Eternal Vows (31 page)
Authors: Chrissy Peebles
Tags: #Fantasy, #Young Adult, #Romance, #Science Fiction
The others had been waiting patiently in front of a big boulder. “I’m here for you,” Beth said, embracing her as she reached them.
Frank wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “I’m so sorry.”
She buried her head in his chest and let her tears flow freely into the fabric of his shirt. “She died a year ago—killed by the Immortals when she married King William’s son Charles. Those same Immortals are after me!”
“I know. Adam told us.” He held her tightly. “Everything is going to be okay, Sarah.”
Okay? How can he even say that? Nothing is okay. My sister is dead, and I will never be okay again!
The pain cut out a huge part of her heart.
They all gave her words of hope and encouragement, but nothing they said could take away the pain in her heart, the only part of her that was still human. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. Even though she knew she would not find the person she had really come for, she couldn’t leave without meeting the man Elizabeth had risked her life to love. “Maybe we could track Charles down and talk to him.”
Adam shook his head. “Go into King William’s castle? There are probably wanted posters of your face plastered on every brick! Every single person in there is probably after your head…literally.”
“No way,” Beth said. “We have to think about your life.”
Frank gripped her hand tightly. “Remember, babe, those are the people who shoot first and don’t bother asking questions now or later. I know you want your questions answered, but getting yourself—and possibly all of us—killed isn’t the way to go.”
“I know! Of all of you, I know! They shot me in the freaking heart. If I could get to Charles, though, I think he could help us,” Sarah pleaded. “After all, I’m his sister-in-law.”
“Oh my gosh,” Beth said. “Princess Gloria might help too. She’s Charles’s sister, right?”
Steven leaned against a rock and met Sarah’s gaze. “Yeah, man, that sounds great and all, but you won’t get one breath out to explain yourself before they string you up to be roasted like a marshmallow.”
“Why do you even need to find Charles or Gloria?” Adam asked. “I’m not trying to be insensitive here, but it seems pointless when you have the answers you need. Let’s just get the heck out of here.”
Sarah rolled his eyes. Adam wasn’t sporting an irremovable ring and running around with everyone out to kill him, or he might have been singing a different tune. “I’ll tell you why. Sure, I wouldn’t mind finding out more about my sister’s life, but that’s not the reason. I have a feeling those Immortals from the court will follow me right back home to my doorstep, and so will King Victor. For all I know, King William might even have a way to crash the party. I need to find out how to get this ring off and what I can do to get the Immortals off my back. Until I know that, I will never have control of my life again.”
“They’re at war with King Victor,” Frank said. “They hate him. They might help us based on that fact alone.”
“Charles lost his wife,” Beth said. “He won’t want to lose his sister-in-law, too, especially over the exact same thing.”
“I agree,” Sarah said. “I’m sure Princess Gloria and Prince Charles loved her, and I think Gloria will understand why I pretended to be her. It’s her father who is crazy, not her.”
“Then we’ll avoid him like the plague,” said Frank. “Sarah’s right. She’ll never get her life back until we figure out how to get this ring off.”
Adam kicked at stones in the dirt, his brows furrowed. “This sucks.”
“This is something I have to do,” Sarah said. “If you don’t want to go with me, that’s okay, but I hope you understand.”
“Nobody’s backing out on you now, Sarah. We’re a team, remember? Now c’mon. Let’s head toward the castle,” Frank said.
Sarah nodded. Heading into dangerous enemy territory was risky, but it was something she had to do to get answers to the lingering questions in her head—and even more importantly, how to get that ancient wedding ring off her finger. “Let’s go.”
Thank you so much for sharing Sarah’s journey. It was a pleasure having you along. I hope you enjoyed the story just as much as I enjoyed writing it. Connect with me online!
Chrissy’s blog:
http://chrissypeebles.blogspot.com/
Book Trailer for Eternal Vows
:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_w-eZwPJbA
E-mail:
[email protected] (I’d love to hear from you!)
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Chrissy-Peebles/351121651567296
Genre:
Young adult fantasy/adventure/light sci-fi.
See the book trailer:
http://youtu.be/viwT0M8Ms_g
***
The dream vacation that might just turn deadly...
