When I can’t take it anymore, I swim upwards. My lungs scream when I break the water and am finally able to fill them with oxygen.
Once I blink away the water from my eyes, I scream.
Jax stands on the very edge of the pool, looking bewildered. Right behind him are Ezkai Bjorn and Ezkai Emil, weapons drawn.
I hit the surface. “You scared the shit out of me!”
Jax blinks, eyes wild. “Me? I scared the shit out of you?Youalmost gave me a heart attack!”
I frown. “What?”
Jax gestures to me, and then to the forest behind me. “I woke up to an empty room, feeling all sorts of horrible things! I wentlooking for you, worried that you’re not feeling well, but couldn’t find you anywhere! Nobody had seen you since last night, not even your guard dogs right here.”
“Hey,” Ezkai Emil says right as Ezkai Bjorn growls, “Watch your mouth.”
Jax continues, ignoring them. “I thought you were dying! You couldn’t breathe, your heart was racing! And then, all of a sudden, nothing. As if you went into shock or something. Or were knocked unconscious!” He’s shouting at me. Jax is actually shouting at me. I don’t think I’ve seen him angry. Ever. He beats his fist on his chest. “Do you know how that feels?! What the fuck are you doing here?”
I cock my head to the side and glance between the three men. “How did you find me?”
Jax pauses, stunned. Then he splutters, and throwing his hands in the air, whirls on his heel and walks away.
“Un-fucking-believable,” he mutters. “This woman will be the death of me.”
I roll my eyes.
Slowly, I swim towards the shore where Ezkai Emil kneels on one knee and offers me his hand. “The Blood Sentineal was able to sense and track you here through the sacred bond. When he told us that you were gone, we went with him to look for you.”
He helps me out of the water. My leathers are drenched, and now that I’m on dry land, jumping into the cold water doesn’t look like that good of an idea.
Ezkai Emil remains on his knee, head bowed. Ezkai Bjorn joins him, too.
“General, please forgive us.” Ezkai Bjorn speaks first. “We have failed in our duty to guard and protect you at all times.”
“It’s fine,” I say, glancing at Jax, who stands with his back to me, looking at the trees. “I was meditating when I decided I needed to clear my mind with a walk and a cold plunge.”
“We won’t fail you again,” Ezkai Emil says.
I gesture for them to rise.
“You can head back to the monastery. We’ll be right back,” I tell my Ezkai.
“Gener—”
I cut Ezkai Emil off. “Don’t.”
He slams his mouth shut and with a nod, the Ezkai take the path leading back to the monastery.
I wait until I can’t see them anymore before I approach Jax. He stands with his hands stuffed in his pockets as if he’s just casually admiring the forest. But his shoulders are tense.
I don’t need to read his emotions to know he’s…agitated.
“Jax,” I start, but then I pause. I’m not sure what to say. If there’s anything I can say. He stands next to me, but he doesn’t look at me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you because I kept you up last night. I meant it when I said I went for a meditation, and then a walk to clear my head.”
Jax’s throat bobs. Still, he doesn’t look at me. “Did you try to drown yourself?”
“No.” My voice comes out sharper than I intend. “I just needed to clear my mind. When meditation and a walk didn’t help, well, that was the only other option available.”
Finally, his head swivels and his dark eyes land on me. He looks at me as if he disagrees, though.
