Rhal Part 5 Read Free Page A

ethereal arms. She wasn’t sure she’d ever truly be happy.
    Rina wanted her to return to IGM and find a male who could cherish her. Her best friend refused to accept that Rhal was the only one. In Rina’s mind, Rhal wasn’t worthy so he could go fuck himself. Cara needed happiness and her best friend was determined to drag Cara from this “funk.”
    Cara called it heartbreak, but tomato, tomahto.
    She lifted her glass and took a sip of the cooling water. Pure water, not salt. Not yet, anyway. She’d completed her transition, but she wasn’t quite sure when she’d be ready to step foot into the ocean. Knowing she’d end up covered in scales and have webbed fingers was one thing. Actually having webbed fingers was another. Faim tried to convince her to return to UST, to undergo the first change with medical supervision, but Cara couldn’t stomach experiencing something so private in a public setting.
    Which meant she had medical personnel waiting at her rented home. Faim and Sece relaxed while Cara worked up the nerve to step onto the sand, stride across the space that separated the house from the sea, and step into the waters. It’d been two hours, and she hadn’t moved.
    A soft knock on the front door reached her, then the low murmur of voices as someone was let into the space. Rina’s voice rose above the others, telling her that the visitors probably included Tave and his high guards as well. Great. An even larger audience. But at least she wasn’t in some see-through tank with wires connected to her.
    The back screen door squeaked as it pushed open, and her best friend slowly came into view. “Hey.”
    Cara forced a half-smile to her lips. “Hey.”
    “So…” Rina raised her eyebrows.
    “Still working up the nerve.”
    Rina slipped out of the house and padded toward her, taking a seat on a nearby deck chair. “What are you waiting for?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Liar.”
    Cara chuckled. She hated that her best friend knew her so well. “I was…”
    She couldn’t even say the words because they were so stupid . The hope she’d carried around for over a week still refused to be beaten down. It didn’t matter how many minutes, or hours, or days had passed since she’d last seen Rhal. The hope was a persistent fucking thing.
    “You’re waiting for him.”
    She. Hated. Her. Best. Friend.
    “No.” Cara shook her head. Because if she said it aloud, she’d admit how dumb she was.
    “Yes.” Rina reached over and snatched her hand, cradling it between hers. “And it’s okay.”
    She snorted and blinked back the tears that stung her eyes. “It’s okay? No,” she shook her head. “It’s so far from okay. It’s dumb. It’s idiotic.” She sighed. “I hurt him so bad, Rina. I mean, he lied to me and it devastated me. It almost killed me to know that I loved him, and he’d—” She swallowed past the growing lump in her throat. “But it was one lie. I don’t doubt that he’s loved me in his own way. He’s never said it aloud, but I know. Which makes what I did even worse. I saved and lost him at the same time.”
    Rina didn’t say anything at first, just kept hold of Cara’s hand and brushed her thumb over her scales. Cara hadn’t quite learned how to make them retreat like the other Ujal, but she had time.
    “Would you do it again? Knowing he was gonna walk away, would you do the same thing?”
    Cara thought about it, about the night they’d spent in that cell and then the events in the throne room and finally the loneliness that dogged her steps. Would she do it again?
    “Yes. Everything. Every second we were together, the hurt he caused me, the devastation I caused him. I got to love him for a little while, and I wouldn’t give that up for anything.”
    “You’re gonna make me cry,” Rina whispered and dashed away a tear that slid down her cheek.
    “That’s because you’re pregnant. Pregnant women cry about everything.”
    “No. I love Tave more than life, but we haven’t