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Warm salt water encompasses us after the splash. Riden has both arms and legs wrapped round me tightly, the side of his face pressed firmly against my own.
The siren is nowhere to be found. Not with him here.
The most profound sigh of relief escapes my lips as I kick us both to the surface. The power of the ocean floods me, soothing my guilt, my fears. They’re still there, in the back of my mind to pull out and process should I wish to. But right now those things will not be helpful.
I feel Riden’s breathing against my ear. It tickles my wet skin. His arms and legs grasp me so tightly, as though he’s afraid I might leave—be lost forever.
“Riden, I’ll swim more easily if you loosen up.”
He pulls back then, stares at my face. “It’s you.”
“It’s me.”
We just stare at each other, water dripping down our faces, holding on to each other.
Every time I’ve been in the water with him, danger was riding on our heels. But now, there’s no immediate threat, even if we have a job to do.
So I take just a moment to enjoy this. Feeling empowered by the ocean. Having Riden pressed so close to me, trusting me to keep him afloat, to not hurt him.
Swimming is as easy as walking for me. And Riden’s weight does very little to slow me down. I could stay with him like this forever.
Whispers float down to us from above. I look to see most of the crew staring over the lip of the ship at us.
“We’ll be back,” I say.
Then I start to swim.
I don’t know how fast I can swim. I’ve never had the opportunity to figure it out. But I know I am faster than a ship. Much faster. And when I am in the water, with all its power rushing to me, I won’t tire. I can maintain this speed forever if I need to.
The water is warm—the ship has taken us into a tropical climate. A good thing, too, otherwise Riden would freeze.
He is silent as I swim. I’m careful to keep his head above the water as my arms and legs make silent strokes through the sea. It’s almost nightfall, and I hope to reach the ships just as darkness takes over. We cannot risk them spotting us in the water, and I cannot swim under it when I have Riden with me.
When the sky finally darkens completely, we are upon the fleet. The lookouts won’t be able to spot us, not that they’d know to look for us anyway.
I select one of the smaller ships, a vessel along the edges ofthe fleet formation. Fewer chances for us to be seen, this way. And should we get caught, there will be a smaller crew for us to battle.
TheSerpentis the perfect choice. Lanterns are lit on its decks, but there is little movement. The majority of the crew must be below, hopefully already asleep.
I find a handhold on the ship, a line tied down along the side. Riden reaches an arm up and begins climbing first, water running down his body, trickling into my eyes as I follow after him.
He stops at one of the gun ports and pokes his head inside. After a few breaths, he hauls himself through, and I follow after.
The gun deck is empty, but not quiet. We can hear voices below us, trickling up from the open stairway at the opposite end of the ship.
The water from my clothes pools onto the floor. I whisper a song to expel some of the power before absorbing the water and drying myself.
Riden huffs out a breath before pointing to himself.
We won’t make it far with his boots squeaking or the sound of water dripping.
Without saying a word, I press him back against the empty wall between two cannons, and cover his body with mine. More words float on the air from my mouth, much too quiet to be heard by anyone other than Riden. Then I start to draw the water from him.
He lets out a little gasp as he starts to dry. Of fear or awe or something else entirely, I’m not sure. My head is over hisshoulder, my hands roaming his hair, his back, drawing every last drop into me.
“My backside is still wet,” he teases.
“Deal with it.”
