Always Remembered (34 page)

With a confident stride that Ula didn’t
previously possess, she marched toward the battle sounds on the
other side of the cove. The rest of the group followed in stunned
silence. Evan wondered how Ula was feeling. He was still reeling
from the news that she merged with Azuria. Ula seemed calm and
poised, but was it a façade? He couldn’t imagine what it felt like
to acquire someone else’s power and memories. He shivered
uncomfortably and decided he got the better outcome of the two of
them.

When the group crested the peak, the scene
that greeted them spoke of death and loss. Bodies from both sides
were strewn along the ground, limbs bent at odd angles, blood
darkening the earth. It was eerily similar to Evan’s earlier
vision, except in reality, there were as many Blue Men casualties
as Selkies. Evan couldn’t spot Dex or Slate in the blur of fighting
figures. David, however, was surrounded by three Blue Men, fighting
with an impressive amount of skill and power. Brigid wasn’t far
from him. She cut through a crowd of Blue Men and rescued several
of her people from losing battles. From what Evan saw, she was
unstoppable.

Next to him, Ula surveyed the wreckage, her
expression grim. She took a deep breath, raised her hands, and
clapped them together. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the
scene below froze like she hit the pause button on a remote
control.

“Enough!” she cried. “Enough blood has been
lost from misplaced hatred. Blue Men of the Minch, I am your
queen.” Her voice crested in waves over the unmoving figures, her
magic palpable. “Come to me now.”

The Blue Men unfroze, blinking astonished
eyes and stumbling around as if they were waking from a dream. In a
large swarm, they made their way to Ula, dropping their weapons and
ignoring the Selkies. Were they compelled or did they move of their
own accord? Evan felt no pull from her words, but then again, he
was completely human. The Blue Men stopped before her and fell to
their knees, many of them crying.

Ula moved through the men, touching their
heads or shoulders, kissing their foreheads. “Sons of Azuria,” she
said. “You have been misled by anger and fear for far too long.
Azuria chose me to restore peace. It’s time to return to a
more-loving existence.”

After she acknowledged each individual, she
returned to her place at the front of the group. “Selkies are not
our enemy. As proof of this, your queen has been reborn of both
Selkie and Blue Men blood.”

“Please forgive us!” several men called from
the group. Many wore ashamed or distraught expressions.

Ula smiled benevolently. “I forgive you, for
you did not know the truth, nor did you have free will unless Ken
deemed it so.” The men relaxed and settled at her words. She held
their rapt attention. “It is time for you to return home. Prepare
for my arrival.” She blew a kiss their way and the Blue Men
disintegrated, including Vesh, Dex, and Slate.

“What did you do?” Meara asked. “What have
you done with our friends?”

“Sent them to Azuria,” Ula answered with a
frown. She seemed confused as to why Meara questioned her. “They
are all safe. I assure you.”

Tears shimmering in her eyes, Meara stared at
the woman who was her aunt and friend. “Are you leaving with
them?”

With a look of understanding, Ula pulled
Meara into a hug. “I am their queen. I have to go. It doesn’t mean
that I won’t keep in touch. You know I will. You are my best
friend, and I adore you.”

Meara yelped when Ula tightened her embrace.
This made Ula frown. “You’re hurt.” She placed her hands on Meara’s
shoulders, more gently this time. Meara bit her bottom lip as cool
blue light traveled from Ula’s hands and down Meara’s arms. The
light faded, and Ula stepped back with a smile. “Better?”

Meara rolled her shoulders. “You healed me.
Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Ula squeezed Meara’s hand,
and then stepped back. “We’ll talk when this is all over. We have
much to discuss. Right now, I have one more Blue Man to deal
with.”

Skirt swirling around her ankles, Ula turned
and went back toward the fault. Evan assumed she meant Ken. Had he
regained consciousness already? Meara dealt him a powerful blow to
the gills. Of course, if Ula could freeze an entire battle, she
could probably wake an unconscious man with no problems.

Once she disappeared over the hill, Meara
announced, “I’ve got to find Kieran!” She ran down the slope into
the sea of Selkies, some of the fallen were beginning to regain
consciousness. Evan didn’t see Kieran in the mass of bodies. For
Meara’s sake, he hoped the male Selkie was unharmed. One individual
did catch Evan’s attention. Brigid stood and scowled fiercely.

