Mermania

And thy remembers

one of the two stools beside the stand-alone counter and observed Craig, who was just putting the finishing touches on a skillet-full of scrambled eggs. Lying on the straw mattress in the dungeon, Rema couldn't help but think about her imminent death. She always assumed she would die from old age of being thrown from a horse. He lowered my leg into the water and removed his hand. My calf tingled from where he had touched me. He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes. When I received my class list about three weeks ago, Katie compared it to hers. We shared the same lunch hour, and we had first period together. At least I could follow her to our class, and then I would be on my own until lunchtime. I had studied the campus map they mailed out with the paperwork. It didn't look too complicated. "And he hasn't aged?" Her mouth hung slightly open in disbelief. "Right." I recounted almost the entire last month. By the time I was done, Kim sounded happier. And, she perked up considerably when she told me she had a date tonight. I was happy that she wasn't going to be sitting home and moping.

Chapter 11

"Come on," Craig invited him. "They do," he said. "In abundance, too." His thoughts drifted to Rema. Her fiery lips, corn-silk blonde hair...but he would never see her again. There was no use thinking about her, torturing himself with things he could never have. Lennek would never allow him that happiness. Nyler raised an eyebrow. "What record? I checked. "You've never been charged with a single crime, never arrested. You've never had so much as a parking ticket." "It's okay if you don't want to go," Evan said. "Happy Birthday, Mom!" "There are jellyfish out here?" Zach asked with delight. He glanced toward the water as if to spot one there. "What do they look like? Grandma Maggie kicked angrily at a leaf on the ground as they walked on. "The case manager left for a new job, and another case manager took oversight of Tiffany. She looked at your parent's finances- and cancelled the adoption. She said they didn't have enough money." Grandma Maggie spat that last word. The room spun before Darmik. He left before his face could reveal anything. Did he hear correctly? A member of the previous royal line had survived? This was the first he'd heard of it. Of course, it was probably a ruse, gossip to rile up the people. "I'm not telling," I said. "Unless you tell me what you and Brain are wearing." I looked down to see if she was hearing any of this. She looked the same, but I could hope. "How do I choose what life I want to live? If I go, I'll learn a lot about the other side of myself, but what will it cost me? I can't ask Evan to wait, to put his life on hold. I can't believe I'm even considering it. What about my life here?" Lennek chuckled. "I'm sure I will enjoy my visit immensely." "I was young, Meara, and I was scared," she said. "I know that sounds like a pretty lame excuse, but it's true." "Oh, yeah," he said without hesitation. "There's no love lost between us, not anymore. Especially not after this." He motioned toward Craig's arm. "Besides, if I bring him in..." "Here's our class. Do you want to go first or should I?" A year earlier, Sara had left her mother to live on her own. A lot can happen in a year. Now Sara had her own place, a small, web-design business, and twenty-seven dollars in her checking account that needed to last for a little more than a week. Afraid he'd offend her, he continued. "I've traveled to Emperion. Almost everyone there has blonde hair and blue eyes." "But the disease," the soldier prompted. "Not pink," he said. "Blue's okay." Evan leaned down and kissed me. A quick glance confirmed the hall was empty. Apparently, night classes were not held in this corridor. I thought about the last time he kissed me like this. The night of his hockey game. I remembered what else happened that night, and I broke the kiss, looking down. I couldn't meet his eyes. He cleared his throat. She jumped, spinning around to face him. Bloody hell she was beautiful. She turned back and gave me a small smile. "Kieran and I? We were once betrothed." She stood and kissed my cheek. "Talk to David. He'll know what to do." But for now, Darmik needed to return to the king's castle to see his father's evidence that the previous royal family was dead. Darmik wanted to personally verify that no one from the past has slipped their notice. Because if someone did, there would be no stopping a bloody war. The figure zoomed the camera in as far as it would go and snapped a picture. A flash of light lit up the scene and faded just as quickly, but not before it caught the eyes of the two men below. Instantly, they swung around, peering up the slope toward him. He had failed to check the flash after switching the camera back on!" I haven't gotten sick in a long time," he mused. "I got sick a lot when I was little. I always had to go to the doctor." "Okay," Craig said, "I tried a few things already." Zach took governor's teasing seriously. "Mom's taking me to help her this afternoon," he explained. That was their arrangement, and not a bad idea. Zach could help out with many of the minor tasks that she and Jeff wouldn't have time for. "There she is!" I began to wave when I spotted Kim's strawberry-blond curls. She was walking next to a man in business suit. He was pretty good looking for someone who had to be in his forties. She was talking animatedly, and he nodded in reply, a bemused expression on his face. Leave it to Kim to have made friends on the plane. I pointed to her. "She's the one in the green sweater." Mom sat in the chair closest to the fireplace. Her eyelids were heavy, and her head lulled to the side. I hadn't considered what a long day this must be after her last two days. My grandparents were deep in conversation with Darren, but I caught my grandfather's eye and nodded toward Mom. He nodded back, and quickly wrapped up in his conversation. "Allie," Shane cut in, "I said 'I love you.' It wasn't a marriage proposal. I just meant I care about you. Why does