Waveborn | The Oceane Series

Twenty-Eight

The familiar smell of the sandy seaside town of Garden City, South Carolina greeted us as Delmare and I came ashore. Our clothes and hair were soaked. I coughed up the last of the saltwater from my lungs, taking in a deep breath of crisp, clean oxygen. Looking over at Delmare, I smiled as he brushed the sand off of his pants. It had been two days since my coronation and things were going well, but I had begun to get homesick and we thought it would be good for us to take a day to spend for ourselves.

"Anna, is that you?" a familiar woman's voice called. We both turned to see who it was. There, in the sand, stood Claire, a white dress gracing her features, an enormous hat on her head. Her arm was pressed firmly on top, as if she was trying to keep it on as the wind blew around us. Her smile was big as she ran toward us, her eyes sparkling in disbelief and excitement. She ran to us, wrapping her arms around us both. "Oh, it's so good to see you! Look how big you've gotten! Have you found out what you're having? I assumed you went home to Arcania, but it was confirmed when Adam came back home a few weeks ago."

"It's good to see you, too, Claire. A lot has happened since we've been gone, and we'd like to tell you all about it if we can visit." I smiled as she enthusiastically nodded.

"Sure, I'd love for you two to visit. Come inside before someone sees you two." She grabbed my hand and guided us across the sand, toward a home that looked similar to the one I had owned.

Once inside, she handed us each a towel to dry ourselves. Wrapped in the warm cloth, we sat together at the dining room table, silence filling the room except for the distant sounds of waves crashing onto shore.

"You're married?" Claire asked, an eyebrow raised as she sipped from her glass of wine, eyeing my ring finger with an air of expectation.

"Um, yes, we are. Technically, we've been married for a month, but the public ceremony was a few days ago." I paused, looking over at Delmare, who lightly placed his hand on my knee. "To answer your earlier question, we're having twins, a boy and a girl. We wanted to name our son Ronan Paul after both of our fathers, and our daughter Chelsea Marie because we like that name."

"Oh, those are very fitting names." Claire smiled, but seemed sad. "John and Adam are both in Stowryn on business, so now I'm home alone."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Did they say when they'll be back?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, it's alright. I'm used to it by now. Oh, I hope you don't mind. I grabbed a few pictures from your photo album before they put your stuff away for evidence of your disappearance. I thought you might want to have these to show the children when they're older," she said, grabbing a plastic bag filled with pictures and handing it to me.

"Oh, thank you!" I exclaimed, hugging her as she kissed my cheek.

"It's no problem, dear."

"Claire, have you been seeing anything odd wash up on shore lately?" I asked, turning to her as I set the pictures down. "Do you know what a Syren is?"

"I've heard stories. They take the form of the ones you love and then murder you. They were created by Sedna, right? I thought they were all destroyed." She paused. "They weren't destroyed, were they?"

"No," Delmare said. "The original Syrens are all dead, but their children live on. They killed my father and poisoned Anna. We aren't sure what their agenda is, but plan to put a stop to their tyranny."

"Oh, dear." Claire gasped, but she wasn't looking at us. "Adam, you're home early."

As I turned, I felt my heart stop. Adam stood before us, only it wasn't Adam. It was a Syren. Silently, I went to stand, but Delmare pulled me down, keeping me behind him so he could keep me safe.