I breathed into Ash’s mouth as we floated, giving him three breaths. His hands tightened around me, and he shook his head. His eyes didn’t leave mine, and understanding seemed to flow between us. We both knew it. There was no way out of this, no way to fight them in their element, with nothing on our side.
Pressing my forehead against his, I closed my eyes and tried to calm my heart. Maybe if I was angry I could connect to the earth. But then, what would I do? What could I possibly do against crocodiles in the middle of the ocean with sand hundreds of feet below and nothing but water . . . I jerked back from Ash, eyes widening.
Sand, sand was the key. If the crocodile shifters couldn’t see us, we would have a chance. But how to explain to Ash? I would have to use Spirit if I wanted to speak to him under water. Spirit was the one part of me that would eat my soul if I used it too much. Yet, it was the only chance we had, and there was no time to question my decision.
I grabbed his face and put my forehead to his, trying to get him to see what I wanted him to see. For him to call the sand upward and swirl it around us, creating a fog that could save us. I pushed the thoughts toward him. His body tensed, then relaxed, and he nodded, his eyes brightening.
He held his hand out, and green swirls ran up his arm as he called on the earth below us. So far below . . . I hoped he could pull this off.
The crocs tightened their circle and the bigger of the two whacked us with his tail, sending us toward his buddy. We fought the momentum, but only slowed the impact.
Scales dug into my arms as we hit the cold, armor skin of crocodile number two. I scrambled along its body and pushed off, shooting us sideways.
And then the sand hit us. The tiny grains ripped through the water, pelting my skin, stinging my eyes. I closed my eyes and held my breath. Ash tightened his hold on me and we kicked hard toward the surface.
Scales brushed against the bottom of my feet and I couldn’t help but jerk my legs up—which only slowed my swimming. Ash pulled on me and I tried to help. One second we were swimming hard for the surface, the sand giving us some cover, and the next . . . my right foot was clamped inside a powerful set of jaws.
A sense of déjà vu rolled over me. I’d been here, leg in the mouth of a creature I truly couldn’t fight, not all that long ago.
Bones cracked under the biting force of the crocodile and I let out a scream, bubbles flowing out of my mouth. The croc rolled, tearing me away from Ash. Images flashed in front of me. The sand was gone, fallen away as Ash was jerked in the opposite direction by the other croc. I saw the surface, only a few feet away, sunlight streaming down. Then a flash of utter darkness as I stared into the ocean. Each roll disoriented me further, stealing whatever cognizant thoughts I might have had.
As quickly as the rolling started, it stopped and my foot was released. I floated in the water, unable to process what I was looking at, my head spinning from the death roll I’d been forced into.
Deep red tentacles wrapped around me, pushing me to the surface. The water broke over my head and I gasped in a breath, clutching Olive’s tentacles as I struggled to understand what had happened.
“Lark, tell me this is a friend.” Ash’s voice was unsteady and I turned my head toward him. He was ten feet away, wrapped in another of Olive’s tentacles, his face pale, gashes across his forehead dripping blood.
“Yes. Olive is the princess’s familiar.” I ran a hand over the coil holding me. “Thank you, Olive. You saved us again.”
She gave me a gentle squeeze and then released me into the water as she released Ash. We swam as she lifted the two crocs into the air, tentacles wrapping around their long bodies and pulling them apart before flinging them away from us.
“Do you think Loam and Peta made it out?” I kept my eyes on the goal of the shoreline of the Deep. The white sand beckoned and all I could think of was how sweet it would be when I put my feet on solid ground. Even the broken one.
“Honestly?”
I shot a look at him. “Yes. Always.”
Ash shifted so he was swimming on his side and could look at me. “No, I don’t think they made it out.”
I didn’t think they had, either, which made me a little sad. It wasn’t Peta’s fault she was stuck with an ass like Loam. He could die and I wouldn’t shed a tear. Those thoughts disappeared as my good foot touched the sand and I lowered my hands, slogging through the last few feet of water kind of hopping in order to keep weigh off my broken foot, until I was able to fall onto the ground. Ash thumped down beside me, a groan escaping him.
“Remind me not to visit the Deep again,” Ash said.
I rolled to my back, the heat of the sun still in the sand despite being dark out. The warmth drove deep into me, chasing away some of the chill. “And if I do? You still owe me a pedicure from our last adventure.”
He laughed softly and flopped a hand over to me, patting me on the head. “Damn, I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.” He stroked my hair and I closed my eyes. This, I could do again. But not here. Forcing myself to sit up, I took stock of our injuries. I had a broken foot, bite wounds from the bull shark on my calf, puncture wounds from the hooks, and general fatigue. “Where did the croc get you?”
He held up his right hand. I grimaced at the mangled fingers. “Damn.”
Carefully, he turned his damaged hand over, inspecting it. “My thoughts exactly. The healers here are good, but how do we get to them?”
The sound of laughter rolled down the beach, high-pitched and giddy. I turned and shaded my eyes. “I know how.” I lifted a hand, waving at the two kids. They saw me and ran toward us, hair streaming behind them in dark green waves. Two sets of green eyes stared down at me. The twins were still far too thin, but they were happy. I smiled at them. “Do you think you could find Ayu for us? Bring her here?”