Free Tangled Tides (The Sea Monster Memoirs) by Karen Amanda Hooper Page A

happened.
    "Answer me," she pleaded.
    She seemed vulnerable, like the girl I rescued ten years ago, except now she looked even more fragile. What happened to that bratty know-it-all who stormed out of the house earlier? She had returned looking like an angel, begging me for answers I never thought I would have to give.
    "Treygan?" Our eyes locked. As much as I wanted to look away from her, I couldn't. No one ever had such an emotional pull on me. I had never been more thankful that I wasn't underwater. If she could hear the thoughts running through my head about our past and her history, it would further complicate an already complex situation.
    My voice came out hoarse. "We need to get back."
    She grabbed my wrists. "Please, tell me the truth. It was you, right?"
    Tears glistened in her eyes. The thought of her crying made my chest constrict with pain. Great gods, was I having a heart attack?
    Her grip tightened. "Please, tell me I'm not crazy. The night my mother died, I remember putting her in the boat, jumping in the water and swimming for what felt like forever, but then everything goes gray. I've never been able to remember what happened after that. But a few minutes ago it all came back to me. I remember.
You
were the one who saved me. Right?"
    My heart pounded so hard that the floorboards under us should have been vibrating. "You said it out loud. That means it's true."
    She let go of me, but didn't move away. "Why didn't you say anything?"
    My wrists tingled where her fingers had been. I rubbed at them, trying to get the sensation to go away. "It didn't seem important."
    "Didn't seem important? I almost died! You saved me and carried me back to shore." Her eyes darted out over the yard as if watching the memory play out in front of her. "You carried me here, took me in the house and wrapped me in blankets. Uncle Lloyd came in and—wait, do you know my uncle?"
    My head throbbed again. I turned away and unzipped my armband, desperately needing to smoke.
    Yara stood so close to me I could feel her body heat against my back. "I remember the two of you talking," she half whispered. "You told him I shouldn't remember anything about you."
    I couldn't turn around. I couldn't face her. I knew how intrusive it felt to have someone steal a song from you. Freezing one was a similar violation of the soul. It had seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but if she remembered what I had done, she would see me as the worst kind of thief.
    Yara's fingers tugged at the bottom of my shirt. "You held my face in your hands, your eyes turned silver and …."
    Somehow I found the courage to turn around. She had gone pale. Her legs wobbled, so I held onto her. "Yara, you're getting too weak. We need to get you back underwater."
    "You were inside my head. My veins felt like they were filling with ice, and then you … oh, my God." She barely got her last words out before fainting in my arms.
    "Forgive me," I whispered into her hair, carrying her limp body down the steps and into the water—to her new home.
     

     
    T he Violets had educated me on what needed to be done, but never once had they advised me on what to do if she passed out and didn't wake up once we were in the water. I had waited too long. I should have known better. Why hadn't I insisted we go back sooner?
    Regardless of how fast I swam to Paragon Castle, it felt like an eternity. Yara's eyes weren't opening. Her pulse was weak. What if she never woke up? I would never forgive myself. I had vowed to keep her safe. Everything we worked so hard for, gone because of my carelessness.
    The guards saw me approaching and moved to the side. My tail couldn't propel me forward fast enough. Each turn and climb through the sea-glass corridors felt longer than ever before. Turning at full speed into the gathering hall, a rush of water blew past me as I halted in front of the Violets.
    I bowed my head and extended my sight so they could both hear me.
She fainted on land. She was out