“Cowards!” she shouted, shaking her sword
above her as she searched for the enemy. “Where are you? Show
yourselves!”

“They’re gone,” Evan told her. “Their queen
sent them home.”

“Azuria?” A few feet away from Brigid, David
sat up and rubbed his forehead. “I thought she was dead.”

“She is. They have a new queen.” Ula could
explain it to them.

David blinked rapidly, and then squinted at
Evan. “Is that you, Evan? What the hell happened to you?”

“Long story.”

“Do you plan to share it?” David asked.

“I’ll fill you in later. You’re safe now. The
war is over, and Azuria has returned. Care for your people, David.
They need you.” The words tumbled out as Evan began running toward
the cove where Ula had gone. He wanted to see what was happening
with Ken.

Ken lay unconscious on the ground. The angry
set of his jaw and deep furrow marks on his face were softened into
something more humane. Ula knelt next to him, talking in hushed
tones. She finished and leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Awake,
eldest son of Azuria.”

Ken’s eyes fluttered open. His initial
confusion was replaced by awe. When Ula stood and offered him an
outstretched hand, Ken took it and let her pull him up. “Mother?”
he asked, clearly seeing something in Ula that took the rest of
them much longer to notice. He shook his head as if to clear it.
“Not my mother, but our queen. How?”

“Evan gave his essence, and Azuria made me
your new queen. I am not your mother, Ken, but I have her power and
share some of her memories.” Ula’s back was to Evan. If she sensed
he was there, she gave no indication. When she spoke again, it was
to reprimand. “What you have done, Kennaught, is terrible. You
destroyed many innocent lives and planned for more death. Is this
how your mother taught you to live?”

“But the Selkie,” he stammered. “The Selkie
killed her.”

“No.” Ula held Ken’s face between her hands,
staring into his eyes. “You are wrong. Zane loved Azuria. He died
when she tried to change him so they could be together. Azuria took
her own life in her grief.”

“Liar!” Ken’s face distorted in rage. “My
mother would never abandon us.” His eyes narrowed, and he sneered
at her. “Why should I believe you? You are not my mother. You’re a
Selkie. You may have fooled my brothers, but you don’t fool
me!”

“If Azuria didn’t trust me,” Ula said. “Why
would she share her essence and memories with me?”

“You forced her! You tricked her, and now
you’re trying to influence me!” He pulled his hands away and ran to
the fault line, which was now a healed seam in the rocky shore.
Although Ken’s arms shook with exhaustion, he dropped to his knees
and tried to feed his energy to the mended fissure. “The Selkies
must die! You all must die!”

Ula’s eyes filled with tears. She slowly made
her way to stand before Ken. “I hoped it would not come to this.
You are, after all, the eldest son, and at one point, you were a
great man. I am sorry to see you broken.” Ken was so gone in his
quest for vengeance that he didn’t seem to hear her words or
acknowledge Ula when she bent over his bowed head.

“May you find peace in eternal rest.” She
kissed his forehead, and Ken collapsed to the side. After she
chanted a few words that Evan couldn’t understand, Ken’s body
disappeared.

“Is he—?” Evan was afraid to ask.

“Dead? Yes,” Ula answered. Although her back
was to Evan, she didn’t startle when he spoke. She must’ve known he
was there the whole time. When she did turn, she was wiping the
tears from her cheeks. “So much senseless loss. Centuries of hatred
that stemmed from a love story that ended tragically.”

“Love and tragedy aren’t that far apart. The
same pattern has been repeated through history,” Evan said.

Ula frowned. “How do you mean?”

“Think of Romeo and Juliet,” he said. “Fear
of failure might dissuade some couples, but I think, when you have
hope, true love is possible. Love is the strongest magic of
all.”

Ula gave him a genuine smile and slipped her
arm through his. “You’re wise, Evan.” She leaned her head on his
arm, looking out to the sea. “I’m sorry you had to sacrifice so
much.”

“I don’t consider turning human again much of
a sacrifice,” he admitted. “The hair and eye color will be harder
to explain, but as you said, there are ways to cover it.”

