Page 77 of Third Offense

I blinked, only to be surrounded by a handful of sentries a second later as my back hit the rocky earth.

But these warriors were Noir, not Nora.

Did I just lose my mind?

“What… what j-just happened?” I stammered, my words coming out raw and scratchy.

“You tried to swim,” Zian said with a frown.

Sorin scoffed. “Unsuccessfully, I might add.”

“Very unsuccessfully,” Zian agreed.

I blinked at them. “But… but the portal…” I coughed again, my mind hazy once more, the dream settling again.

Or was this the reality, and the other was the dream?

I’m so confused and lost.

Iston showed up with a tray of cocktails. “Are you all right?”

“She’s fine,” Zian all but growled, but he quickly grabbed one of the waters and handed it to me. “Drink, sweet bird.”

Feeling woozy, I accepted the offering and sipped it. It was a lot more pleasant than the salty seawater, and it did help me relax.

I closed my eyes again, breathing deeply.

But I couldn’t unsee the Nora guards. Or the portal beyond. Not even as my mates helped me back to my chair and handed me a midafternoon snack.

A servant filled our beach trays with the treats, and I quietly took one, nibbling on it without really tasting it as I stared at the ocean, searching for any hint of this being a real mirage.

“I could really get used to living like this,” Sorin said as I bit an olive off of a fancy stick thing. Then he glanced at me. “Minus the drowning bit.”

“Perhaps we should teach her to swim as our next training exercise,” Zian suggested.

Training,I thought, liking the sound of that.

It reminded me of a time when survival was our norm.

Not that I missed it, but something still nagged at me.

But I saw something in the water…

What…?

What was it?

A… a portal?

I frowned.What’s happening to me?

“Deal,” Sorin said, tapping his olive-free stick against Zian’s drink.

My mates contemplated how to keep me from drowning again while I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, just needing to rest.

Maybe drowning caused some fear-driven hallucination?I wondered.Or maybe I’m missing something.

Maybe…