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There was a slice about three inches long, and it was pouring blood at an alarming rate, a deep puncture wound on the other side. My hands became slick with it, blood gushing over my chest too.
"Tried…" Wynvail slurred, his eyelids drooping shut over pained silver eyes. "Everything … to stop him…"
"Wynvail!" I cried, my voice breaking. My soul collapsed, my chest caving in on itself. "Harvey!"
My arm shook as I clutched Wynvail closer, slamming one hand over the mess of his throat, trying to stop blood flow as I swam in place and failing miserably.
"Give him here, Hales," Emlyn said, his calm tone like a rush of oxygen in my lungs. He pulled us further from the hippocampus, Harvey keeping it occupied and Kai attacking with magic and venom. I swam numbly, covered in blood, my chest caving in.
Tears burned my eyes. I couldn't breathe. I hated Wynvail, and I wanted to personally kill him, but the thought of losing him made me want to scream and sob and curl into a ball.
Emlyn pressed his bigger, stronger palm to Wynvail's throat, stemming the gush of blood, and my heart skipped with a mix of panic and relief.
But I felt the weakness dragging his soul, the bond heavier in my chest than it had ever lay.
Arms wrapped around me from behind, Kai's voice gentle in my ear. "You have to stab the horse, my rose. Or try to—whatever you did to the other one. That's the only way it'll stop attacking us."
A broken whine was the only reply I could give, but—Harvey roared, deep and guttural, and hairs rose all down my arms.
Kai was right. The rest of us would get killed unless I did this.
"Em," I rasped, tears blinking free and mixing with the cold droplets splashed on my face.
"I'll do my best," he promised, his face tight with worry. "He won't die on my watch, Hales."
I trapped my bottom lip between my teeth when it wobbled like crazy, and allowed Kai to guide us through the water closer to the hippocampus. Fuck, the beast and Harvey were evenly matched, each trading blows and slashes, drawing blood and evading hits in equal measure.
"Hey," I rasped, completely missing thetotal badassmark I was aiming for. "I'm the only one who gets to fight my mates."
I lifted my blades, Kai carrying me closer, and sucked in a juddering breath as the hippocampus snapped a hoof at Harvey, pushing him back. My mate snarled and roared like a mindless beast, heedless of the pain he must be in, and a new panic beat through my chest. Would he be able to shift back? Had I lost him again?
Focus on the murderous seahorse, Haley.
I swallowed when the hippocampus swung towards me, but with Kai's arms around me, giving me strength and unwavering support, I kept my trembling arms raised and drove my daggers at its eyeballs. I didn't dare look at the open maw, blood dripping in rivulets down slick green skin. Wynvail’s blood. Emlyn’s. Harvey’s.
Kai carried me the last few inches, his snakes propelling us through the water until the razor tips of my volcanic knives drove into its eyes. My arms jerked, my body recoiling, and Kai tightened his arms around me. The daggers hit the same barrier as before, and even though I was prepared for it, I still flinched when they erupted with bright ruby light.
Power coursed up my arms, making my fingertips numb, my palms burning, and I couldn't keep the scream trapped in my chest even though I knew it would scare the shit out of Kai. Magic shook me like I'd been electrocuted, burning the tip of my tongue until I tasted blood and salt and smoke, and when it finally ebbed away, I hung limp in my mate's arms, panting for breath.
And Wynvail was dying. His throat was torn out.
Tried … everything … to stop him…
Not it—him. Wyn wasn’t talking about the hippocampus.
"Haley?" Kai demanded, a tremble moving through his body. He squeezed me tighter, his chest moving with rapid breaths. "Talk to me, my rose, tell me you’re okay."
"Fine," I replied weakly, tears flowing down my cheeks.
I hated him; why should I care if he died? He was a dick.
I honestly forgot the hippocampus was still in front of us until its mouth opened andit spoke.
"You broke the curse on me. Your blades absorbed it." Sharp blue eyes, no longer milky and opaque, gave me and my knives an uneasy look. "I owe you a debt, and so does my god."
"Your god," Kai echoed, because speech was beyond me.
"The king of the sea. Poseidon."
