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The words echo through my mind like the soft waves splashing against my body as I float in the warm water.
The sky above me is blue, not a cloud to be seen. I take a deep breath in, the salty scent of the Mediterranean making me instantly feel at home.
It’s another perfect day in paradise.
Laughter and giggles from shore have me looking toward the beach. The sound is happy and carefree, putting a smile on my face.
Ella swings Enzo in her arms, her round belly protruding. She’s huge, but she’s never been more beautiful.
Pregnancy has made her even more radiant, and she effortlessly sets my entire universe ablaze with wanton need. Warm tingles spread through me, butterflies fluttering in my abdomen.
But why is she playing with Enzo?
Why is he little again? He’s wearing the blue jeans shorts and the black t-shirt with the pirate skull… just like on the day we met when we were both six.
Confused, I stare at him just as Ella throws him into the air.
Boom.
Everything around me erupts into a ball of fire. High-pitched screams of pain have me covering my ears. Red torrents of blood are streaming from everywhere, the sky turning red.
I’m suddenly little again, standing in the sea that has turned crimson. I lift my hands to see them covered in the sticky substance.
Papa appears on my left, and nonno is beside him. Wow, nonno looks just how I remember him. Wrinkled face, with a head full of grey hair, a cigar in his mouth, and his lips twisted in a cruel smile.
He pulls out a gun from his jacket and hands it to papa. He weighs it in his hand, nodding with approval. The scent of cigar smoke lingers in the air, mingling with the sharp tang of gunpowder.
Papa passes the gun to me, its weight heavy in my small hands. The cold metal presses into my palms, as papa lifts me onto his shoulders. From up here, the world looks so vast yet small at the same time.
“This is all yours,” nonno says.
I look around. Enzo and Mateo are playing on the shore, building a sandcastle with mama. They’re unperturbed by the chaos around them. But where is Ella?
“Shoot!” Nonno’s voice suddenly thunders and, without thinking, I take aim. A barrage of our enemies storm toward us and, as a unit, the three of us raise our guns and fire. Groans and moans echo through the night as one by one the men fall.
Despite our victory, the night becomes darker. The swirling in the bloody water has papa lower me back onto my own feet. As it intensifies, papa and nonno step back, fading into nothingness.
Neptune’s imposing figure rises from the center of the swirl, staring me in the eyes. He points his trident to the water in the distance. It glows in the warmest of colors. It’s calling to me.
“That’s where you need to be,” Neptune thunders. “You’ll be given three chances to get there.”
“What if I don’t?”
He aims his trident at my feet, and as I lift them from the water, webbing grows between my toes. I stare at it in horror. He’s turned me into a laughingstock.
Then the Water God points behind me, and I turn. All I see is perpetual darkness. It’s freezing cold. Yet there are fires burning everywhere and screams of pain echo in the air, but the fires don’t light up the sky, nor do they give off heat. Is this what hell is like?
By the time I turn back around, Neptune has disappeared. I stare at the warm glow in the distance.
This is where I have to be.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Ella
Movementinmyhairmakes me stir. I instinctively run my fingers through it, only to have them entwine with a strong, masculine hand.
My eyes open, my gaze connecting with warm, hazel-brown eyes smiling at me. They’re filled with so much tenderness and love, it melts me on the spot.
