“We know you do, Reagan,” Akeno said quietly. “But you’re exhausted and covered in blood. Let us handle this. Caspar will protect you until we find him.”
No, my mind screamed. I was the protector. I was supposed to keep them safe. Not the other way around. Not again. But when I tried to raise an arm, when the muscle fluttered and failed, I had to admit defeat.
“Fine,” I muttered. “Just find him.”
“Will do, kitty cat!” One of the twins saluted and I rolled my eyes.
Stars still flecked the sky above us but, out of my peripheral, I could see the blaze of orange flame that was once our boat. My stomach plummeted. Please, please don’t let him have been on that boat.
“Rest,” Sebastian said stiffly. “We need your strength back if those birds return. Caspar won’t be able to fight them alone.”
I nodded, or rather, jerked my head. Closed my eyes. Tried not to let the thundering of my heart and the panic rising in my chest take over my thoughts. Thankfully, exhaustion won the day and I collapsed again, mind passing into an uneasy sleep.
—
The nightmares almost held themselves at bay, taunting me into a delicious, dreamless slumber. But the peace didn’t last and, when I jerked awake, panting, I noticed three things.
First, orange light was expanding over the horizon.
Second, only Caspar and I hovered above the sea—none of the other Fae had returned.
And third, my sudden, violent awakening had startled the poor Fae who held me. Before I could register what was happening, I dropped.
Fast.
The dark water rose up to meet me and panic sent my heartbeat into overdrive. My wings wouldn’t stretch, my body wouldn’t shift, and I took a deep breath. I wasn’t getting out of this one.
Water swept over my head, A shock of cold lanced through my body. The salt bit into my wounds, burning the slashes down my face, neck, arms, torso. Breath stuttered out of me in soft bubbles, rising to the surface as I sank farther, the light above growing dim. My wings were too heavy, too wet. For several seconds, I tried to pull them in, to retract them.
Panic climbed up my throat. They wouldn’t budge. The wings would drag me down. Farther, deeper. My mind reeled at the revelation, thoughts jumbling over one another, racing to remind me of the growing ache in my lungs.
Release small breaths.
Swim upward.
Swim, damnit.
My legs floundered beneath the unwieldy weight of sodden feathers, my muscles already sore and aching. I kicked anyway, shoved, clawed for the surface. There was no light above me but I knew if I kept going, kept trying, I would break through.
Breath escaped me in small bursts.
Time passed slowly.
I wasn’t making progress upward. My lungs were on fire, the need for air tearing through my senses. I couldn’t seem to find traction but I needed to swim, had to swim. Then I exhaled too much, too forcefully, and nothing was left. My hand flew to my throat, grasping, tugging, begging for oxygen. I willed myself up, pleaded with myself to press on. To get to the surface, to get help. The pressure in my chest built.
Air, my lungs screamed. My body, my muscles, every inch of my being ached for one long breath. I struggled against the water one more time, and my mind latched onto a single thought:
I want to live.
A fire lit in my chest. I wanted to fight and be strong and live. No matter how grim things had been, I still had some kick left in me. This was not how I wanted to go. I had friends. I had Nevaeh. I had Tarik. And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t trapped in some cage with no sign of a way out. My body screamed in resistance, determined to fail me, but I had them.
I had reasons to live.
So I fought.
But then—on instinct, in desperation—I took a breath. Water clogged my mouth. Cold liquid filled my throat, caught in my lungs. The pressure in my chest became a weight, solid and heavy, and my will faded. The pain of dying dulled. Dizziness
clouded my mind, spots danced across my eyes. My limbs trembled before they drifted to my sides and darkness closed in around me.
The flame extinguished.
“Get the Fae!”
Ah crap.
In hindsight, my plan to sabotage the shifter’s ship kind of sucked.
Feet pounded toward me as I stuffed a couple more of their grenades into my pants pockets. If I wasn’t so committed to completing this task, I would have taken flight right then and helped the others. Helped Reagan. I had ordered Caspar to before I’d snuck onto the shifter’s ship for this solo stealth mission. But, despite his size and strength, he was still Fae. Shapeshifters would always be stronger than our kind—unless we used a Genesis Crystal, and I was the only one juiced up on it right now.
I easily hoisted a weighted net over my shoulder, the crystal’s energy humming through my enlarged muscles. I turned and sprinted for the nearest railing, not bothering with stealth anymore.
The whole ship knew I was on board. Bullets zinged past me but I didn’t alter my course. My plan might suck, but we were doomed if I failed. If I did, the enraged shifters would continue to pursue us. Maybe even learn the veil’s location and attempt to follow us into the Fae realm. I wouldn’t fail.
The net tripped me up and I plowed into the metal railing. Pain shot through my stomach. With a grunt, I clambered over the edge, taking the net with me. My body smacked the water’s surface and I fully submerged, fighting the urge to gasp as the cold temperature locked my limbs. Shaking off the shock, I dove deep, deeper, until darkness surrounded me. Only a faint orange glow remained, cast from our blazing trawler.
I could only pray that Sebastian still had the map and the others were taking to the sky, along with our supplies. Shoving aside my worry, I swam, dragging the net along, feeling for the ship’s metal underbelly. Hopefully my newly learned knowledge of sea vessels proved fruitful, or I was going to be diced into tiny Tarik-sized bites.
My fingers bumped up against the boat’s rudder and I inwardly sighed with relief. I would have instantly lost a limb and then some, if the ship hadn’t been idle. Quickly, I got to work wrapping the net around the steering mechanism, rendering it useless. At least until we could escape. By the time their ship was operational again, we’d be through the veil.
In theory.
I knew it was close, according to the map, but what if the distance wasn’t accurate? What if our wings couldn’t hold us aloft long enough to get us there? I bottled up my worry once again before it drowned me.
With one last hard tug on the rudder, I pushed away and swam for the surface, my lungs about ready to burst. As soon as my face breached the water, I gulped down cool air. But before I could inhale again, something clamped onto my leg and yanked. I sank beneath the waves. Curling forward, I peered through the gloom, and what I saw would have stolen my breath, if I had been breathing.
Shark.
A shark had me.
Then the gray body sprouted human arms. Bubbles escaped my mouth as I jerked back. The action sent agony through my trapped limb, my leg still inside the thing’s mouth. As if I were a chew toy, the shark shifter thrashed its head side-to-side, and a silent scream burst from my lungs. My oxygen all but depleted. Panic filled me.
The shifter was playing, knowing that I’d drown soon. I couldn’t withstand much more, and even my enhanced strength wouldn’t help in this case. A thought swamped me and I latched on. I had no other choice. I was out of options. Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed a grenade and pulled out the pin.