Lost Seraphine (The Seraphine Trilogy #2) by KaSonndra Leigh Read Free Book Online

at me, pointing. “I’ve decided you wanted me to die. Now, all you care about is making sure your human lives just so you can sit back and enjoy watching him destroy the rest of us. And he will.”
    “No!” I cry out. “It breaks my heart to see you this way.”
    “I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!” His voice bellows over the beaches like the true son of a god. Echoes of his words pound inside my head as his image begins to fade. “You wanted me to die!”
    “That’s not true! Please believe me.”
    I close my eyes, squeezing them shut while hoping the memory will go away. I will myself to block out Raze’s echoing voice, focusing on anything besides the terrible things he’s saying. I keep them closed for the longest time, opening them only because I can feel the ghost has gone. Only the dull hollowness of heartache lingers inside me now.
    The incredible ache in my chest grows stronger each day. I hide it for Caleb’s sake. The last thing I want is to make him feel responsible for my choices to leave the sea. Keeping things buried deep inside me this way only means there’s that much more guilt for me to bear, though; that there will be many more chances for Raze’s ghost to manifest inside my head.
    I miss Father, the sea, our silly games, yet I couldn’t merely escape punishment. By interacting with the humans when I saved Caleb, I violated so many treaties that even Father’s influence was overruled by the Council. The peace between the Seraphine and Melusine has always been shaky, a fragile moment in time, waiting to be stolen at the slightest whisper of a misdeed. I had to go and be the one to jump start the trouble.
    “What have I done?” I whisper, the wind snatching my words away, carrying them far across the distance to be lost in the same way as my siblings. A ruffle in the bushes on the far side of the pier startles me. Every nerve cell in my body ignites as I jump to my feet.
    “Who’s there?” I say to the foliage behind me. Only the wind answers me, at first, but then a girl covered in dirt shuffles out of the bushes. I inhale sharply, my mouth hanging open. There’s something very familiar about her.
    Could it be? No. Impossible.
    How long has it been since I’ve seen another person from Aquardia, my home that’s hidden by the sea? Too long.
    “Princess Gia,” my best friend, Cori, mumbles just before she collapses. I rush to her side, supporting her before she hits the ground. I laugh and cry and then grin some more. In return, Cori gives me a weak grin back, her light brown eyes filled with both happiness and sadness. I throw my arms around her, not caring one bit about the state of her blood covered body. The thin, but ripped up tee shirt and skimpy shorts she’s wearing do little to keep her body warm, I’m sure. My luck streak hasn’t run out. This strange turn in events tells me it has gotten stronger.
    Cori is one of my closest friends back home in Aquardia. She’s also one of the main reasons Lelo chose to accompany Raze and me here to the human lands. She wanted to find her sister, this girl who disappeared long ago. Now, Cori has found a way to reach me, even though the Seraphine have recently been prohibited from using the veil.
    “How?” I ask after we both gain control of our breathing. I smooth her matted hair that’s secured in a mess of a braid away from her face and glance into a pair of eager eyes. “No, wait. Don’t answer that just yet. Sit right here, okay?” I remove my jacket and drape it over her shoulders. She’s so thin. The vibrant girl I remember was slightly muscular and healthy looking. This girl makes a skeleton look fat. Her blood soaked hair and filthy clothes tell me she has worked hard to get through the veil. I untie my scarf, pull it away from my neck and trot over to the water. Dipping it into the waves, I feel a strange type of energy. Cold air slaps my skin under the thin tee shirt I’m wearing, but I don’t feel a thing. I’m too excited