Chapter 10 Tula
TULA
Everyone was heading to the cliff, their fading footsteps, whispered questions, and speculations drifting back to Tula. She'd saved Tony for last, and not by accident.
The sleeping draught she'd given him was strong, and she didn't know how she was going to wake him up. She'd calculated it to last till morning, so he wouldn't spoil her escape by showing up at the cliff.
It was supposed to be a clean break.
Except now she had to wake him and bring him along on the escape she'd never imagined would include anyone but herself.
"Is there a problem?" Yamanu asked, his voice carrying that strange musical quality that made even impatience sound pleasant.
"He's drugged." The admission came out flat, matter-of-fact. "I gave him a sleeping draught earlier. He might not wake up."
Yamanu's pale eyes studied her for a long moment, and she wondered what he saw. A woman who'd drugged her lover to abandon him? A mother who'd been willing to do anything to save her child?
Both were true.
"Can you carry him if he won't wake?" she asked.
A grin spread across Yamanu's face, which was totally inappropriate given the circumstances. "I know how to wake up a guy. I can carry him to the shower, turn on the cold water, and drop him on the floor under the spray. Works every time."
Tula winced. "That seems harsh."
He shrugged. "There is no point in my carrying him when he needs to be awake during the climb down. You slipped while fully awake."
True.
As she opened the door and walked into their suite, she found Tony exactly as she'd left him hours ago, sprawled across the bed with one arm flung over his head, his breathing deep and even.
In sleep, he looked younger, more handsome, and Tula experienced something akin to regret or grief for what they'd never really had.
She'd already said goodbye to him in her heart. Had already closed that door and locked it. Had made her peace with never seeing him again, with him believing she'd chosen death over captivity.
It would have been cleaner that way.
Kinder, maybe.
But now?
Now she had to decide whether to reopen that door. Whether to let him back into her life as a free woman, or whether to tell him the truth—that he should find that bioinformatician he'd been in love with before all this and pursue the life he was meant to have.
What would the clan even do with him?
Tony was human. His life was a flicker compared to theirs, and she'd already accepted that it might be better for her child not to know his father than to mourn his mortal passing.
Part of what had made leaving easier was never having to watch him age, watch him die.
"Tony." She shook his shoulder gently. "Tony, wake up."
Nothing. Not even a mumble or a shift in position.
She shook harder. "Tony, you need to get up. Now."
Still nothing.
"Is your shroud affecting him?" She looked back at Yamanu, who was studying Tony with curious eyes. "He's human. Could your shroud be keeping him asleep?"
Yamanu shook his head. "My shroud isn't meant to make people sleepy. It's meant to make them not see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Your guy is just drugged."
"What are we going to do?" She half expected Yamanu to say that it wasn't his problem.
Tony was her problem to solve.
"Give me a second." The Guardian headed for the bathroom, and then she heard water running. He emerged with a soaking wet towel. "This usually works."
Before she could protest, he dropped the cold, wet towel directly onto Tony's face.
Tony shot upright, gasping and sputtering, his hands clawing at the towel, and as he got free of it, his eyes were wide with panic. When he finally focused on her, sitting next to him on the bed wearing a still-damp swimsuit with a huge stranger looming behind her, the panic shifted to terror.
"Tula?" His voice came out rough, confused. "What—who—"
"There's no time to explain," she said in a rush.
She couldn't tell him now that she'd been planning to leave him behind and that she'd drugged him to keep him from coming after her.
"This is Yamanu. He's here to save us. All of us.
Navuh is severely injured, and this is our one opportunity to escape the island. "
Tony blinked, still processing, water from the towel dripping down his neck. "Navuh is injured? How? What happened?"
"I'll explain on the way. Get up and get dressed.
" She stood and walked over to the wardrobe to get clothes.
A pair of pants, a long-sleeved shirt, the sturdiest shoes she owned, which were unfortunately just simple ballet flats.
They were completely impractical for what she was about to do, and she'd probably lose them in the ocean, but that was the least of her worries.
