She knew exactly what he was doing, and it had worked.Until now.In the silence, she was as much alone as if she was on the moon.The intrusive thoughts she had successfully pushed away, deep into the recesses of her mind, were resurfacing.
No.
Furiously kicking her legs, she glided through the liquid.Each stroke closed the distance between her and the cliff.The faster she was, the less time she would need to be in the water.It was just like when she did laps in the pool, except she couldn’t see the bottom.The extra resistance from the backpack was both a blessing and a curse.It was slowing her down, but it was also a flotation device.She sensed movement beneath her.
Talik.His long hair swayed around him, more merperson than Atlantean, surfacing only when he needed to.Or to check on her.
There was no way she was going to let him beat her in a contest.It wasn’t about the car.She actually didn’t care about it.Instead, it was how she had reacted when he demanded a kiss for winning.The way her entire body had come alive, as if she had been given an electric shock.
She hit the wall hard, her hand slapping it triumphantly.She quickly surfaced, treading water as she scanned the area, looking for anything that she could use to climb out of the water.Being isolated in the water was far worse than swimming across the expanse.There, to the left of her.She grabbed hold of a foothold and threw the bag over before she scrambled onto the small ledge, barely wide enough for her to stand on.She kept the backpack between her legs as she crouched as best she could, half leaning over to search for any sign of him.
Where was Talik?
One, two, three...she counted the seconds as she held her breath.Searching the dark water for any telltale signs of bubbles or a ripple, anything that would indicate where Talik was.
“Looking for me, princess?”Talik asked as he scaled the closest wall, reaching out above his head to a ledge that protruded five feet from the wall.His shoulders bunched through his wet shirt as he pulled himself over before looking at her.At some point, Talik’s hair had escaped his hair tie, again, and now it lay in waves around his face.He looked like a dark-haired Norse god.
Relief flooded her—not that she would let him know.
“I believe it was a tie,” he continued.
She scowled at his words as she followed his path along the wall, easily finding the small grooves for her fingers as she made the eleven-foot climb.Directly underneath the ledge, she swatted his helping hand as she gripped the edge, grinding her teeth together as she pulled herself over it.Scrambling to her knees, she gave Talik a haughty look, ignoring the fact that water dripped from her face and every part of her, and she likely resembled a drowned cat.
Talik held up his hands as he stood, giving her room.“Don’t believe me?”
Slowly standing, she shrugged as she tried not to think about his side of the wager.Or that the stupid bet had actually worked—she had swum to the other side of the canal.“I still get the car if it’s a tie.You can deliver it to House Azaes.I am going to enjoy driving it through the streets of Cairo.”
Talik laughed.The sound spread warmth through her and heat between her legs.
“It appears we chose an opportune time to leave.”
She followed the direction of his gaze and gasped.The causeway they had been standing on only minutes before was already flooded.The water continued to rocket upward.She looked at the ledge.It would only exist for another twenty minutes at this rate, before it was entirely submerged underwater.Searching for the green crystal she had used as a marker, she found it halfway between her and Talik but still fifty feet up.Eyeing the cliff face, she mentally berated herself for not making her markers clearer.It wasn’t a hard climb—slightly more technical than she would have liked, especially without gloves and in wet clothing.She picked up the backpack and put it on, tightening the straps.“We need to move.”
“Who would have thought Rome had this much underground water?”Talik mused.
It was just their luck.
He moved gracefully, but there was a hint of slowness and lack of precision compared to when he was at one hundred percent.Khalida hesitated, then hoisted herself up the cliff and began to climb.Time was not on their side.And there was no way she was getting back into the water.
Talik holstered his blasters before he tied up his wet hair.“I’ll give you a head start, princess.”
“I told you not to call me princess,” she said, with less heat than she intended.Glancing at the rising water and back up at Talik, she smiled, showcasing all her teeth.Two could play this game.“Try not to fall.”
***
TALIK
Talik pulled himselfup on the last part, hauling himself into the opening Khalida had pointed out.It was barely big enough for him to crawl onto.He hit the ground with a thump, landing on the blasters.His legs half stuck out as he tried to catch his breath, chewing his lower lip as every jagged piece of rock within a one-mile radius dug into him.All his nerve endings were on fire, and it felt like each individual cell was sending him an electrical shock with every breath he took.It was taking all his concentration to keep moving, to ignore the pain that was steadily increasing.
The damn venom was still coursing through his system.The adrenaline and movement had triggered another bout.He clenched his fists as sweat beaded down his face.He did not want to alert Khalida to his worsening state.Not that they could do anything about it but keep moving forward.
The cool metal of the blasters bit into his side as he tried to adjust his position into something slightly more comfortable, but it was getting harder to breathe.Up ahead, Khalida moved silently.He didn’t think she was doing it on purpose—it was probably a combination of instinct and training—but his raging headache was highly appreciative.
Below them, the water was continuing to rise.It would be a couple of hours, but the cavern would be entirely submerged.He clenched his teeth as he continued to look at the rising waters.There was no going back.
He pushed onto his elbows, turning as he cursed every one of his ancestors—if he was going to be Atlantean, couldn’t he have at least inherited their damn enhanced eyesight?He took a deep breath, hoping Khalida couldn’t hear him, or she would demand they rest.
The rising waters would argue against it.
