Page 148 of Tempting Fate

What the fuck? And where was the shadow?

But the giant creature—sapient?—seemed more concerned with retreating from the spore clouds than us, clambering further up the gravel shore, putting welcome distance between us.

More cold. More clinging to my love with shivering arms while he put one leg in front of the other in agonising slow motion.

A gritty, ethereal voice echoed around the cavern. “Swim away, Airida, but I will catch you.”

He froze. We were half way through the lake. Half way to safety.

I dared a look, and the huge, bestial form wavered, softening until it seemed to flow like liquid.

I’ve been in these caves so long, my brain’s addled. I squeezed my eyes tight. “Keep moving, baby. We’re nearly there.”

When I dared to look again, the beast had vanished. The shadow was back, traversing the width of the cavern in sharp, jerky clouds, as if pacing in frustration, keeping a distance from the spore clouds.

I let out a ragged breath. She can’t come after us.

The crystals were gyska. Reskavi hadn’t been totally correct about it being poisonous to some sapients; when it formed near water, it became a phase disruptor. Shadow stalkers were shifters, possibly phase shifters. Had the spores forced her out of her shadow form? I shivered. That meant Stalker was the giant, monstrous sapient.

A faint glow lit the archway we’d entered through. It brightened, more and more, until two large shapes appeared, only silhouettes at first, but their breadth and distinctive headspines could only be kri’ith.

I swallowed. Mercenaries. The gyska might have stopped Stalker, but it wouldn’t affect them.

Their torches roved around the space, searching, and all too soon, they passed over us, backtracked, and stopped. “There!”

The shout echoed around the cavern. Our pursuers sprung into motion, sprinting for the lake, and jumped in.

They could swim.

I clawed at Airida’s shoulders. “If you can move faster, now would be good.”

“Trying.”

Colourful ripples streaked through the water. Fish. Taking cover.

The glow from a nearby hole—the one right by our exit—began to fade.

Well, fuck-a-doodle-doo.

The two mercenaries swam towards us with powerful, splashing strokes, churning up the water, closing in with terrifying speed. There was no chance in all the galaxy we could make it to the other side before they got to us.

I stared at the hole in the lake wall. Fenn’s voice swam to the front of my mind. “Can you imagine staying calm enough to be still if you ended up in the water with that thing?”

The circle of bioluminescence in front of us dimmed—and, at any other time, it would have been terrifying.

I gripped the back of Airida’s neck. “Stop moving, kitten. Trust me.”

He froze, just as darkness swallowed up the hole’s glow.

My obedient, wonderful man.

All I could hear was the rushing of blood in my ears and the resounding splashes echoing around the cavern as our pursuers cut through the water. My heart beat frantically. Staying still seemed ludicrous, every instinct screaming at me to flee, to get away from all the hunters in the lake.

The two kri’ith swam ever closer.

Oh god, they’re going to get us. They’re going to get us. Please don’t let them get us.

A huge form rippled through the water right by me, something cold and smooth brushing my foot, making me shudder.