Son of Sun (Forgotten Gods (Book 2)) by Rosemary Clair Read Free Book Online Page B

down to the water. When the mist reached where I had been standing it evaporated, as if it was only interested in me.
    My blood ran cold again, heart pounding in my ears so loudly I could hardly hear Thomas calling to me.
    He was wading out in to the water on the opposite side, grabbing onto rocks as he went to keep himself out of the cold water.
    With the mist gone I could focus again, and all I wanted was to get out of the woods.
    “Try to stay out of the water as much as you can, Faye. Jump from rock to rock. This river is really deep in places,” Thomas instructed as he looked for his next foot hold.
    Moonlight painted the black rocks silver, the backs slicked with algae and breaking water. Normally, I would’ve taken my time, but I was too bothered by whatever was hunting me to be careful. I plunged in and started swimming to Thomas.
    He was yelling at me to wait, but I didn’t care. I had always been a strong swimmer, and I was ready to get out of there.
    Halfway across the river, I knew why he had wanted me to be careful. An undertow swirled around my legs and began to pull me off the straight line I was swimming toward Thomas. Paddling harder, I pulled my body through the water, but try as I might, the undertow wrapped further up my body. It wasn’t long before I was struggling to keep my head above water.
    “Faye! Grab onto this!” Thomas yelled and tossed a long branch my way. I lunged for it, only to have a wave swell overhead and crash down on me the second my fingers found rough bark.
    Water burst into my nose, searing a path straight to my lungs. My chest constricted with the need to cough, which would only have pulled more water into my lungs. With every ounce of strength I could spare I fought against the instinct to breathe. Thomas was so close. If I could find my way to the surface, he could pull me from the undertow.
    I opened my eyes, trying to find which way was up when I saw her.
    She was inches from me, glowing the same way Dayne and Arabette had in LisTirna. Graceful and sinewy, ethereal in her own pelagic way, flowing ropes of navy hair dancing on the current.
    Her lips pulled into a serene, siren-song smile, but her grip held tightly to my legs. I no longer struggled to free myself, too awestruck by the magic before me, wondering if she was an answer Dayne’s memory had led me to.
    With leisurely movement, possibly slowed by the water, her delicate face turned to the surface, the moon light dancing on her angelic features, all tinted a surreal grey-blue. She released a school of tiny bubbles from her hypnotic smile. Swimming beside each other, they raced for the surface, and she inhaled deeply from the water. It was then that I noticed a row of gills lining her neck.
    She made it look so easy, and my lungs craved the relief a deep breath would bring, but I knew I couldn’t. Her smile faded and she gazed again at the water’s surface.
    It barely registered in my brain when two strong arms circled around me and began pulling me to the surface. I looked down to find the navy haired woman frowning as she reluctantly let me go.
    I broke free to the surface, gasping for air and coughing water from my lungs. Thomas held me firmly in a lifeguard’s clutch. Seth gripped the other end of the branch that guided us back to shore. Mattie was halfway down the bank, preparing to dive in if she had to, and Sam shouted incoherently from above.
    My life had been spared and the bank erupted in cheers as Thomas and Seth dragged me ashore like heroes. But celebrating my rescue was the furthest thing from my mind.
    The blue lady waited for me in that water. And when she got tired of waiting, there wasn’t a human alive who could stop her.
     
     
     

Chapter Five 
Forgotten

     
    Fire lapped against ancient stone walls, casting gruesome shadows on the long faces gathered before it.
    The common area in the boys dorm where everyone gathered was identical to the one in my own dorm. An enormous circular fireplace