I nod.
“If you see a shark…” My pulse rises slightly, though not out of fear, but anticipation. If it’s that shark Shifter, I’llkillhim right now and make him fish food.
She eyes me, as if she can see the thought of it floating around in my eyes, and smirks. “Don’t get eaten.”
She angles herself, and when she flaps her fin, I begin to slowly ascend. I had hoped my body could withstand the pressure, but I know that if I go any further, I’ll be fish food. Or… Sinnix food.
Small, bioluminescent creatures drift by, but other than that there’s little life here. Occasionally, I hear thewhooshof a fish in the distance, but my focus is consumed by the bending of metal.
Seconds stretch into minutes, and minutes begin to feel like an eternity. I’m drifting further from them, but I’m not yet close enough to the surface where light has pierced the darkness. Suddenly I hear a sharp thrust of water, but I can’t tell where it comes from. My head jerks to the side, but there’s nothing. Only darkness.
Another hiss of the current pulls me in the opposite direction, and I instinctively raise my hands in front of me. Sharks attack from below, but if it’s the Shifter, he could strike from any angle.
In the silence that envelops me, I can feel my own heartbeat. Then my ears pop, and that’s when I hear movement below. I look quickly, but it’s not a shark, or any other animal.
It’s Sinnix.
My entire being succumbs to a feeling of relief. It’s difficult to actually see her, because although I know it’s my Xeraphine, her entire body is consumed by her Amoro and blends completely into the darkness that surrounds us. The ache in my chest intensifies and a feeling of emotional weightlessness holds me tight as I take in completely that she’s carrying the woman I love right to me.
Time seems to stretch infinitely as they approach, and I swim down to them. Once she’s within reach, I extend my arms, ready to pull her in. They are barely in front of me before I’m grabbing her and tearing her from the Siren’s grasp.
One of my hands takes the back of her head, and the other holds around her waist, flushing her body tightly to mine. Everything that surrounds us fades away—the danger of where we are, Sinnix swimming beside us—everything buther.
Her arms lay limp, and I know she’s still dead, but Ihave her.
Ifuckinghave my girl.
“Xera…” My muffled word is lost as I choke, not on the water flooding my mouth, but on a sob rising from joy instead of sorrow.
I’ve got you, baby. Fuck, I’ve got you.I tighten my grip on her, and place a kiss against her forehead before burying her face tight to my chest.
The underwater world around me comes into focus as a gentle hand grabs onto my shoulder. I turn my head, seeing Sinnix watching with a thoughtful look. “She got through two of her restraints, and all I had to get through were the shackles at her ankles. Villian-boy didn’t do us dirty.”
For the first time since the night of Xera’s birthday, I smile.
Ifuckingsmile and pull her impossibly close to me.
Suddenly, the Siren’s expression shifts from calm to pure panic. “Fuck, he’s here!”
I’m tossed through the water, swept by a rushing current. But it’s not just that—out of the corner of my eye, a blur of gray streaks past me.
“We need to go!” she screams, swimming directly toward me. I grip Xeraphine tightly around the waist as I’m snatched by my free wrist and dragged to begin our escape.
I tuck Xera’s head under my chin as Sinnix takes us at an angle, and I’m more grateful than words can express. A straight upward shot could cause me to black out due to the pressure at this speed.
The sound of a secondswishbehind us makes me glance over my shoulder.
A massive great white shark is barely a body length away. On pure instinct, I pull Xeraphine higher, even though my legs are dangerously close to its jaws.
Sinnix bursts forward, pushing us slightly farther from the shark. As we ascend at a tight angle, I grit my teeth, my body protesting the strain.
We can’t stop—there’s no way. That shark is ready to feast the moment we slow. I glance down at my girl, then ahead of us. Sinnix is doing a great job keeping us just out of reach, but I need to do something to give us a moment to breathe.
“Noctis Duplicatus.” As the words come out of my mouth, a shadow of myself falls behind me. Taking a quick glance, it smacks against the Shifter and grabs at its jaw before jabbing a fist into its eye.
I turn forward. No point in watching now. Hopefully, we reach the boat before it takes a bite out of my shadow. As I mentioned to Xeraphine before, I feel everything they do.
An eternity seems to pass before we distance ourselves from the Shifter and the shadow of our boat comes into view. My anxiety peaks, and Iglance back, just to be sure. I don’t see the shark or my shadow.
