Release (The Submerged Sun, #3) Read online

  Release

  The Submerged Sun: Book 3

  Vanessa Garden

  Copyright © by Vanessa Garden

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Release by Vanessa Garden

  1st Edition 2016

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  About the Author

  For my beautiful Mum

  all my books are for you...

  1

  Robbie

  Anticipation crackled through the cool, castle air.

  Like an expectant father I paced the floor outside what was once Marko’s room, my boots carving an invisible path into the stone beneath me. In a sense, every resident of the underwater city was an expectant parent seeing as this was the first baby to be born beneath the dome in two decades.

  Late last night, when Damir had announced that Lauren had begun her labours, hundreds of people brought bedding and set up camp as close to the castle as allowed so that they could be the first to hear of the baby’s birth. Now there were thousands—a blurry colony of ants to my damaged eyes—all holding one giant collective breath. Some, I had been told, already waving flowers and gifts for the mother-to-be and baby.

  Others had brought wine to celebrate the safe arrival, though judging by the slurred singing and rowdiness of the crowd, I’d say that the drinking had already started.

  The more superstitious of Marin’s citizens chose to remain at home behind closed doors, careful not to celebrate too early and jinx the baby’s birth—something many secretly feared, including me. I’d worry about gifts once Lauren had safely delivered her baby.

  One of the two guards barring me from entering Marko’s old room cleared his throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. I stopped pacing to listen out for Lauren, or perhaps a baby’s cry, but all I could hear was Sylvia arguing with Damir.

  My hands balled into fists. Didn’t those two know anything? Surely it was common knowledge that a woman needed a relaxed environment to give birth. But then again, birthing was not common in Marin, not common at all. The people here had been waiting twenty years for this.

  I started pacing again, hating that I wasn’t in there with Lauren—giving her the support that she needed. She’d asked me to attend the birth, saying that I’d be the next best thing to having her sister, Miranda, by her side. But Sylvia had refused to allow it, even though I’d spent the past two months with my head buried in medical journals, studying up on childbirth.

  Sylvia had even refused several of the older women who’d had experience delivering babies in the past, back when Marin wasn’t experiencing a fertility crisis.

  My stomach tightened into a knot. Sylvia was taking control of the baby’s life already—before it had even been born. Miranda’s worst fears were being realised.

  A merry song, muffled by the castle walls, started up outside and I found myself relaxing a little, the knot in my stomach easing somewhat. Perhaps I was overanalysing things.

  Lauren wasn’t going to simply hand over her baby once it was born. She was a strong-willed girl, stronger than I’d once thought, and had only recently spoken of how fiercely she was going to protect her baby from Sylvia. She would put up a fight and so would I, along with the rest of Marin.

  One thing I did know for certain was that the entire city was going to treat Lauren like royalty after delivering to them the first child in so many years.

  At these thoughts, my pacing eased and I eventually started humming along to the merry tune. It was a good distraction.

  In fact, this baby was a good distraction—for the city and for me. The past three months I’d thought of nothing but Marko and Miranda. Had they made the journey home to Bob’s Bay? Were they safe? Had the police questioned Miranda on the disappearance of Lauren and her grandparents? How was Marko coping being apart from his beloved underwater city?

  If I knew Marko, he’d be clawing his heart out by now. But at least, with Miranda by his side, all of the above would be bearable. And because I knew how much he cared for her, my worries for Miranda were somewhat eased. She’d be safe as long as Marko was with her. As long as they had each other, they would be okay.

  Thankfully, due to the inheritance of his grandfather’s estate, as well as a steady income from pearls, Marko had money and investments dotted across the globe, ideally located nearby each and every light crystal channel. Not only that, he knew people, highly skilled individuals who could create new identities if required.

  Footsteps approached. Because of my hindered sight, my hearing had sharpened and I knew that the sure, yet graceful steps approaching belonged to my Lily.

  “Any news?” she asked as she rounded the corner. When she came to stand before me, my vision improved slightly—my injuries meant that one minute my vision was blurred and the next, defined—and I saw that the glow of excitement on her face nearly rivalled that of the light crystals studding the corridor walls. She was almost as radiant as I remembered the sun to be. Unfortunately, within seconds my vision became once again indistinct. It was beyond frustrating, but I had grown somewhat used to it and was almost grateful for these tiny fragments of clarity.

  “None.” I stopped pacing and reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze with my own, and then dragging her into my arms. She felt warm to touch beneath my cold fingers. It was always warmer outside than in the castle, because the light crystal dome above the city gave off just the right amount of heat, enough so that you could wear short sleeves and not feel the cold.

  I pressed my lips to her forehead, grateful to have her here with me.

  “Have you been in yet?” she asked, her head turning towards the double doors. The delicious scent of vanilla hit me. Lily had shampooed her hair since I last saw her.

