long gone. I don’t know how much time I have, but I do know Theris will bring
reinforcements. I won’t be able to fight a whole crew of men.
With an angry exhale, I rush back over to Riden’s side.
“Don’t mind me,” he says through quickened breaths. “I’m only bleeding to
death.”
“You’re fine,” I tell him. “Unless we don’t get off this island right away.”
Riden is not too heavy for me to hold up, but his injuries make the journey to
the water impossibly slow. We’re racing against Theris and the rest of Vordan’s
crew. I can’t make out footfalls over the wind, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
When at last we break through the trees and see the shoreline, I hurry our pace, despite Riden’s grunts of pain. We’re so close now.
But of course there’s no boat or other means of keeping us afloat in sight.
“We’ll have to swim for it,” Riden says.
“We can’t,” I say, anxiety creeping into my voice. I use the sleeve on my free
arm to wipe the sweat from my brow. All the singing and fighting have taken their toll. “I can’t be submerged in the water. It’s too much. I won’t be able to help taking it in.”
“It’s our only option. Theris will be back any instant.”
I hesitate still.
“I can’t swim by myself, Alosa,” Riden says.
I look at him. For some reason, he was enough to keep me sane during my interrogation with Vordan. I hope he’s enough for this, too.
“You won’t need to. I’ll do all the work. I just hope I still remember you while I do it.” I survey his cuts. “This is going to sting.”
Riden and I plunge into the waves, wading out until the water reaches our knees. Riden hisses through his teeth when the salt water reaches his first
gunshot wound.
“Take a deep breath,” I say, even as the water starts filling me. I feel myself
changing, inside and out.
And with no more hesitation, I pull him under with me and begin to swim.
My heart races. Pure joy surges through me to feel so full, to be surrounded
by the sea. To a human, it would be freezing cold. But not to me. It is soothing
and revitalizing and refreshing. I can feel strength and health pouring into me as I start swimming at an impossibly fast pace.
And I can feel my body change.
My hair lengthens, takes on a life of its own as it swirls and whips through the
water. My skin whitens, changing from the tan color the sun gave me to the color of white pearls. My nails lengthen and sharpen ever so slightly. I can breathe even while under the water. I can move effortlessly through it. I can see as well as if I were on land, night or day. I feel connected to the sea life around me. The snails on the rocks deep below me. The fish swimming far to the right.
The plants swaying in the light current below. Even the tiny creatures that can’t be seen with my eyes. I can still feel them.
I want nothing more than to swim and simply enjoy the feel of the water flowing by me as I propel myself forward.
But a weight prohibits my swim.
I almost forgot. There’s a man with me. His eyes are open, even through the
salty water. He’s watching me with clear astonishment.
As he should. I am power and beauty. I am song and water. I rule the sea and
all creatures within it.
The man points upward. Then he gestures to his throat. A trail of blood mixes
in the water, flowing behind us. A nearby acura eel smells it, but then it senses me and flees in the other direction.
The man shakes me, gripping my arm. I return my attention to him. Ah, he is
drowning. He needs air if he is to survive.
I will relish watching him squirm and drown. It’ll be an enjoyable spectacle
as I continue to swim and become one with the soothing waters. Perhaps I’ll dance with his lifeless body afterward.
He begins kicking his feet, trying to reach the surface on his own, but his injuries are too great for him to manage it, and my grip is too strong for him to ever get away.
Finally, he stops struggling. Instead he puts his hands on either side of my face, straining to look into my eyes. He presses his lips to mine once before he is still.
At that simple motion, something awakens inside me. Riden. This is the man who got himself shot by helping me escape from Vordan, and now I’m letting him drown.
Instantly, I swim for the surface. He’s not breathing, even above the water. I
need to get him to land. I sense around me for interruptions in the water, looking for something large that resists the flow of the natural currents around me. There is a ship not too far off. Riden’s ship. They must be searching for him.