AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He hadn’t used his water to kill the creature dragging me deeper into the cave, though, so I assumed he was either preoccupied with a monster of his own or I was just too far. Considering what I knew about his magic, I assumed it was the prior.
And also hoped for that, since it gave him a better chance at making sure I survived whatever the monster was dragging me to.
Its claws gripped my shoulder and abdomen, digging into my skin as it pinned me to its torso. It felt slimy, like a snake or a fish, but those claws were no joke. My blood clouded the water as it towed me away, and I was glad I’d had time for my bruises to heal before this creature stole me.
Zoran’s magic remained steady as the monster carried me deeper, and deeper, and deeper.
The water grew darker, but thankfully, my fae sight wasn’t really affected by it and I could still see clearly.
We passed more monsters—massive, tentacled things, like the ocean version of the viney creature that had nearly killed me. Small things with sharp teeth, too. And huge, whale-like creatures with arms, legs, and extremely long claws. The more monsters we passed, the more my mind spun.
How was Zoran going to find me with all of those beasts in his way?
How was I going to get out with my life?
What if the monster took me down to Heliai?
What if it ate me?
I didn’t want to think about any of those questions, but they kept hitting me over and over.
We continued so long that I started to wonder if I’d ever emerge from the water. My panic faded to a cold, tense fear.
When the creature finally dragged me onto land with it, I was both shivering and shocked to be back on solid stone.
Then again, I was both shivering and shocked even before the thing grabbed me. So logically, it made sense for me to feel even worse after getting taken.
I took stock of the monster, quickly.
One of the whale creatures.
Its skin looked tough and thick, so a little stone dagger wasn’t going to be anywhere near strong enough to kill it.
A fast glance around us showed me that I was in another nest. There was no fae clothing around me, but there were bones.
So many bones.
I didn’t look closely enough to determine if they belonged to fae or monsters, but I hoped desperately for the latter.
The creature’s nose bumped my throat as it sniffed me.
Fear swelled, thick and tense.
There wasn’t time to think, or even use my power.
That thing could eat me at any moment.
My eyes caught on the ring of water still wrapped around my wrist, now moving in agitation. The king was still watching me, trying to help me, even though he must’ve been dealing with something on his own side of things.
“Kill it,” I whispered to Zoran. “Kill it fast, before it kills me. Here.” I shoved my palm against the thing’s chest, and it made an awful sound. Its teeth chomped down toward me, and I closed my eyes and screamed.
Sharp pain radiated through my shoulder and arm—but then the creature’s head rolled off its body, taking a chunk of my flesh with it. Both parts of the creature hit the floor with a sickening thud.
I gaped down at the body while shock made my trembling worse.
“Thank you,” I managed to say to Zoran, when the water on my wrist started tugging and moving and writhing.
I had to get out of there.