  “No. Just a few minutes ago Sylvia screamed at Damir for being too anxious. She said his pacing was causing Lauren’s blood pressure to rise. She ordered him out of the room but he stood his ground, said he wasn’t leaving Lauren’s side. I almost admire him for it.” I shook my head. “Wait. Did I just say that I almost admire Damir?”

  “You did.” Lily shuddered in my arms. “But at least Lauren won’t be left alone with Sylvia. Not that I trust him any more than his sister. Well, maybe just a tiny bit more.” She shook her head, her long, golden hair tickling my arms. “Wait. Did I just say that I trusted Damir?”

  I smiled. Lily was good at loosening me up whenever I was tense, which seemed like twenty-four hours a day lately, and especially right at this minute.

  “I just wish I could barge in there and make sure everything’s okay, that Lauren’s okay. I’ve studied childbirth. I could help.” I shook my head and swore beneath my breath. “Anything would be better than being stuck out here in the hallway digging trenches with my boot heels for the
next who knows how many hours.”

  Lily laced her fingers around my neck and began to rub me there, her soft but strong fingers melting the stiffness out of my muscles.

  “Aww, my poor Rob,” she said soothingly, before she leaned in to whisper in my ear. “You’re going to make such a cute dad one day.”

  One of the guards wolf whistled at our open display of affection and I scowled at their blurry masses before tugging Lily just around the bend so that we could be without an audience.

  I rested my back against the wall and pulled Lily into my arms. She nestled her head against my chest and sighed.

  “I can’t believe Lauren is about to have a baby. That she’s going to be a mother. I just wish Miranda and Marko were here to share in the excitement. That’s all that’s missing.”

  Lily shivered in my arms and I held her tighter and stroked her long hair.

  “I know. Hopefully after the baby is born everybody around here will be so distracted that you and I can break into Marko’s room and finally get to the light crystal chutes.”

  “Yes! I can’t wait to bring them back here.”

  Lily raised her head and gently pressed her lips to mine. ‘Everyone here is going to welcome them with open arms, I just know it. The banishment will be forgotten, even by Sylvia.”

  Her eyes were blurry, dark-blue pools in the shadows, and although she sounded confident, I could tell that she was worried.

  “Everything will turn out fi—.”

  A tiny wail coming from the room pricked my ears. Lily froze in my arms.

  Lily had never heard a baby cry before, but I knew, despite the way the city’s compulsion made you forget about your old life, that sometime in my past, during my life on land, I had once heard a baby cry like that. I could even vaguely remember holding a tiny infant in my arms.

  “Oh, Robbie, it must be the baby.” Lily gripped my biceps and squeezed, her sharp nails digging into my skin. But I didn’t feel any pain. I was too stunned by the fact that a baby was on the other side of the door, merely metres away.

  We followed the sound back around the bend and leant against the wall to listen, our breaths held. Another, stronger wail followed. It was a good strong bellow this time. Lily giggled and I laughed.

  “Oh my God,” Lily said, a hand over her lips. My eyes were behaving again and I could see glittery tears trickle down her cheeks. “It sounds so beautiful,” she whispered.

  The sight of Lily’s tears tightened my chest and I closed my eyes. Vague, gauzy memories flooded my brain. Of me as a boy, tentatively holding a tiny, snuggly wrapped newborn and being told by a softly spoken woman that the baby’s name was... it was...

  Sarah...

  My knees faltered for a second and I slid down the wall a little, but quickly straightened up. My little sister’s name was Sarah. Screwing my eyes even tighter, I tried to picture the face of the woman who had handed me Sarah, the woman who I suspected was my mother, but the memory suddenly broke into a thousand pieces and scattered to the farthest corner of my brain.

  When I opened my eyes I found Lily leaning in close, her face blurry now, her warm breath against my cheek.

  “What’s the matter, Robbie? You’re crying.”

  I quickly brought a hand to my face and felt the wetness of my cheeks. Turning away, I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand, wishing Lily hadn’t seen them.

  “I had a memory of my sister,” I said, after clearing my throat. I’d tell Lily my sister’s name later. I didn’t exactly feel like baring my soul in front of the guards who, by the sounds of their stupid “cry-baby” comments, had already seen enough. Plus, we had Lauren’s baby to celebrate. Suddenly nothing mattered but the fact that a baby had been born in Marin.

  A baby.

  The baby’s wails had gotten so loud that soon a stampede of staff and guards emerged from around the bend, rushing towards us.

  “Boy or girl?” one of the kitchen maids asked while wiping her dusty, floured hands against her apron, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the kitchen.

  “We haven’t had word yet,” Lily answered for me.

  At that moment the double doors opened a sliver and Sylvia slipped out before closing the doors behind her. The guards stood to attention. I stepped forward, hoping she’d finally ask for my assistance.

  “A healthy baby girl has been born. We named her Angelina. Angelina Lauren, after her—” Sylvia paused and swallowed loudly before staring down at something, possibly her hands. Damn my eyes. She cleared her throat as though preparing herself for an announcement, another announcement. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled and my stomach churned in alarm. Something was wrong, something was very wrong.

