Was that the whole reason he’d brought me here — to force me through the doorway?
I had no clue what this pool was or what lay beyond its murky depths. I didn’t know if a half huntress, half witch could survive the in-between. All I had was Kaden’s word.
But just then, another vampire lunged from his sarcophagus, moving toward me on all fours with inhuman speed. He leapt for my throat, and I threw out a kick that sent him sailing back. I dropped my weight to keep from tumbling backward into the pool, but then another vampire leapt for the wall, his eyes glistening with bloodlust.
I turned toward him, but then cold fingers snaked around my arm. I wheeled to face a third vampire — handsome and ruthless and ravenous. I didn’t think. I just slammed my stake through his heart and shoved him off the edge of the pool.
Kaden had just finished dispatching the other vamp and leapt onto the ledge beside me. “What are you waiting for?Jump!”
Glancing around the chamber, I realized that I had no choice. At least a dozen more vampires were stirring from their slumber, lured by the scent of warm blood.
There was no way we were making it out of here alive — not when it meant slaughtering each and every one of Mirabella’s companions. Kaden might have been powerful,but I doubted even he could make it past that many vampires.
I met his silvery gaze for only a moment before turning toward the swirling black water. The waves had begun to thrash more violently, sloshing over the sides of the pool.
I cast one more panicky glance around the crypt and saw a bejeweled lid sliding off a sarcophagus positioned in the very center of the chamber.
Mirabella.
As curious as I was about the ruthless “collector” and Kaden’s relationship with her, I had no desire to face her tonight — not when I’d just slaughtered one of her friends.
It was now or never.
Tossing one last furious look at Kaden, I squeezed my eyes shut and jumped.
Chapter
Nineteen
Cold salty water filled my airways as the waves pulled me under. I kicked and thrashed to keep my head above water, but it was no use. I was caught in the whirling tide like a rabbit in a snare. Helpless. Insignificant.
I was going to die in this pool. That was the thought that rang louder than every other.
I — was going — to die.
Cold misery swamped me as I fought to escape the merciless waves. The feel of it was almost too much to bear. Loneliness. Hunger. Madness. Despair.
The feelings weren’t coming from me, and yet theywereme somehow. They drowned me as surely as the water pressing in around me, and my lungs burned as I fought the need for air.
I opened my eyes, but there was nothing but swirling darkness all around me — nothing but the iron grip of the sea. It held me in its unyielding claws, digging in more the harder I fought.
My head pounded from a lack of oxygen, and I could feel my limbs growing weak.
I needed air. I needed —
But just as my body began to give out, that mighty force seemed to expel me. My head broke the water’s surface as the churning tide belched me out, and I tumbled forward on a frigid wave.
My flailing limbs dragged over something cold and solid, and I could have cried with relief as I felt rough sand beneath my fingers. Instead, I just expelled a torrent of salty liquid, coughing and retching until my lungs ached.
Another wave surged behind me, crashing over my back and making me gag from the stench of death it carried with it.
As the water receded, I felt its power grip my legs — trying to pull me back to its depths. A low cry wrenched out of me as I dug my fingernails into the wet sand, willing myself to stay anchored.
Another breaking wave, and I shivered as the icy water spilled down the neck of my leathers and plastered my hair to my forehead. Again, those fingerlike tendrils of water curled around my ankles, tugging me back toward the frothing tide.
“No,” I growled, curling my fingertips into the sand.
But it was no use. My clothes were waterlogged, my muscles ached, and the pull of the tide was too strong.