The things she needed to say to Tony on the way were of much greater concern.
As Tony stumbled out of bed, she took her clothes and ducked into the bathroom to change. She'd barely gotten out of her wet swimsuit when the door opened, and Tony walked in.
"I need to pee," he said, but his eyes were desperate for answers. "Tula, what the hell is happening? Who is that man? Why were you in a swimsuit and wet? Don't tell me you went for a midnight swim in the pool and met this Yamanu guy there, doing laps in scuba gear."
At least he still had his sense of humor, which was impressive given that he was still groggy from being drugged. Tony certainly had his pluses, but his biggest minus was his humanity, closely followed by a lack of spine.
"No, I didn't go for a midnight swim. I'll explain everything on the way," she promised, pulling on her shirt. "We need to hurry."
She escaped the bathroom before he could ask more questions.
She wouldn't evade them for long, and she would soon have to see the hurt that would inevitably fill his eyes when he learned the truth, or at least part of it.
Some truths were better left buried. But she could postpone it by a few minutes.
Yamanu was sitting on her couch, soaking it with his wet diving suit, but why would either of them care? She was never going to see that couch again, and she wasn't going to miss it either.
Now that she was taking all of her people with her, there was nothing she would miss about this place.
"The others are probably at the cliff by now," he said. "We should hurry."
She nodded, trying not to think about the impossible logistics of what they were about to attempt. Then again, she'd already lived through the impossible tonight.
Tony emerged from the bathroom, dressed but still looking shaky. He hadn't combed his hair, and it was sticking up at odd angles from its encounter with the wet towel Yamanu had dropped on him, and there was a red mark on his cheek from how he'd been sleeping.
He looked vulnerable and very human.
"Ready?" she asked.
"I don't understand anything that's happening, but yes." He reached for her hand, and she let him take it. One last comfort before she had to hurt him with the truth.
They headed out into the corridor, Yamanu walking a few steps behind them, giving them the illusion of privacy.
"What's going on, Tula?" Tony whispered.
"It's a long story, and it didn't start tonight." She took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully. "Areana has been in secret contact with her sister Annani, who leads a clan of immortals who have been fighting against Navuh since the time the gods were killed."
Tony nodded. "You said it was a rumor and that no one knew for a fact that there were other immortals out there."
"Well, it wasn't a rumor, and Annani and her people are very real.
" She kept walking, pulling him along. "Areana arranged for a rescue.
Annani's people sent a team of divers who also know how to scale a cliff.
Yamanu climbed up and took me down. He is a powerful shrouder who can affect multiple human minds at once, which is why none of the guards are trying to stop us, and none of the servants are out trying to see what the commotion is about. "
"When was that arranged?"
She could hear the hurt in Tony's voice. He'd already pieced the story together from what she'd told him so far. Tony was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them.
"When Areana contacted Annani, her people responded that they could only take one person," she explained.
"One person who would stage her suicide so no suspicion would be cast on Areana.
They were willing to do this for me because of the baby and because Annani was best friends with my sister.
They wouldn't have done it for anyone else, and they weren't willing to risk Areana.
As it was, she was already taking a great risk by helping me escape. "
"I understand all of that, and I agree a hundred percent that it had to be you." Tony's hand tightened on hers. "But you were going to leave without saying goodbye, and that's not okay."
"I couldn't risk it, Tony. I was doing it for the baby. I hated the thought of leaving everyone behind, but I had to do it."
"I understand." His voice was flat, hurt bleeding through despite his attempt to sound neutral. "So, why did you come back?"
This was easier. This she could tell mostly truthfully. "Everything went crazy. I slipped from Yamanu's back because, frankly, I was crying my eyes out and shaking all over. Areana tried to catch me and fell, then Navuh came out of nowhere, saw her going over, and dove after her."
Tony's eyes went wide, his steps stopping completely. "Areana fell? Is she—is she dead?"
"I caught her," Yamanu said from behind them, his tone suggesting this should be obvious. "I would have never let her fall."