  I took another step closer, hoping that by doing so I’d be able to see her eyes, but it seemed my vision had decided to take a holiday at this crucial moment.

  “What is it?” I asked, trying and failing at keeping my voice calm.

  Sylvia cleared her throat again and pressed a clammy hand to my chest and gently pushed. But I wasn’t going anywhere.

  “We have named her Angelina Lauren, after her mother, who sadly—” Sylvia drew in a shuddery breath. “Died during her labours.” She raised her head to address the now crammed corridor.

  “Damir has asked to be left alone and I ask that you all respect his wishes. For the time being, I will assist my brother in seeing to the baby’s needs until he is of sound mind to do so.”

  She slid back through the double doors and at that exact moment my vision chose to sharpen enough to catch a glimpse of Damir kneeling on the bed, frantically shaking a very pale, lifeless Lauren.

  Seconds later I was staring at closed doors, at the emblem of the merman and mermaid kissing, hot blood pounding in my ears.

  Soon Damir’s anguished cries drowned out the baby’s. It was a dark, tortured-animal sound that bled into the corridors, smothering all the light and happiness the baby had brought with it.

  It couldn’t be true.

  Not Lauren, who, only twenty four hours ago, before Sylvia had ordered me out, insisted that I sit by her on the bed, my hands on her stirring belly, so that we could chat to the baby about her sister, Miranda, whom Lauren was missing so much.

  I swallowed down a hard, sharp lump in my throat and turned to take a trembling Lily into my arms.

  “How will we tell Nana and Pop?” she sobbed into my chest, referring to Lauren’s grandparents. “They won’t cope, Rob. We’ll just have to lie and tell them we sent Lauren home to land. Maybe we can pretend that’s what happened.”

  She raised her head to meet my eyes but all I could do was stare off into the distance, my sight distorting everything around me, turning walls and corridors into how I felt on the inside right now—dark and bleak.

  I couldn’t believe it. Crazy, flirty Lauren, who had given my pet butterfly, George, a funeral, and had sobbed hysterically during the three minute service because she’d been in her eighth month of pregnancy and was, in her own words, “exploding with hormones”.

  The same girl who had managed to find a beating heart in Damir, a man I’d thought only capable of experiencing hate. During her short time in Marin, she had brought so much life and light with her, as though she’d absorbed the sun into her skin while on land and brought it down with her to Marin.

  And now that light was gone.

  My shaking hands buried themselves in Lily’s hair.

  “No, Lily. We have to accept the truth and face it head-on.” My throat thickened and my next words came out cracked and broken.

  “Lauren is dead.”

  2

  Miranda

  I rolled over, sweating and tangled up in bed sheets, as I awakened from a dream that involved Sylvia hurting my sister.

  A cold shiver tore through my body as the worst part of the dream replayed inside my head — the moment where Sylvia had wrapped her long fingers around Lauren’s neck and held them there until my sister’s body had turned limp.

 
No. Not a dream. A nightmare.

  I reached out for Marko, my fingers stretching across the mattress. But all I got was the cool, empty side of the bed. Though foggy with sleep, I knew exactly where he was.

  Outside the shack, waves rushed at the shore.

  Another windy night.

  A streak of moonlight crept into the shack through a crack in the thick, luxury drapes Marko had fitted to block out the morning sun so that he could sleep in after long nights where sleep never came. Nights like tonight.

  Marko never slept at all during windy nights. All the howling and rattling of the windows seemed to trouble him. I suppose it was because he’d grown up in a place where weather was a certainty, where he could control it.

  I peeled off the damp T-shirt I’d been wearing and pulled a fresh one over my head. It was one of Marko’s, the hem reaching the middle of my thighs. I breathed in his scent and stumbled to the door, the linoleum beneath my feet cold despite the warm, humid night—unusually humid for September.

  The screen door screeched when I opened it, but Marko, who stood at the fringe of the sea, didn’t flinch let alone turn around. When he was like this, when the ocean called to him, when Marin his beloved underwater city called to him, nothing else existed.

  Cool sand slid through my toes as I watched Marko stare at the black Indian Ocean, the tide rushing past his ankles.

  Clearing my throat, I approached his statuesque form and slid my arms around his waist to hug his back. Muscles tensed beneath my touch, but by the time my hands reached his stomach he relaxed and released a sigh.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said, turning. God, he looked tired. I wanted to drag him back to bed and tuck him in for a twenty-four hour sleep. But at the same time I understood his obsession with getting back to Marin, because I shared it.

  Getting back to Lauren and her baby in Marin was all I ever thought about, and, like anyone who’s ever spent time in Marin, I was magically compelled to return to the bottom of the ocean due to the phenomena of the light crystals, the underwater city’s power source. Marko called it “compulsion” an uncontrollable desire to return to the domed underwater city. The longer you stayed away, the more it hurt to be apart from the city.