Breakwater (22 page)

He gave me a funny look. “It’s a pity. The queen was so looking forward to your trial, but I believe this will be better all the way around.” He let go of me as the floor fell out and the ocean rushed up in a swirling current. The last thing I saw was the look of horror in Peta’s green eyes as she stared down at me.

With the floor gone, the water sucked us into a dimly lit holding cell of some sort. I swam to Ash who just floated there. He reached for me, his hands tangling in my hair as he pulled me close.

I planted my lips on him to give him a breath of air.

He leaned into me, his hands coming up to cup my face . . . and I breathed into his mouth. Honey eyes popped open and stared at me. I couldn’t help the goofy grin that slid over my face. I reached up and touched the earring Niah had given me.

Floating there he seemed to take a second to realize we weren’t done. He undid his belt, and for just a moment, I thought he’d lost his mind. What did he think that touch of our lips meant? A breath of air was all.

Relief, and maybe a little regret flowed through me as he slid a loop of the belt around my wrist, his fingers gentle as they brushed my arm. A way to stay together. That was all. He looped the other end of the belt around his own wrist. I nodded, it would be too easy to get separated. My hair swirled around my face, making it hard to see. I braided it back quickly.

Ash gave a tug of the strap attaching us, then pulled me close so I could breathe into his mouth. . . . though there was perhaps a bit more pressure than we needed. Then again, maybe I was imagining things.

We swam forward, running our hands over the edges of the submerged cell. A thought struck me. The kids in the kitchen, they said the pipe system ran through the entire Deep. If that was true, there should be some sort of pipe leading in and out of the cell to supply the water.

I tugged on Ash, pulling him behind me as I swam deeper, the pressure on my ears increasing with each stroke of my one arm. Awkward as hell to swim that way, but better than being separated.

At the very bottom, I searched the curve of the cell, finally finding what I was looking for. There was a square grate three feet by three feet wide. I slid my fingers around the edges, looking for a grip. Ash worked beside me doing the same. A tug on the belt strap pulled me toward him and I breathed into his mouth. I had to fight not to close my eyes and lean into it. Breathing, this was about breathing. Not kissing. Not touching. Certainly not tasting.

I looked at the grate so I didn’t have to look him in the face. I went back to checking the edges on my side. Suddenly, Ash jerked on the grate, his muscles bunching and flexing. I swam above him so I was facing down. Getting my fingers into the crevice he’d opened, I put my feet against the wall and used my whole body to push while he pulled on the grate. With a screeching pop, it gave way and we tumbled through the water with our combined momentum. Ash pulled me toward him and I breathed into his mouth, but he held me, taking several breaths as his chest heaved with exertion.

My legs brushed against him and the ensuing shivers were nothing I could control. I found myself staring into his face, because really, where else could I look when I was helping him breathe? I pulled away first, then pointed to the grate and held a hand up to him. I would check it out, and come back. No point in dragging him through the pipes if there was no place for me to give him air.

We took the belt off, I gave him one last breath, and then I moved as if to dive into the opening. Ash grabbed me and tugged me to him. Another breath already?

Breathing, that’s all we were doing. That’s what I told myself as his lips slid over mine leaving behind a rush of shivers that wracked my body. He traced his tongue over mine as he pulled my body tightly to his. I gripped his biceps. The muscles under my hands as hard as I’d imagined they would be. I pulled away again, and pointed to the now open grate. Kissing later . . . if that was what he really wanted, but we had to get out while we could.

I swam hard, counting the seconds as I went. There were no turns, which was a blessing, it was a completely straight pipe. Thirty seconds passed and I popped into the open ocean. A glance up showed just how far down we were, the light of the sun a distant thing, barely giving me anything to head toward. I spun around and swam back into the pipe. A minute of breath-holding for Ash shouldn’t have been too bad as he waited for me; we were trained for that.

Yet, as I swam, my intuition pushed me faster. I knew something had gone wrong before I saw the blood in the water.

popped out of the pipe and stared, unable to believe what was in front of me. Ash wrestled with a deep gray crocodile, barely holding the beast at bay. His hands were clamped over the reptile’s mouth, holding it shut as the croc swam them around in circles. Blood trickled from several gashes along his arms, staining the water. Movement caught my eye and I looked up as a second crocodile swam above us. The situation was just getting better and better.

Clean up crew, that was all I could think. The Undines wouldn’t want the bodies of those killed rotting and messing up the water.

Swimming hard, I reached Ash and helped him hold the croc at bay while I breathed into his mouth. He gulped several breaths from me and then the crocodile twisted hard, out of our hands. It swam away about fifteen feet, shaking its head. I tugged Ash and he swam with me toward the pipe. I wasn’t sure if it was big enough for the crocodiles to follow, but there was a chance. I went first again, this time Ash was with me, his head at my ankles.

