Boone continued to rock her, wisely not offering any meaningless platitudes that would offer her little comfort. They stood there for a long time, until the sky began to pinken into a sherbet hue. Boone’s hand curled around her limp one. “It’s time to go home.”
Home. One that didn’t include Max.
The barrenness in her soul was endless.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The weeks following Willa’s breakdown on that tiny atoll in the Pacific blended into each other in a miserable tide of barely living. With Max gone, nothing truly mattered to her anymore. Certainly not the Atlanteans’ desire to see her returned to the throne. They’d started their campaign for her reinstatement almost from the first moment she crossed back through the portal into Atlantis. She wanted nothing to do with the title she’d inherited. The Atlanteans would get over their disappointment. Or find another ruler. She didn’t care either way.
Like Max, Reva’s body had never been discovered. Maybe the evil duchess had been spirited away to hell. Goddess knows the bitch would be right at home there.
Willa walked down the palace steps, her tread a lonely echo. She glanced over her shoulder, giving the entrance one last look before bidding it goodbye. Maybe not forever, but certainly for a time. There were those who probably thought she was abandoning her heritage. In truth, she was preserving it. Some of the young geniuses at the university thought they might have discovered a compound that could be added to the building materials to better withstand Atlantis’s natural corrosion. But oddly enough, it could only be found on Earth.
Maybe ole Poseidon had known what he was doing, establishing his colony so close to the humans.
In many ways, she couldn’t wait to return to the Earth realm. To her friends. She’d missed Marabella like crazy these past several weeks. Yeah, in a strange way, she’d even missed not having to listen to Domino’s constant demands.
But most of all, she missed Max. Only he wasn’t waiting for her back on Earth. He wasn’t waiting for her at all.
Her chest grew tight and the ache in her heart was unbearable. Would this awfulness ever go away? Would the day come when she’d be able to think about him and not feel like she was slowly dying inside? Sometimes she wondered if having her memory erased wasn’t actually a kindness. To not have to imagine Max’s beloved face and know that she would never see it again.
No, she wouldn’t wish such an existence. Because loving him would always be one of her cherished memories.
Tearing her thoughts away from her agonized musings, she approached the service drive leading to the palace. One of the submersible trolleys that were mostly used for piloting the students back and forth to the university waited at the curb. She hopped inside the transport and rode it to one of the few subdivisions existing on Atlantis. The vehicle braked to a stop. Across the street stood Aurele’s new bungalow. Willa exited the vehicle and hesitated for a moment, watching Aurele tend her little water garden.
Rather than move back into the palace, Aurele had chosen to purchase this bungalow—almost a duplicate to her home back on Earth. Her choice to recreate a different memory, but one not entirely unlike her previous life, wasn’t lost on Willa. She just hoped Aurele had found the peace she so deserved.
Aurele looked up, her instant smile slipping a fraction as her gaze roved over the determined set of Willa’s shoulders. “You’ve decided to go back.”
“Yes, it’s where I can do the most good. For now.”
“Who am I going to get to play Monopoly with me?”
“Chad from the university is a gamer. Plus I think he has a crush on you. He’d probably even let you cheat.”
Aurele set down her pruners, almost crushing the fragile purple luminia flowers bordering her garden. “Oh pooh. I’m too old for a boyfriend. Even if he lets me take Park Place.”
Willa closed the few steps that separated them and hugged Aurele tight. “Memories or no, you’ll always be my aunt. I just wanted you to know that.”
A sniffle broke from Aurele. “I hate goodbyes, so we better make this quick before I start bawling.”
As if it’d somehow overheard Aurele’s admission, another submersible trolley puttered down the block and stopped next to a house farther down the street. A student loaded down with a backpack rushed from the porch.
Aurele pecked Willa on the cheek. “I believe that’s your ride. Better hurry up before it leaves.”
Giving Aurele one last kiss, Willa dashed toward the trolley and made it inside in the nick of time. Choosing a seat toward the front, she slid in next to the window and waved to Aurele as the vehicle pulled away. Several minutes later the trolley coasted to a stop at its final debarking point—the portal to Earth. Willa was the only one who exited.
The portal gate’s familiar welcoming glow beckoned. She walked past the entrance and turned, giving Atlantis one last look before she descended into the tunnel. The trip to Earth was far less chaotic than the wet-and-wild roller-coaster ride that led to Atlantis. In the blink of an eye, the Atlantic surrounded her. It took a moment to get used to the difference in water density. Kicking her feet, she swam toward the distant surface. Several minutes later she crested, breaking through the waves. The sun shone on her face and seagulls flew overhead with noisy squawks.
She was home.
The tide decided to be gentle with her, depositing her on the beach with minimal work on her part. She trudged through the dunes, the hot sand biting into the tender soles of her bare feet. Up ahead, she spotted the lighthouse parking lot. There was only one vehicle—a red SUV. She’d sent communication to Boone a week ago to let him know the date and hour she’d be returning. She hadn’t known if he’d be here. Either he was running late, or had decided not to come. Not that she would necessarily blame him if he’d opted not to. They hadn’t talked since the day he’d comforted her on that tiny atoll. Not because Boone hadn’t tried. It’d been too painful, the idea of seeing him. Of remembering the last words they’d spoken to each other on the day that her soul began to wither.
A woman stepped out of the SUV and waved her arms madly, obviously trying to get Willa’s attention.
Willa frowned. Was the woman here for her? Picking up her pace, she jogged toward the stranger, ignoring the uncomfortable way her soggy capris clung to her legs. It wasn’t until Willa was less than a couple feet away and she spotted the woman’s familiar orange scrubs that her memory was jogged. It was Boone’s veterinary assistant. The girl offered her a smile. “Hi, I’m Megan. Sorry, Boone had a last-minute patient come in. He texted me and asked if I could pick you up instead.”
Megan pulled a beach towel out of the car and handed it to Willa. “I also brought you some dry clothes. They’re in the backseat if you want to get changed while I’m driving.”
Willa gratefully accepted the towel and wrapped herself inside it before climbing into the back of the vehicle. Megan slid in behind the wheel and turned down the radio. “Boone wanted to see you before you went home. Does that sound okay to you?”
She used one corner of the towel to wring out the ends of her hair. “I’d like that.” Despite having stayed out of contact with him, she’d really missed Boone all these weeks. Hopefully she’d stay strong this time and not break down on him. “So what’s wrong with his patient? It wasn’t hit by a car or something, I hope.”
Megan shrugged. “Boone’s text didn’t say too much. But if anyone can work wonders, it’s him.”
Willa continued blotting at the moisture streaming onto her neck from her still-damp hair. When the car took a right out of the lot, Willa frowned. “Uh, Megan, not to be a backseat driver or anything, but Savannah’s the other way.”