Read Proven (Daughters of the Sea #1) for Free Online

ankle and sent me tumbling forward.
    I floundered right on top of the book that weighed as much as a small horse and the impenetrable silver box as they patiently waited for me on the ground. I leaned against one of the hundreds of trees surrounding me, rubbed my newly opened wound, and eyed the two objects that had become the bane of my existence. I didn't want to carry them even one more inch, especially since I seemed to be walking in circles. I held up my hand and squinted at my palm. If Stasia was going to get herself into a bind, this would be the most opportune time. Without her being in trouble, I had no way of finding which way could possibly lead me to her, the tree houses, or a warm shower. My all-seeing eye trace was almost invisible as it lay irritatingly dormant. I took a deep breath and glanced upward as the leaves above my head rustled in the wind.
    By the time I realized the wind wasn't actually blowing, the storm of leaves was already making its way down towards my head. They engulfed my body; sticking precariously in my hair and finding themselves lodged down the front of my shirt.
    "Seriously?" I scowled and shook the remaining leaves from my clothes before shooting the tree a warning look. "You are not helping."
    It would suffice to say that my history with the trees of Atlantis was not a pleasant one. I was pretty sure at some point they had a tree pow-wow or something and decided I was their play toy, thereby making my life a living hell. With the Book and Key once again in my arms, I looked to the sky. The sun hung low to my left, which I deduced meant that direction had to be west. Girl Scout I was not, but I did have some basic common sense. I could figure this out.
    "We arrived on the west side of the island," I spoke to no one in particular. "So that would mean I need to head east. Which is that way."  I pointed in the opposite direction of the sun. The only thing I had going for me was that Atlantis was an island. I couldn't get too far in any one direction without hitting water or civilization. What could possibly go wrong?
    I heard another rustling of leaves and sharply glared at the trees in my vicinity, which happened to be a lot of them. "Don't even think about it." The stirring halted at my threat and I set out walking. What I didn't intend on doing was spending another night out there. I had to find Stasia by sundown. Which, by the look of the sun, wasn't too far away. I ran a finger over my new arm emblem and groaned. The rest of my body seemed to be regaining its energy, but I could still feel the aftereffects of Selene's message for Stasia.
    After another hour or more of tripping over roots and stepping in mud, I noticed a clearing in the distance. That had to be a good sign, right? I couldn't have been more wrong. Upon closer inspection, what could technically be called a clearing was really just nature's version of a death trap. The colossal fissure slicing through the island's dense ground plunged hundreds of feet to meet its destroyer below - a thin line of water more powerful than the earth it chewed away at. The twenty feet of open air that hung between my feet and the other side promised a harrowing fall, topped off with the bone-crunching agony of mangled body parts. That would be one instance where immortality would not have been a saving grace. A quick death at the bottom of the ravine would be a much more desirable fate. 
    As I shifted the precious load in my tired arms, a dull creaking sound quickly escalated into an agonizing moan; stealing my attention away from the gorge of doom. I spun around to look for the source, but was utterly unprepared for the horrifying sight before me. The thick tree trunk rushing towards me as gravity took it hostage had every intention of killing me. As my legs took action and jumped out of the way, the silver box slid from my grip and tumbled back onto the ground...directly beneath the plunging tree.
    My ankle twisted awkwardly and I pitched