We were halfway through the pipe when he grabbed me and we were both yanked backward. There was no doubt in my mind what had happened. At least one of the crocs had fit into the pipe. There was nothing I could do but keep swimming and hope he could hold on. His fingers dug in hard around my ankle and I pushed off the bottom of the pipe with my other foot, clawing and digging at the sides. The seconds ticked by, and Ash’s grip slipped, sliding down to my foot.

Air, he needed air. There was no way I could breathe for him, there was only one thing I could do. I slipped the earing off my ear, holding my breath. Scrunching my body, I drew him close enough to jab the hooked earring into his wrist, slicing it through the skin.

He jerked and then his grip tightened. His whole body flailed, and then he was shoving me forward through the pipe. His hand was on the back of my thigh, pushing me. I didn’t understand why he felt the need to push me—I was doing fine on holding my breath—until we were out of the pipe and floating in the water. Sure we were still well below the surface, but at least we weren’t stuck in the pipe anymore. Ash grabbed me and breathed into my mouth, then pointed at the pipe where a long snout protruded.

Ash’s leg bled, and we swam at a sluggish pace with having to stop to help each other to breathe. He slipped the earring out of his wrist and slid it back through my ear. A grin slipped over his face and was gone in an instant.

I knew him well enough to know he was going back to buy me time by putting himself in danger. I slipped my fingers through his belt loops and clamped down, stopping him. He spun and I shook my head. “No.”

A flash of frustration slid over him, but I didn’t care. We were going to survive this together or not at all. “With me!” I mouthed.

We pushed hard for the surface, though I was pretty sure that would only solve one of our problems. If we even made it. The crocodiles swam out and around us, their tails flashing as they propelled themselves along in a lazy, looping circle. As if we weren’t even there. A flash of violet eyes pulled me to a stop. More shape shifters working for Requiem, which meant there was no hope their baser instincts would kick in, even if we were able to manage a distraction. I didn’t see any way out of the hot water we had landed in.

I breathed into Ash’s mouth as we floated, giving him three breaths. His hands tightened around me, and he shook his head. His eyes didn’t leave mine, and understanding seemed to flow between us. We both knew it. There was no way out of this, no way to fight them in their element, with nothing on our side.

Pressing my forehead against his, I closed my eyes and tried to calm my heart. Maybe if I was angry I could connect to the earth. But then, what would I do? What could I possibly do against crocodiles in the middle of the ocean with sand hundreds of feet below and nothing but water . . . I jerked back from Ash, eyes widening.

Sand, sand was the key. If the crocodile shifters couldn’t see us, we would have a chance. But how to explain to Ash? I would have to use Spirit if I wanted to speak to him under water. Spirit was the one part of me that would eat my soul if I used it too much. Yet, it was the only chance we had, and there was no time to question my decision.

I grabbed his face and put my forehead to his, trying to get him to see what I wanted him to see. For him to call the sand upward and swirl it around us, creating a fog that could save us. I pushed the thoughts toward him. His body tensed, then relaxed, and he nodded, his eyes brightening.

He held his hand out, and green swirls ran up his arm as he called on the earth below us. So far below . . . I hoped he could pull this off.

The crocs tightened their circle and the bigger of the two whacked us with his tail, sending us toward his buddy. We fought the momentum, but only slowed the impact.

Scales dug into my arms as we hit the cold, armor skin of crocodile number two. I scrambled along its body and pushed off, shooting us sideways.

And then the sand hit us. The tiny grains ripped through the water, pelting my skin, stinging my eyes. I closed my eyes and held my breath. Ash tightened his hold on me and we kicked hard toward the surface.

Scales brushed against the bottom of my feet and I couldn’t help but jerk my legs up—which only slowed my swimming. Ash pulled on me and I tried to help. One second we were swimming hard for the surface, the sand giving us some cover, and the next . . . my right foot was clamped inside a powerful set of jaws.

A sense of déjà vu rolled over me. I’d been here, leg in the mouth of a creature I truly couldn’t fight, not all that long ago.

Bones cracked under the biting force of the crocodile and I let out a scream, bubbles flowing out of my mouth. The croc rolled, tearing me away from Ash. Images flashed in front of me. The sand was gone, fallen away as Ash was jerked in the opposite direction by the other croc. I saw the surface, only a few feet away, sunlight streaming down. Then a flash of utter darkness as I stared into the ocean. Each roll disoriented me further, stealing whatever cognizant thoughts I might have had.

As quickly as the rolling started, it stopped and my foot was released. I floated in the water, unable to process what I was looking at, my head spinning from the death roll I’d been forced into.

Deep red tentacles wrapped around me, pushing me to the surface. The water broke over my head and I gasped in a breath, clutching Olive’s tentacles as I struggled to understand what had happened.