Seventeen-year-old Casey Smith can't wait to embark on her summer vacation, not least because she's finally shed her tomboy image, and now heartthrob Mike seems interested. What starts out great with lots of hot flirting taking her a step closer to winning her crush's heart soon turns into her worst nightmare.
Tossed out to sea during a freak storm, Casey is washed up on what she presumes to be a mysterious tropical island that's on no map she's ever seen. Soon she discovers that being lost is the least of her worries.
In a world that should never even exist, to save the ones she loves, Casey needs to win the war between good and evil...even if it means losing her own life in the process.
“
Vanquish fear and panic. Value living. Remember your goal: getting out alive."
–
U.S. Army Ranger Handbook
Casey strolled toward her best friends, Mike and Jack, who were standing near the stern of the boat. A faint light flashed in the night sky from the east, and she pointed. “Hey, was that lightning?"
Mike poured a pail of chum into the sea before he offered a smile. “Nah, not on
my
vacation.”
"Hey,
chum
-p, that’s our last bucket,” she said.
“
It’s five a.m. Night fishing’s over. I say we end it with a big bang by creating an ocean of dreams. Dump it, and they will come.”
She laughed. “This isn’t
Field of Dreams
.”
“
Are you sure about that?” Mike set the pail down and wiped his hands on his tie-dyed board shorts.
Jack rummaged through the colorful, flashy lures in Casey’s dad’s tackle box. “Yeah, Mike’s right. Go check it out. It’s every angler’s dream out there—100-pound tunas galore.”
Standing at the railing, Casey leaned over. Powerful deck lights above illuminated the green water of the Pacific Ocean. She smiled as streaks of yellow and silver swarmed around the sailboat.
Mike playfully nudged her with his elbow. “I just want to jump in and swim with Charlie the Tuna himself.”
She blew a long strand of black hair from her eyes.
Yep. That’s Mike for you—full of crazy ideas and too much energy he doesn’t know what to do with. Of course he’d want to jump in.
And she had no doubt he’d do it. “The tuna mascot for Starkist? I think he’s a little busy dating that mermaid from Chicken of the Sea.”
A roll of thunder rumbled in the distance.
A summer storm? No, couldn’t be.
She lifted her head. Nothing but twinkling stars filled the black velvet sky.
Casey grabbed Mike’s arm as he swung his leg over the rail. “Don’t you even think about it!”
Grinning as if daring her to stop him, he jumped down and pulled her close. He placed his strong hands on her hips, his touch sending shivers down her spine.
“
When you flash me those baby blues, I’m like putty in your hands.” He winked, lowering his voice. “Okay, fine. I promise, no free diving—at least not until daylight.”
She arched a brow. “Are you crazy? You’re going to meet more than just Charlie the Tuna down there. I bet sharks all the way from Australia can pick up the scent from all those fish guts you just dumped. You barely survived your last run-in with Jaws.” She pointed to the jagged scar on his calf.
“
Hey now. My battle scar”—Mike toyed with the shark tooth dangling from a black cord around his neck—“and this nifty little souvenir here, make me who I am today.” His lips curled up. “Let’s not dwell on the marine life, okay? How about later today we hit the beach again?”
Jack gave him a playful punch on the arm. “Listen, Surfer Boy, that isn’t happening. The only place Casey’s dad can even try to control you is on this boat, far, far away from everyone else.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
Casey grinned at Mike’s miffed expression. Just because he was a teenage surfing star, even featuring on MTV’s hit reality show
Surf’s Up
, didn’t mean he’d get any special treatment here—at least not from Jack or her parents.
Jack’s sapphire blue eyes narrowed and his brown hair whipped around in the wind. “You dove off a ninety-foot waterfall when nobody was looking, you got us thrown out of a village, you—”
“
Ah, come on!” Mike interrupted. “The chief had it all wrong. That little girl with the big brown eyes ran straight to me, and all I did was pat her on the head. She was the cutest little thing.”
Casey pondered as she watched dark clouds roll in from the east.
Mike finds everyone cute—everyone but me.
Her gaze dropped from the sky to meet his. “Yeah, but you know it’s an insult to touch anyone’s head in Fiji.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Guess I forgot that part. Anyway, we didn’t deserve to get kicked out. And Casey, even your mom agrees with me.”
Jack laughed and threw a wet rag in his direction. “You know that’s only because our moms are all best friends, and—”