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We drew even with the kraken. I couldn’t see him out in the water, but he was close in the bond.
:Time for one final show.: She reached over her shoulder and wrapped her fingers around the hilt of my sword. :Fuck, G. How the fuck do you even draw this thing? My arms aren’t long enough. I’ll have to improvise.:
Her power shimmered around us, waves of energy helping her pull the long Templar sword free of its sheath and support it despite its weight. I felt a surge in the storm overhead, ozone burning my nostrils. Muscles tensing, I gave her a little hop of warning. Waiting for her to pull the lightning down.
Her knees tightened, and I reared back, pawing the sky, bellowing out a vicious stallion whinny. A perfect gust of wind billowed her hair and the gown like black and white wings. She raised the sword overhead and lightning crackled down in a brilliant blue flash to the tip of the blade. Sparks flew in all directions.
She screamed, “Long live House Isador!” Her words amplified by her power, rolling with thunder.
Then we leaped into the waves with a flock of crows cawing overhead.
* * *
SHARA
Waves crashed against G’s chest, splashing warm salt water in my face. He arched up again, lunging over several waves in a row like a hunter taking fences. As the water deepened, I clung to his mane with my free hand so I didn’t slip off. Before we got too deep, I used my power to lift the Templar sword back over my shoulder and into its sheath.
His back dipped completely underwater, and he started swimming, pulling me along with him. I checked Itztli and Xin to make sure they were faring okay. Itztli’s dog grinned at me, easily paddling along beside us. Xin surged ahead slightly, and Itztli fell back to protect our flank while staying clear of the hell horse’s giant hooves.
Okeanos reached up one tentacle, guiding the way for Xin while still staying mostly underwater.
:How close are we?: I asked.
:Ten minutes or so at this speed.:
:Can you see her nest?:
:No. It’s been hidden from my eyes since she caged me. The only time I saw it again was when you went with me to visit her.:
I kept power humming through my veins, though I didn’t want to broadcast my location—or worse, alarm her into thinking she was under attack. This low in the water, I couldn’t see anything ahead of us but the waves rolling in. The occasional splash from my swimming Blood. I felt for Rik, and he was moving quickly toward me on the yacht, his grim, formidable alpha focus locked on me. From his higher vantage point, he could see our little group in the water.
:Sharks,: Okeanos said sharply. :They’re Undina’s sentinels.:
:Her Blood?:
:They’re only animals though she treats them like pets.:
:Then let’s not kill them unless we must.:
A gray fin broke the water just a few feet away, the shark circling us. Another on my right. They didn’t attack but I didn’t assume they were friendly. They were smart enough to stay out of the reach of the kraken’s tentacles.
As if it heard my doubts, one of them sped faster, deliberately bumping into Itztli hard enough his head went under. He snapped at the shark’s side as it swept past but missed. Another shark broke the water directly behind us.
Guillaume heaved beneath me, his head dropping lower while his hindquarters bumped up out of the water. One of his hooves thumped the shark directly on its snout. It flew up out of the water, thrashing in a frantic frenzy. Blood dripped from a deep, smoking slash on its nose.
Nevarre swooped down and swiped his talons along another shark’s back. Pecking and screaming angry crows swarmed and dive-bombed the sharks until they retreated.
:She knows we’re here,: Okeanos said.
A giant wave swelled in front of us, not cresting but lifting us up higher above the rest of the ocean. The air rippled, rivulets of tinkling water running off an invisible surface, casting prisms of iridescent light. Streaming, sparkling curtains parted, revealing an island beach of shining white sand. Palm, banana, and mango trees lined the coast, and the water gleamed a deeper cerulean than the muddy blue gray of the Gulf of Mexico.
Beyond the trees, pink and orange humps rose in graceful curves like waves. Okeanos said the interior of her nest was formed from a living coral reef.
Guillaume’s hooves touched ground again. I pulled myself back into position on his back, wriggling around to get upright. The ends of my hair were soaked, dragging even heavier, which made it harder for me to move under its weight.
:Fuuuuck,: he growled in the bond.
:Sorry.: I grinned, not sorry at all.
