Chapter 386
Chapter 386:
Skye walked past him. She took off her designer sunglasses—Gucci, current season. She handed them to the woman.
“For the skewers and two coconuts,” Skye negotiated.
The woman inspected the glasses, tried them on, and grinned. “Deal p>
Skye took the food. She handed a skewer to Liam, who looked humiliated.
“You’re useless in the real world, Liam,” she said, biting into the meat. “Money is just paper here. Value is tangible p>
Liam ate in silence, his ears burning red.
“Part Two!” the host announced over the megaphone. “Catch your dinner! Each couple gets a dinghy and a net p>
Skye froze. The skewer turned to ash in her mouth.
The ocean.
She hated the ocean. The vast, deep, uncontrollable water. It reminded her of the cold darkness of the grave, of the suffocation she had felt in her nightmares since her rebirth.
“We have to go out to the reef,” Liam said, looking at the small, wobbly boats.
Skye’s face paled. She took a step back.
“We can forfeit,” Liam offered, seeing her terror. “We don’t have to do it p>
“No,” Skye gritted her teeth. “I won’t give the producers the satisfaction of a breakdown. I won’t look weak p>
They boarded the dinghy. It rocked violently. Skye gripped the gunwales, her knuckles white, her eyes squeezed shut.
“Start the engine,” she hissed.
Liam pulled the cord. The motor sputtered and died. He pulled again. Nothing.
“I think I flooded it,” Liam admitted.
The current caught them. They drifted away from the shore, farther out toward the deep blue.
“Great,” Skye snapped, opening her eyes to glare at him. “Now we’re stranded p>
A shadow fell over them.
A larger boat loomed nearby—the rusted fishing trawler from the night before.
A figure stood on the deck, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a scarf wrapped around his face to block the sun.
𝖥і𝗻𝗱 𝗒𝘰𝘶𝗋 f𝗮𝘃о𝘳𝗂𝘁𝗲 𝗀e𝗻𝘳𝘦 𝗈𝘯 b𝘦.𝗰о𝗺
“Need a tow?” the fisherman called out. His voice was raspy, distorted.
Liam waved his arms frantically. “Yes! Please! Our engine died p>
Skye squinted at the fisherman. He was tall. Broad-shouldered. The way he stood, legs braced against the roll of the sea… it was familiar.
The fisherman threw a rope. It sailed through the air in a perfect arc and landed right at Skye’s feet.
She picked it up. The hemp was rough.
She looked up at the man. He tipped his hat. Beneath the shadow of the brim, she saw a flash of dark, intense eyes.
Alistair.
A wave of relief washed over her, stronger than the fear of the ocean. He was here. He was literally her anchor.
“Tie it off,” Alistair’s disguised voice commanded.
Skye tied the knot. She felt a strange sense of safety settle in her chest.
“Who is that?” Liam asked, looking at the trawler.
“Just a humble fisherman,” Skye said, a small smile playing on her lips. “Our guardian angel p>
The “fisherman” towed them to a specific patch of water near the reef. The water here was darker, deeper.