The whole group of us began walking along the road which I knew would bring us to the shore. We had to take no fewer than ten guards who were very displeased with this outing. They wanted us to get back in the carriages and back to the castle as soon as possible.
But I had promised Molly I’d show her the sea. So we were going to see the damn sea.
Molly looped her arm in mine, and I grabbed Isla’s next to me the same way.
“Will we see some sort of sea creature?” Molly asked.
I giggled. “In shallow water, Molls? You’ve been reading too many books.”
Isla snorted a laugh.
“True,” Molly deadpanned.
Five minutes later, Molly’s breath caught and her feet stilled. She was taking in the vast blue expanse for the first time of her life. She’d only seen it from afar, never like this. Close enough to feel the breeze whisper across her skin and hear the constant lapping of waves at the shore.
She sniffed loudly. “It’s lovely. Positively lovely.”
I tugged her arm and gestured with my head. “Well, we should get you a little closer view, don’t you think?”
She didn’t have words, she just nodded and we were moving toward the shore.
Finally making it to the beach, we all stood there in the sand, taking in the sea.
“It is beautiful,” Isla admitted.
“Sometimes I forget how small Wylan really is in the grand scheme of things,” Gwen added, her arm in Keir’s.
“To hell with it!”
I spun to see Molly chuck her shoes over her shoulder, pick up her skirts, and sprint for the water.
“It’s going to be cold!” I hollered after her.
“I don’t think she even remotely cares,” Renna commented.
“Come on, Jorah!” she yelled over her shoulder.
I stomped a foot down. “You know I hate being cold!” I kicked off my shoes none too gently. I knew she was excited, but now we were going to be cold the entire trip home. This was not the best plan we’d ever had. Molly was supposed to be a better plotter than we were.
I tugged on Renna and Isla’s arms. “If I’m going in after her, you are too.”
Isla surprised me by immediately kicking off her shoes.
“I’ll warm these while you are all gone,” Krew offered, knowing how very annoyed I was by all of this.
“That’s actually quite nice of you,” Isla blurted out.
I choked on a laugh, trying to contain it in my throat.
Krew glared at me.
With one more smile, Isla and I raced after Molly.
Renna grabbed Delaney too, but Gwen had apparently opted to stay with Keir. I wasn’t sure if it was the ongoing tiff with Molly or what, but I didn’t care.
Molly was squawking and laughing, her hair blowing around her wildly. She had her arms out and was twirling in the water. “You were right!” she laughed. “It’s freezing.”
Isla let out a yelp and I gasped as soon as the cold water hit my toes.