"And Navuh?" Tony ignored the Guardian's commentary. "You said that he was badly injured. How is he even alive after diving onto the rocks below the cliff?"
"He's a stubborn bastard who probably made a deal with the devil. That's the only explanation I have. But he's unconscious, badly injured. Areana pleaded for his life, and the divers took them both to the submarine."
"Submarine?" Tony's voice cracked. "Our submarine?"
"It's not the small one we wanted to steal.
They came in a big one, stopped several miles away from the island, and the divers made the rest of the way on underwater scooters.
That's how they got here undetected." Wanting to be done with this uncomfortable conversation, Tula lengthened her strides and pulled Tony along.
"When I realized Navuh was out of commission, I knew I had to come back.
Without him, the island will descend into chaos.
The harem will be the first target of the soldiers, regular and enhanced.
I couldn't leave you and the others to that fate. "
They rounded the corner, and she could see the others ahead, clustered near the cliff's edge.
"So, it wasn't because you love me and couldn't live without me?" Tony's words were so quiet that she almost missed them.
The question hung between them, sharp and painful. She swallowed hard, her throat suddenly tight. What could she say? That she'd already mourned him? That she'd made her peace with never seeing him again? That coming back for him had been about saving his life, not about love?
All of it was true. None of it was what he needed to hear.
But she was saved from answering by their arrival at the cliff. Everyone turned to look at them. Tamira held Eluheed's hand, Sarah was clutching Beulah's, and Liliat looked like she might faint.
"Finally," Raviki said. "Now will someone please explain what we're supposed to do? Because if the plan is to jump off this cliff, I have some serious objections."
Yamanu stepped forward. "Ladies, gentlemen, my name is Yamanu, as some of you already know, and I'm here to get you off this island.
Yes, it involves going over the cliff. No, you won't be jumping to your deaths.
You will go down strapped to a climber's back, who will be using a rope.
Divers with scuba equipment will be waiting for you below.
" He tapped his earpiece. "Send Okidu up. We are ready."
He turned back to the stunned group. "Once you get down, you will be outfitted with scuba gear and accompanied by a trained professional to a waiting submarine."
"This is insane," Sarah whispered.
"Yes," Yamanu agreed cheerfully. "It is, but it's a doable plan as long as no one realizes that Navuh is gone and chaos erupts. When that happens, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near here, especially not if I were a member of his harem."
The group exchanged glances, fear and hope warring in their expressions.
"What happened to Navuh?" Liliat asked. "And where is Areana?"
"Hopefully, Areana is already on the submarine," Tula said, keeping her voice steady despite the ache in her chest. They were going to hate her when they realized she was going to leave them behind.
"She fell during my attempted extraction and was rescued.
Navuh must have suspected something and came out to investigate.
When he saw her falling, he jumped after her.
He's alive but badly hurt. They took him to the submarine as well. They have a doctor there."
The silence that followed was deafening, but the accusing looks Tula had expected didn't come.
"Is he going to live?" Rolenna asked.
Tula shrugged. "I don't know. The devil rewards his minions, so I suppose Navuh will pull through."
Tony snorted. "Navuh was no minion. He was a general. Do you know what will be done with him, provided that he survives?"
"Keep him locked up," Yamanu said. "You don't need to worry about him anymore. He's no longer a threat to you."
"So, what now?" Beulah asked. "What are we waiting for?"
"For my friend to come up." Yamanu took out the harness from where he'd tucked it into his wetsuit. "Who wants to go down first?"
Eluheed and Tamira exchanged glances and then both looked at Tula.
"I'll go first," Tula said. "I've already done it once tonight, and you can watch me to see how it works."
"Let me go first." Tony took her hand, squeezing it tight. She could feel his questions, his hurt, his confusion, but also his trust. Despite everything, he still trusted her.
"It's okay." She squeezed back, even though she knew she didn't deserve it. "I think the ladies want to see me do it to feel confident that they can do it too."
Yamanu cleared his throat. "Tony should go first. I'll need your help with the ladies, Tula."