When Ula didn’t respond, Evan looked down at
her. She was focused on the water, which reflected the fiery reds
and oranges of sunset. Evan paused to appreciate the display. Since
returning to land, his thoughts had been consumed with Ken and
battle strategy. Now that the war was behind them, he relaxed and
admired the sunset. Ula gasped and glanced up at Evan with a coy
look.

“Someone is coming and looking forward to
seeing you,” she said mysteriously.

She pointed out to sea. The sun was now a
sliver of orange blaze on the water, highlighting the frothy waves.
In the setting light, flashes of brilliant jewels glinted, popping
up between the whitecaps. Then, Evan caught a tail, and another
one.
Deanna
, he thought, and his heart raced.

The Sirens came in all their colorful glory.
With Deanna in the lead, it seemed that their entire community was
rushing to the aid of the Selkies. When they neared the shore, the
girls changed, walking out of the surf on human legs. Unlike the
Selkies, they couldn’t create their own clothes—that was why they
had the dome at Belle Trésor—but Ula helped to dress them. A wave
of her hand, and the Sirens were covered.

Evan barely noticed the others. He couldn’t
take his eyes off Deanna as she ran to him. He wanted to meet her
halfway, but his feet were frozen. He was too afraid of her
reaction to his changes. What if she no longer loved him?

“Evan!” She threw herself in his arms and
kissed him, leaving him no choice but to catch her and kiss her
back. He buried his face in her hair and breathed in her warm,
spicy scent.

“I missed you,” he murmured against her
neck.

“We came as soon as we could.” Her voice was
breathless, excited. “Ken had us under an enchantment. When it
broke, we raced here.”

“That quickly?” Evan asked. Ken only died a
half hour ago. How did they swim that fast?

“The enchantment broke when Meara neutralized
him,” Ula explained. She must’ve read his mind again. He was
getting used to it.

Her explanation made more sense to Evan. He
knew the Sirens could travel far in a matter of hours. Heck, Ken
had them working in northern Scotland when they lived near France.
That alone was quite a commute!

“Will you quit your job now?” Evan asked
Deanna. Now that she was here, it dawned on him that he wouldn’t be
able to return to Belle Trésor with her. What if she didn’t want to
live on land? The only option would be to break up, and Evan didn’t
want that.

Ula gave Evan a measured look. If he didn’t
know better, he would think she was silently scolding him. “Or you
may keep the club,” she offered to Deanna. “Our gift to you for all
the Blue Men have done to your kind.” She smiled, but her eyes were
serious. “I know it doesn’t make up for your mother’s death, but
perhaps having control of the club will give your people purpose
and help them heal.”

“Thank you,” Deanna said. “It is a generous
gift, and we accept. I will, however, be putting others in charge.
I’m going away for a while.”

“Oh?” Ula asked, although the smug look on
her face told Evan that she had an idea of where Deanna was going.
He wished he knew.

Deanna’s head rested on Evan’s shoulder while
her hand rubbed his back. “I’m planning to enroll in college. I
heard this cute guy with white hair and gray eyes goes there.”
Grinning, she looked up at Evan. “If that’s okay with you?”

“You want to come to school with me?”

She nodded happily, and he imagined what a
normal life with her would be like—studying in the library, going
out for pizza, and introducing her to hockey. They could take the
time to get to know each other. He could expose her to all the
great things about living on land; show her around like she had
done with him in her home. He bent down and kissed her.

“I’d like that,” he said. “Very much.” Then a
thought occurred to him, and his smile faltered. Before she chose
him, she needed to know he was completely human now.

“I don’t care if you’re a purple seahorse,”
Deanna said, interrupting his thoughts. She threw her hands on her
hips and pursed her lips. He didn’t mean to annoy her, but
apparently, he had. “Well, okay, maybe I would care if you were a
purple seahorse, but it’s
you
I love, Evan, not the type of
being you are or aren’t.”

“You can still read my mind?” He wasn’t
getting any kind of signal or messages from her.

“I guess I can.” She grinned happily. “Score
one for the Siren!”

Evan laughed and pulled her close. As she
buried against him, he realized that everything was going to work
out just fine.