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He didn’t respond to my remark, and gripped my waist. “Hold me tightly. I’ll be following the magic’s trail out, and I don’t want to lose you.”
“I could ride on your back,” I suggested.
The look he gave me was dirty. “You feel much better this way.”
My legs tightened around his back, and he brushed his lips against mine one more time before he tucked my face against his chest, and then slid into the water.
We submerged once, and came up for air immediately. The warmth of the water surprised me with its pleasantness, and when I looked down, I saw large fish-like creatures with long, wavy things moving around them.
“What are those?” I asked him.
He glanced down at the water, and frowned. “The unseelies didn’t teach you about our world?”
“If I’d been less stubborn and actually talked to them, maybe they would’ve.” I lifted a shoulder.
“They’re novocannes. They’re in most of the rivers, lakes, and ponds.”
Oh.
Fish, then. But the Vevol version.
“They’re not going to hurt us?” I checked.
“No, they’re harmless.” He hugged me closer to him, treading water easily. “If you see anything you don’t know the name of while we’re traveling, point it out. You’ve been here far too long to not know the basics.”
On that, we could agree.
“Thanks.”
He scowled at me—apparently, he didn’t believe I needed to thank him.
“Hold your breath,” he warned me, and then dove down.
I followed instructions, leaving my eyes open so I could watch as Teris swam us away from the glowing cavern with strong, steady strokes. He carried me without a struggle, but it was kind of a long swim, so I still needed to suck in air quickly when we surfaced.
“Good.” He stroked my lower back as I breathed heavily.
“I’m not usually this weak,” I told him, my voice a little shaky. “It’s the pull of the magic. The goddess undersold the strength of it.”
“I know you’re strong, Nai. You’re aQueen, after all.” His drawl made me smack him on the shoulder, and that made him grin at me. “I know the magic’s affecting you. It’s really damn strong if you have to take a mate to balance it out—and even stronger if you only have a week to do that. Vevol might be insane, but she hasn’t destroyed us yet.”
“Yetbeing the keyword there,” I muttered.
“There’s still time.” He slid a hand down to my ass, and squeezed lightly. “Ready? I don’t know how many times we’re going to have to do this, but I get the sense we’re a long way from getting out.”
I sighed. “It’s fine. I’m ready.”
With that, he submerged us again.
It tookme longer to recover every time we went under—and Teris’s concern grew with every chest-heaving, lung-straining breath I took.
“I’m fine,” I promised, panting like a dog.
Though I had no idea how long we’d been swimming, it felt like forever.
“You’re not fine,” he growled back. “I don’t even think you have six days at this rate.”
Harsh, but probably true.
