Page 47 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

My heart flutters.

The world narrows to the sound of rain, the taste of salt in the air, and the electric sparks zipping through my body.

If I touch Rian, I’ll never be the same. The line I’ve clung to between who I am and what he is will be erased. I’ll betray my resolve.

And still, I keep moving.

My pulse trips when Rian’s expression changes. Fierce one moment, then sharp with sudden horror.

His eyes widen. “Run!”

The word crashes through me like thunder.

Too late.

Something wet and cold clamps around my ankle.

I scream as the tentacle yanks me off my feet, dragging me across the deck. The railing rushes to meet me.

Then I’m airborne, flung into the storm, plummeting toward the raging sea and the monster waiting below.

10

Ice-cold water swallows everything, sucking me beneath the surface.

The shock is so violent that my chest seizes, and a burst of bubbles explodes from my lips. I clamp my mouth shut, lungs screaming, eyes flying open into darkness and foam. White currents twist around me, spinning me in the monster’s wake.

I thrash and kick. My boot connects with something solid, but the tentacle only tightens.

Rather than dragging me down, the beast pivots and swims parallel to the surface. The powerful suction cups burn the skin on my ankle, and the tight vise threatens to cut off my blood supply. Not that it matters. I’ll pass out before I lose a limb from loss of circulation.

My magic stirs, hot and desperate. Power floods to my lungs, unable to breathe for me but easing the crushing pressure.

It won’t last.

I need to move. To fight.

My body jerks side to side like a rag doll. My muscles quake. Salt stings my eyes.

I squeeze them shut. Power burns in my chest, but I sense how far it's stretching. It can’t help me for long. It’s not recovered. Not fully.

Water rushes up my nose as the monster picks up speed. I’m running out of time.

Please, I call out to my power. Help me!

My magic responds with a bristle, like a pulse of attitude, as if it wants me to know it is helping. Then it coils behind my sternum, a molten knot of heat, fierce and bright.

Power surges down my arm to my right hand. My fingertips prickle, electricity humming beneath my skin.

I envision bolts of lightning zipping across the sky and urge my magic to mimic the destructive force. To shoot out of my hands and strike the monster.

The heat builds, but it doesn’t release.

Cold slices into my skin. My lungs ache.

My magic tries to split its efforts, allaying my body’s immediate need for air and also conjuring an attack strong enough to dislodge the monster.

I reach toward the tentacle, hoping a mere brush of magic will hurt it, but the current’s too strong. My limbs are too heavy.