Always Remembered (19 page)

Throwing her hands skyward, Azuria screamed a
curse. Nature responded. Dark clouds gathered, turning the blue sky
an ominous black. A bolt of lightning cut through her. When the
smoke dissipated, the queen lay dead in the spot where her lover
died only moments earlier.

The voices of men shouting grew loud behind
me. I turned to see a wave of blue soldiers running at me. Then
everything went blissfully dark.

*****

“Meara!”

Kieran screamed my name, his face buried in
my neck. Where was I? My body shook uncontrollably. I was so
cold.

“Oh god. Oh, thank god!” He kissed me, his
mouth hot against my icy lips.

“Wh-where, wh-where are we?” It was difficult
to speak through my chattering teeth. The shaking was getting
worse.

“In a cave. I noticed it on the way in.” He
rubbed his hands up and down my arms, trying to generate heat. A
fire blazed nearby, but the heat didn’t reach me. “Change,
Meara.”

“What?” I traced his mouth with my fingers.
Why was he frowning? What was he telling me to do? My brain was
fuzzy. I couldn’t focus on what he was saying. Sleep, I needed
sleep.

“You can’t sleep,” he said as if he could
read my mind.
Oh right, he could
. “You have to warm up
first. Change.”

The command echoed through my brain, and my
body responded. The fur flowed over my skin, bringing welcoming
heat. Once my change was complete, Kieran followed. In his seal
form, he stretched next to me. I nuzzled against his warmth and
fell asleep.

When I woke, Kieran was gone. The fire still
blazed, only now I could feel it. The cavern was comfortably warm.
I stretched and yawned, my body relaxed. Realizing I was vulnerable
in seal form, I changed back to human, visualizing myself in a warm
hoodie, jeans, and hiking boots. I felt better fully dressed and
prepared should anyone come by. Where was I and what happened?

Azuria, the queen of the Blue Men, contacted
me. How? She was dead. I saw her die in front of me. Was she a
ghost? The visions she showed me reared to life. Image after image
woke my sleepy brain. Azuria asked for my help. The problem was
that I wasn’t sure how to help her.

“You’re awake.”

Kieran stood in the cave entrance holding
several large fish. He seemed relieved and happy to see me awake.
Holding up the wiggling fish, he said, “I figured you’d be
hungry.”

“Famished.”

“Raw or cooked?”

Wrinkling my nose, I said, “Cooked, please. I
can eat raw in seal form, but as human, I like my food
unrecognizable from the animal it once was.”

“As you wish.” He winked before busying
himself with our meal preparations. He had a pan and a small
spatula.

“Did you bring those with us?” We didn’t
bring backpacks. If he brought the pan, I had no idea where he kept
it.

“No,” he said. “I found it in the corner of
the cave, along with a tea kettle and other random dishes. Someone
must’ve squatted here for a while.”

“Lucky for us.” I scooted back to give him
room to move around the fire. My hair was a mess. I
self-consciously ran my fingers through it, wincing when I hit a
large snarl. Visualizing an elastic band, I pulled my hair into a
ponytail. It wasn’t my most glamorous look, but it would have to
do.

“Have you recovered?” he asked.

“I feel fine.” I frowned, remembering
everything Azuria had shown me, but not how I got here. “What
happened?”

“All I know is that we were standing on the
shore trying to decide which area to explore first. Then you
collapsed. I tried to revive you, but nothing worked. You started
to shake and your lips turned blue.” He flipped the fish, and then
stared into the fire. I knew that look. He was fighting to control
his emotions. His face was carefully blank, but his voice betrayed
him when it trembled. “I brought you back here and started a fire.
The cave grew hot, but it had no impact on you.”

“You told me to change.” I remembered his
voice, scared but firm.

“It worked.” He sat back and looked at me.
His eyes shimmered in the firelight. “In seal form, with me beside
you, you finally warmed up.”

I scooted closer to him. He watched me
advance, but he didn’t move. When I was directly in front of him, I
rose up on my knees, leaned forward, and kissed him. The kiss was
slow and sweet. With a sigh, I lifted my head and searched his
eyes, seeing nothing but love and concern. “Thank you for taking
care of me.”

