A Substitute No More, A Queen Returns

Dougl

arrowed to a sing

n's voice was frantic

up her perfectly manicured hand, where a tiny red s

t aid kit!" D

e ship's doctor!

e mark. Meanwhile, my dress was a pyre, the flames greedily climbing

s of agony and despair. They co

e, horrified eyes. He didn't hesitate. He ripped off his jacket and

outed, his face inches from mine,

ing Haleigh off the deck, their backs turned to me. Not one of them looked back. Not on

conscious. My legs were a mess of raw, weeping burns. The doctor worked quickly, his

supplies, leaving me al

my ruined dress. My fingers closed around my phone. It was a chea

I opened it. It was from

r new name. The island is officially yours. Final tra

hrough me. I typed a reply, my fingers

e you t

e morphine haze. He was standing in the doorway

phone and tried to hi

s eyes narrowed. "What

The doctor had cut away the burned fabric, leaving the horrific injuries

s face. "My God," he whispered. "Bailey... why

my lips. "I did scream, James

knew. He rushed to my side, his voice laced with a panicky concern that felt

as if he wanted to soothe me but didn't dare. "Haleigh is r

tenderness, this concern... what was it worth now? He was Haleigh's

he asked, his vo

egs were nothing. The real pain, the one that had been eating me

m, as my wounds were cleaned and dressed. It was an agony I bor

voice drifted in from the deck. "Jameson! Darling

ingle, breathtaking moment

conflict I no longer cared to decipher. "Come on," he said

as setting, painting the sky in fiery strokes of orange and gold. A pod of dolphins leaped and danced in t

lasped together in front of her chest like a saint in a painting.

ull of hope. I knew what they were wishing for. For Haleigh to be cu

and a cold, clear certainty settl

, turning to me with a cloyingly sweet smile a

g in the air, heavy and meaningful. Then, I smiled, a re

word a stone dropping into a deep, silent well, "tha