Sophia saw the world not the way it was, but rather the way she wanted it to be—at peace.
And she knew that was the way to remove the mark on her soul. Sophia had lifted the curse.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“You look like you again.” Wilder gazed deeply into Sophia’s eyes, a quiet appreciation in them.
“I feel like myself,” she admitted with relief, feeling like she was able to finally breathe after a long spell of holding her breath.
After stepping through the waterfall and having the vision of her worst nightmare, Sophia awoke to find herself lying on the sand next to Lunis. He said that she’d disappeared after entering the waterfall, then magically appeared there on the beach.
Apparently she didn’t breathe for a solid minute, which no doubt terrified him. But then, like before when they almost drowned, she’d sucked in a sudden breath and bolted upright, coming back to life in a burst.
The whole experience had been cloaked in so much symbolism and strangeness that Sophia had a new respect for her soul. She’d never thought much about it, merely thinking she was her—Sophia Beaufont. But now she knew that like the dragons, she was so much more. A timeless being.
The experience had also been emotionally, mentally and physically exhausting. So when Wilder messaged Sophia and asked where she was and if she wanted company, she replied instantly with a very loud, “YES!”
Unable to have Wilder meet them at the Reflective Sea because first, she didn’t want to hate him and second, because he wouldn’t be able to find the hidden place without the map, Sophia met up with him and Simi in Bora Bora. It was close, and offered all the beauty she’d seen at the Reflective Sea without all the dangers.
The only danger Sophia was currently worried about was getting too tipsy on lemon drops. Her lips puckered as she laid down the mixed drink and looked out at the crystal clear aqua-colored waters of the French Polynesian Sea.
“This doesn’t suck.” Wilder let out a giant breath and also stared up at the mountain in front of them, directly across from their bungalow over the water.
“No, I could get used to this,” Sophia replied. “Do you think in our next life we can vacation regularly and not have deadly professions?”
“Yes, but why would we want the latter?” he joked.
She nodded. “Good point.”
A splash of water hit Sophia in the face. Not hard like the waterfall, but enough to make her bolt upright. “Hey, this is a no splash zone,” she fired at Lunis, who was rolling around in the water next to their hut and splashing them.
He flicked his tail like a rebellious child and sent a wave of water at Sophia that instantly soaked her. She narrowed her eyes at her dragon but smiled.
“You’re going to get yourself voted off the island,” she threatened.
“I’d like to see you try,” he fired back.
“I’ll vote for him to leave,” Simi said lazily, lying in the water on the other side of Wilder.
“That makes two of us,” Wilder joked while drying off the water on his bare chest. He’d been in the splash zone.
Lunis rolled over in the clear waters and sent more of the sea up over the bungalow’s side. “I’m off to fulfill a lifelong dream.”
“Scare the tourists?” Sophia asked.
“Climb Mount Otemanu?” Wilder nodded at the mountain in the distance.
“No, swim with the dolphins,” Lunis answered before he shot through the water, dived low and disappeared as he created ripples.
Wilder laughed. “Your dragon is so weird.”
“I know. Isn’t it grand?”
“What’s grand is being here and having this view.” Wilder wasn’t looking at the mountain any longer, but rather Sophia in her bikini.
She blushed, then reached out and took his hand. “My view is quite nice too.”
His dimples surfaced when he smiled.
The two stayed locked on each other until they were rudely interrupted by the loud buzzing of Sophia’s phone. She would have ignored it, but it only rang like that when it was of great importance.
With a sigh, she pulled her gaze off Wilder and grabbed her phone.
“The message is from Evan,” Sophia explained, seeing the worried expression in Wilder’s eyes. He knew that if the phone buzzed, then it was someone like Papa Creola or Mama Jamba or Liv.
“Evan…” Wilder groaned. “How did he figure out how to take your phone off silent to get your attention?”
“I’ve found that he shouldn’t be underestimated.” Sophia read his text. There was only one, but he was currently typing out a second. “He says, ‘Hi.’”
“Tell him I say that he should go jump in the Pond,” Wilder replied.
Sophia giggled as another message from Evan came through. “He says, ‘Hope y’all are getting sunburned on your much undeserved vacation.’”
“What a nice lad.” Wilder grinned. “Send him a pic of our view and tell him ‘Glad you’re not here.’”
Before Sophia could do that, another message came through. She read it aloud, “How’s everything here? Thanks for asking. I’m good. Tired, but probably because of all the work I’ve been doing while you slackers lounge around in your swim suits. Coral is grumpy, but that’s because the sheep are exploding at an alarming rate and making things dangerous here.”
“Wow, the sheep problem is still going on?” Wilder questioned.
Sophia sat up in her lounge chair. “Yeah, I need to address that now that I’m not cursed.”
Another message came through, and Sophia’s eyes widened. She tensed all over as she read it aloud for Wilder. “Oh, and random strangers keep turning up inside the Castle and no one knows why. But don’t you worry. We’ll manage while you losers waste time.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“What does he say his name is?” Wilder leaned against a wall and eyed one of the many strangers who had been found strolling confused through the Castle of the Gullington.
The man was an older mortal of around sixty-five, and wore a smart navy blue suit and a confused expression as he sat at the dining room table in the Castle. He didn’t touch any of the food that Trin had tried to serve to him, but rather kept tapping on his phone and scowling—no doubt frustrated that it didn’t work there on the grounds of the Gullington.
“He says his name is Christopher Dickenson.” Evan slouched in the doorway of the dining hall. “Says he went into his walk-in closet to fetch a tie and when he came out he found himself here.”
“Where exactly?” Sophia studied the man, who didn’t seem to have any nefarious agendas, but rather appeared peeved that he was going to be late for work since he kept yanking up his wrist to glance at his gold watch.
“He was in the hallway on the second floor,” Evan answered.
Sophia sighed. “You do know what the term exactly means, right?”
Wilder laughed. “We’re talking about Evan. You have such confidence in this lad, but one day you’ll learn.”
Evan rolled his eyes at his friend but smiled. “Exactly. It means, accurately, precisely, just, closely, and specific.” He stuck out his tongue like a child before turning his attention to Sophia. “And to answer your question, Pink Princess, all the others and Chris here, were found around the second door from the stairs on the eastern wing.”