spent the rest of the evening before the thunder chased us back to camp.
My heart pounds in my chest as I gather the courage to ask the question I really want the answer to.
“Did anyone see…” I trail off, sheer horror and embarrassment at what all the Castaways could have witnessed preventing me from uttering the words.
“Yep,” she pops the last sound. “We saw.”
As if my time on this ship isn’t already going to be repulsive, now I have to deal with the Castaways having seen me vulnerable and exposed. I don’t need another challenge to overcome while I’m here.
“Well, that is mortifying,” I say, letting out a long breath.
“You getting intimate with Dane? Nah. It was nothing most of us haven’t seen or done before, though not with him, of course. But it made it real easy to see why he has you wrapped around his finger.”
“No one has me wrapped around anything,” I snap, my face still hot with humiliation. “But it doesn’t matter what goes on between all of you. It doesn’t mean I want everyone watchingme.”
“Relax. Cap made everyone go below before they could see too much.”
I can’t stop the look of surprise that comes over my face. Why would he do that? Why wouldn’t he revel in something he could hold over me, especially when he seems to love making me feel as uncomfortable as possible?