With a low growl, Kieran pulled me into his
lap and drew my mouth to his. This time, it felt like he poured all
his fear and worry into the kiss. It was intense and passionate. I
wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

The smell of acrid smoke permeated the air.
Kieran leapt up, dumping me off his lap.

“The fish!” we cried at the same time.

Lifting the pan off the fire, he grabbed a
plate from the small pile next to him and flipped the fish onto it.
The skin was black. Neither of us said anything. We stared in
dismay at our partially burnt dinner, then we looked at each other
and started laughing. Using a fork, Kieran scraped the charred skin
off the fish. The flesh underneath was edible, maybe a little dry
and tough, but I was hungry enough that it didn’t matter. We split
the fish between us, polishing it off.

“I could use a drink right now,” I said.

“The water is hot,” he said, nodding to the
kettle. It was warming on some embers near the edge of the fire
pit. “I found some tea leaves in a tin. I’m not sure what kind or
how old. Are you feeling brave?”

“Why not?” Old tea wouldn’t hurt me,
right?

He laughed. “I’m only kidding. You think I’d
let you drink something unknown and mysterious? No way. You gave me
one scare already since we’ve been here.”

He poured a cup of hot water, waving his
fingers over the top before handing the mug to me. “Try this.”

The steam was thick and fragrant. I blew on
the surface to cool the hot contents. Cautiously, I took a sip and
grinned. “Hot chocolate?”

It was creamy and rich with a hint of
cinnamon. He nodded. “My mom taught me how to make it.”

I drank a little more, the comforting
beverage warming my insides. “You never talk about your mom,” I
said quietly.

Kieran poured his own mug, did the finger
wave over it, and sat down next to me. He blew into his mug, and I
waited for him to say something. “She’s a great lady,” he said
after a moment. “You will love her.” He cleared his throat. “I
don’t talk about her because she no longer lives with us.”

“Where is she?” I searched his face, trying
to see if this conversation was upsetting him. He didn’t seem sad
or angry, although he squirmed a little.

“She left my dad for someone else.” The
confession came out in a rush. “She was banished from our
home.”

“Oh.” No wonder he never talked about her.
The burning wood sparked and crackled, filling the silence between
us. I wanted to say something soothing, but no words came to
mind.

Kieran saved me by changing the subject. I
guess he didn’t want to talk about his mom anymore either. “What
happened yesterday, Meara? Do you remember?”

“I didn’t at first, but it came back to me.”
I scooted closer to the fire and leaned back against the cave wall,
getting comfortable. Kieran moved beside me and waited for me to
continue. “It was Azuria. She wanted to show me what happened. Ken
thinks the Selkie seduced her, and then killed her. He didn’t. They
were in love. His name was Zane. Azuria accidentally killed him
first.”

“How’d she do that?”

“She loved him, and he couldn’t stay with her
as a Selkie. She thought she could use her magic to turn him into
one of the Blue Men. At first, it looked like it was working but
then.” I stopped, my eyes filling with tears. “It was awful. He
couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t help him. He died right in front of
her.”

Kieran wiped the tears off my cheek and took
my empty mug, setting it to the side with his own. When our hands
were empty, he clasped mine in his. His thumb lightly caressed the
back of my hand. “What did she do next?”

“She killed herself.” I shuddered. “I watched
her do it. Then, I saw the Blue Men running toward us and shouting.
That’s when I woke up, or returned here, or whatever happened.” I
took a deep breath. “That’s all I remember.”

“Why show those visions to you?” Kieran’s
brow knit together. “What was her motive?”

“I don’t know.” Only certain parts of the
conversation were clear in my memory. “She said something about
helping her and the truth. I don’t understand how I can help. She’s
dead.”

“At least you’re safe.” Kieran put his arm
around my shoulder. When I leaned into him, he kissed my forehead.
“What do you want to do? Should we continue the search or return to
Ronac?”

I pushed away to stare up at him. “We have to
continue searching. My dad and aunt are out there, held captive.
Evan is still missing. We can’t give up.”

“Relax, Meara.” His hand pressed into my
shoulder, urging me to rest my head against him again. Reluctantly,
I complied. “I was only checking how you felt. You had quite an
experience. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine. We’ll start again in the
morning.”

He chuckled, the sound vibrating through me.
“I’m glad you’re at least willing to wait until the morning.”

