Every desperate movement only leached more strength from her. She tried using her magic to teleport them out of the lake again. When that didn’t work, she tried every spell and magical means she could think of to get them the hell out of the water, but nothing worked. As she continued to grow weaker and her vision blurred around the edges, she still refused to let go.
If the lake wanted her mate, it would have to take her, too.
But she wasn’t fucking ready to die yet.
Not when she had only just found her mate. Not when she hadn’t cleared his name, restored his honor, or dragged the truth of what had been done to him into the light. Mordecai had spent centuries trapped in a nightmare that should never have belonged to him. He couldn’t get his family back, but he deserved justice for what had been done to them.
It took several long, disorienting seconds before Lana realized they weren’t simply being tossed around by the current. It wasn’t random. They weren’t caught in a whirlpool or being swept along by the lake’s natural flow. An invisible force seemed to be drawing them deeper into the dark depths with relentless determination, giving them no chance to escape.
The glowing blue water became darker the deeper they sank. The surface was impossibly far away now, and the pressure around them increased with every passing second. Black spots danced across her vision as the world drifted farther away. She’d held her breath for as long as possible, but she had finally reached her breaking point. The instinct to breathe became impossible to ignore, overpowering every ounce of reason she had left.
Her eyes closed as she started to fade out of consciousness. Before she could stop herself, she took in a huge gulp of water. Enough that she should have drowned. However, that didn’t happen. Confusion replaced some of her terror. There was no burning sensation. No violent choking. No desperate convulsions.
Instead of drowning, she inhaled again.
Her eyes snapped open. She was breathing in the water as easily as she had in the library only minutes ago. Every sense of logic told her what was happening was impossible, but her own body was evidence that it wasn’t. Deep beneath the surface of the lake, she was somehow breathing as though the water itself had become air.
What the holy fuck?
She reached out to Mordecai through their bond.“I can breathe.”
“What?”
“I’m breathing in the water as easily as I breathe in air.”
There was a long pause.“I can, as well. What in hellfire is going on?”
“I have no bloody idea.”
Now that they were no longer in immediate jeopardy of drowning, Lana forced herself to fight the frantic survival instincts screaming through every nerve in her body. She focused on calming herself down and slowing her breathing. After realizing she was practically choking her mate, she loosened her death grip from around his neck. It was almost impossible to convince herself to completely relax, though. Despite being able to breathe, she still wanted to get the hell out of the water.
Only, it didn’t feel like water anymore.
At some point, the glowing sapphire lake had changed, and the dark, murky depths had transformed into something entirely different. The glowing lake had become a vast sea of shimmering iridescence, the colors constantly shifting around them like liquid starlight.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
The intense pressure she’d been feeling was gone, and a strange weightless sensation had replaced it.Wrapped around Mordecai with her arms hooked loosely over his shoulders and her legs tangled with his, she felt like they were a pair of astronauts suspended in the endless silence of deep space, drifting together through a glowing, celestial sea. When she tried to glance around, Mordecai’s arms tightened around her.
“Don’t let go, princess.”
“I won’t,”she swore.
Focusing on him now, she could see the stark fear on his face. Not for their strange surroundings, but for her. She understood that the only thing he feared now was losing her. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his. No matter where they were or what happened to them, she would always want him, always need him.
She would always love him.
The instant she accepted that truth, the iridescent sea seemed to respond. Power and warmth rippled through the shimmering liquid in slow, rhythmic pulses, as though it possessed a heartbeat of its own. Rather than feeling threatening, the ancient energy felt reverent. As it weaved around them in slow, graceful spirals, she realized it was doing more than welcoming them into its embrace. It reminded her of curious hands brushing over them, examining not just their bodies, but the very essence of who they were.
It was judging them.
Deciding whether or not they were worthy.
For what, she wasn’t sure. The only thing Lana knew was that the next few seconds would determine their fate and whether they lived or died together.
Several heartbeats passed in complete silence, then the glow surrounding them started to intensify. The luminous liquid slowly turned into a sea of pure, brilliant light. It should have seared her eyes or forced them to close, but it didn’t hurt, nor was there any discomfort.
It was meant to transform.
