Kye muttered a curse to Aalto, hurling his shirt away and swinging back to look at the ship again. Smaller than the one that had stolen us from the beach. Quicker.
Flagless.
My lungs seized as I contemplated the only type of ship that would sail so close to the cliffs without a flag. In a channel no ship entered.
“Run,” Kye said, slicing through my thoughts. He didn’t wait for my answer to pull me away, legs already churning inthe opposite direction. His hand found the small of my back, pushing me ahead of him, and my knees locked as I scrambled to keep my weight over my feet.
Mother moon curse the day I became a stupid Naiad. I’d gone too long without fish. Within seconds, dizziness swept over me. My head spun from sudden running. A shake I couldn’t banish entered my hands, and I slowed for fear I’d trip over the rocks.
Kye stopped with me, his hand glued to my side. “I’ll carry you,” he said, already reaching to lift me up. But I stepped away, taking in the sight of him. His own hands shook, his face paler than it had been two weeks ago, his cheeks hollow.
“You’re fooling yourself. Come on.”
"Leihani!”
His voice was an angry hiss in my ear as I turned and hurried back toward the sea. My knees wobbled, too weak to run. I pushed them anyway, listening to the crumbling rocks under my toes as he caught up to me.Mihauna, I needed fish. Mercury, iodine, salt,something.
“What are you doing?”
“The water,” I said, pointing a shaking hand.
“We can’t go in the water.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” I snapped, stopping at the extinguished fire to pick up the pack. My arms had hardened to lead and I struggled to fit the straps over my shoulder.
He ground his teeth, taking the pack from me and sliding his own arms through the straps. “This is madness,” he said, eyeing the waves with glaring mistrust.
“Call it what you want.” I snatched the dagger and turned to face him. The ship slithered closer. Too close. Near enough to make out its bowsprit, its sails, the ropes hanging from its scuppers. The tide pushed it toward us, traitorous waves assisting in our doom. And it would be here any moment, aiming for the thread of smoke woven into the clouds above our heads.I held my breath, watching as men piled into a rowboat, turning its nose and racing our way. Kye’s eyes darted to the sea-faring vessel, then down to the water beating against the cliffs. He reached for me, opening his mouth in what I knew was a final attempt to lobby an argument.
I jumped.
Seconds flew. Wind rushed over my bare legs and arms. My hair streamed behind me. The sea rose to drink me in, catching me in a bath of icy salt and yanking me down into the cold. Water broke above, bubbles bursting in my ears as Kye followed me in. His knapsack somehow dislodged from the fall, slowly sinking away. He struck for it and treaded a moment, fighting the downward momentum from his own jump before finding my waist and kicking back toward the surface, human instinct directing him to the air above.
I grabbed at him, yanking him back down. But he just pulled me closer, aiming for the sky.
Frigid water stabbed at my fingers as I clawed at his chest. He reacted much the same, demanding we rise back to open air, but I climbed up his torso like a frantic cat, nails sinking into flesh as I scrambled to keep him under.
Stay below, you insufferable man.
His arm curved behind my back, locking me into place, and I felt him lengthen his spine to swim. But I’d reached his shoulders, my hands finding the groove of his neck, holding him into place as I met his mouth with mine.
His body froze. Light shot for us in thin filaments from the surface, shimmering in his hair, but he didn’t move.
Didn’t twitch. Didn’t open his mouth for my air.
I’d stunned the poor human into oblivion.
Could I coax his mouth open? Hand on his chest, I pushed him into the rocky wall behind us, bracing against the alcoves of cold stone, and wrapped my legs around his middle. My arms woundbehind his shoulders, fingers knotting in his hair as I pressed my body into his, ignoring the heat that bloomed low in my belly, the electricity that fizzled down my spine, branching out through my muscles, a slow and impatient burn for more.
Come on, Lout. Open your mouth for me.
His heart thudded in his chest, louder under the waves. His arms still held me, a single thumb sliding a few inches across my spine, and I wondered whether he was confused or if something deeper stalled his response.
I trust you, Leihani.
Did he really? Would I trust me, were the roles reversed? I wasn’t certain I wanted to consider the answer. I nudged in closer, my mouth seeking the center of his, begging for him to let me in. His head slowly tilted to the side. Hands traveled up my back and through my hair, grasping the nape of my neck, and I squeezed my thighs, driving away any of the water that separated his hips from mine. Smooth, soft, his lips parted, the heat of his mouth calling my name, and I answered, as hungry for the taste of his tongue as I’d ever been for the taste of freedom.
I forgot the sea was cold. I forgot we were lost in Rivea. I forgot that somewhere above, a ship neared the rocky shore. All I knew was pinned between me and the underwater cliffs, and the world turned slowly around us, pirouetting on an axis only we could claim.