“Kieran—”

“I’m kidding!” He lowered his head and kissed
me lightly. When I relaxed against him, he laughed again. “Sort
of.”

I pretended to punch him, and he responded by
tickling me. “Stop!” I gasped between giggles, which only
encouraged him. When I didn’t think I could take any more, he
stopped. As I struggled to catch my breath, he lowered his forehead
to mine.

“I was really worried about you, Meara.” His
voice was husky with emotion. “I felt so helpless.”

I stroked his cheek, and then lowered my hand
to rest on his chest. His heart beat erratically, causing mine to
do the same. “You helped me. More than you think.”

Our lips met in a long, slow kiss. One kiss
led to another. The fire dimmed, and shadows grew long on the
cavern wall.

I love you.

The words penetrated my mind along with the
image of a woman, her beauty primitive and fierce. It took a moment
for me to realize that I was seeing myself.

“Is that how you see me?”

With firelight dancing over his features, I
saw his face redden. “Oh, you saw that?” His expression was rueful.
“That’s never happened before. You make me lose control.”

“I can’t believe that,” I said lightly.

His face remained solemn. “It’s true.”

“You think more of me than I am,” I murmured.
“But you make me want to be the woman you see.”

With a sudden certainty, I knew what I
wanted. There was no way to tell what tomorrow might bring, but
tonight we had each other. I unbuttoned his shirt and slid my hands
beneath it, running my lips over the smooth skin on his shoulder,
kissing the sensitive spot where shoulder meets neck. Sensing the
change in my mood, his muscles tensed.

“Are you sure?” he whispered in my ear.

“I’m sure,” I whispered back, and then sighed
as his tongue teased my earlobe. I ran my fingers through his hair,
and then down his back.

“There’s no going back,” he warned. “After
this, I won’t settle for being your friend.” His lips moved from my
ear, down my neck, to trace a path on my collarbone.

“I don’t want to go back,” I said. “I love
you.”

With a groan, he rolled onto his back, taking
me with him. My hair fell like a curtain around his face. Desire
burned in his eyes, sending a thrill through my body. He was
strong, powerful, and he loved me. More than once, he’d risked his
life for me, and he would do it again. I would do the same for him.
He was mine, and I was his.

****

A loud pop from the fire woke me up. The
cavern temperature dropped rapidly, and I watched as my breath
puffed out in a visible haze. My body was warm against Kieran’s,
but if the temperate kept dropping, it wouldn’t be that way for
long.

Azuria materialized at the cave entrance.
Icicles formed where she leaned against the stone. “It’s good to
see the color return to your skin.” Her mouth lifted, but the
expression was more sad than happy. “I apologize for harming you
earlier. I was not aware that my touch would have that effect.”

“I’m fine.” I struggled to sit up without
waking Kieran. His deep, steady breathing told me that I’d
succeeded. Visualizing a sweatshirt, long pants, and warm socks and
boots, I stood and crossed to her.

“Why did you contact me?” I asked.

She reached toward my face, then caught
herself and lowered her hand. “You have a strong connection to one
of my children.”

“I don’t see how. I’ve only met two of them,
Ken and Ted.” Unless the butler was also one of the Blue Men. At
this point, it wouldn’t surprise me.

She looked over my shoulder. Kieran was
mumbling in his sleep. “Come,” she said. “Let us walk. The night is
clear, and this way, we will not disturb your friend.”

I followed her out of the cave. The moonlight
cast the landscape in pale silver, and the queen’s dress glowed. It
wouldn’t be farfetched to assume she was an apparition, yet I knew
she was as real as I was.

“I speak not of Kenneth or Theodore, though
I’m sad that one saw the need to kill the other. My eldest son is
so full of hate and vengeance. It breaks my heart.” Her voice
caught, and she wiped her eyes. Grief rolled over me in waves. In
that current of emotion, however, was a spark of hope. Eyes
piercing mine, she said, “It is the newest child, my first
grandchild, who has the capacity to save us all.”

A child? A child was going to stop the Blue
Men and prevent a war? I could scarcely believe it, and yet, if it
was true, then Kieran and I had to find him. Had I met him already
at Ken’s house? I didn’t remember any children being there or Evan
talking about a child.