Page 13 of Their Trials

If I can do that, maybe Baer's bond could help me again? I reached for the bond again and met its eager caress in my mind. Sending my thoughts to the magic, I felt it burst from me, parting the waters before me and allowing me to swim twice as fast as before.

I pushed myself harder as I cut through the water and closed the distance between me and the dragon as we continued to dive deeper under the surface. I urged the magic to form an air bubble around myself as well, gasping for breath as soon as it had complied.

Still, Lennox didn't fight, didn't acknowledge my pursuit, or even make a move as I gained on the dragon. Now, only a few feet away, the rope was still tied to my waist and not slowing me down.

Somehow, the rope still allowed me to keep going, not running out of slack despite the distance I had covered. The rope hadn't been this long when I had picked it up, but I wouldn't complain about it now, even if I wasn’t sure exactly how it worked.

I tightened my grip on the dagger as I came within striking distance, pulling up on its flank. I slashed down its left side, right in front of the hind leg, nailing the soft tissue of the joint. Dragging my blade down quickly, I then snatched it back and struck it again.

The dragon spun in the water, looking like a hellish loch ness monster before me with more teeth than I was expecting. It darted toward me in the water, and I danced away, the water not slowing me down. I felt light as air with Baer’s magic flowing through me as the monster attacked.

I waited for the dragon to strike, holding my spot until the very last second, before I spun to the side and stabbed my blade into its eye. The dragon jerked back, pulling my blade from the socket. Blood was quickly filling the water around us and starting to impede my vision.

I taunted it when it turned its good eye to glare at me, urging it to attack me again. I didn't have to wait long before it lunged, this time spinning to the side of its good eye at the last second. I stabbed the blade downward again, effectively blinding the beast.

This beast wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, pulling back, just like before, and dislodging my blade. It thrashed around in anger, and I waited for my moment to strike once more, needing to get closer to land a killing blow.

Seeing my chance as it started to slow down, turning to its right side to try to find me in the blurring water, I closed the distance quickly with an extra burst of magic coming up alongside its long neck.

I slashed Lennox’s knife down the side as hard as I could, the blade sinking between the hard scales along its skin. Grabbing the handle with both hands, I pulled down with all my strength, my muscles screaming at me as I opened up its neck.

The beast clawed at me with its front leg as I continued to pull downward on the blade, slicing through my clothes and skin with its talons, our blood now mixing together like a macabre watercolor painting.

I hoped the beast died soon because I could feel my limited grasp on the magic slipping, tired beyond anything I had ever felt before. But that was the difference between me and other fighters. I knew how to dig deep inside me to find reserves to keep going even when I felt like I couldn't go any longer.

The dragon clawed me again, this time dislodging and knocking me away, but with only half the strength it had before. I had cut it deep enough that now, I just needed to wait it out. I just needed to keep a hold of my magic long enough to keep the air bubbles around Lennox and myself until we could reach the surface again.

I watched as the dragon tried to fight the inevitable death it was now facing, its movements slowing down, fewer and farther between. It wouldn't be much longer before it met its end. I didn't remove my eyes from the creature as I waited, ready to dart in as soon as I could to remove Lennox and get us both back to shore.

Finally, its lungs gave one last heave, no longer rising and falling as it started to sink, Lennox floating up from its back. I swam toward him and wrapped an arm around his waist, letting his air bubble go as he entered mine.

I tucked his dagger into my boot before pulling on the rope, praying Callum could understand my need for him to pull us from the water. There was no way I had enough left in me to swim us both back to the shore, not if I wanted to maintain the air bubble. We were deeper than I had thought, barely any light penetrating the surface to reach us, blood drifting on the current around us and limiting visibility.

The rope tightened around my waist, cutting into the wounds the dragon had inflicted, which were still bleeding, leaving a dark trail behind us. The pain was finally starting to reach me now that the adrenaline was wearing off. But we were slowly being pulled through the water back the way we had come.

I sure hoped we would be done after this, that the land had seen exactly what it needed from me. I could happily sleep for a week. As we drifted closer to the surface, my mind started to wander, and the edges of my vision were darkening, despite the light that was now piercing through from above.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, to stay awake long enough to hold the air bubble. To keep my awareness and focus, I started chanting to myself to hold the bubble over and over until my mind began drifting before I could even finish the thought.

The water became clearer, the light blinding as it refracted against the waves, distracting me further. The air bubble started to flicker in and out as I reached the bottom of my magic. We were so close. Just a little further. I just needed to hold on a few more minutes.

Those few minutes felt like hours as I fought off unconsciousness, gritting my teeth to hold on, the rope biting into me painfully and making it hard for me to breathe while Callum slowly pulled us both back in.

Finally, my head cleared the surface, and I dropped the air bubble with a gasp. Squeezing Lennox tighter to me, I struggled to get his head above water as well, his limp form threatening to bring us both under the surface again.

Arms wrapped around me, and then Lennox was pulled from my grip as the guys dragged us back above water. Their longer legs were able to touch before my human body could. The rope loosened, the relief from the pain it had caused instantaneous. With the rope no longer constricting me, my lungs were now able to fully expand as I gasped for breath.

Baer carried me to shore while Callum and Arryn hoisted Lennox between them. He laid me out on the sand next to Lennox, who was still passed out. I felt Arryn's magic brush against my skin as he checked Lennox for any injuries.

He moved over, his eyes raking my body, taking in the slashes along my side and abdomen from the dragon's talons. “Fuck, Killer,” Baer breathed, holding my hand as Arryn's hands went to my abdomen.

I hissed as he pressed his hands down around my wounds, not touching the flayed edges but close enough for his magic to heal me. My skin warmed as I felt it knitting itself back together. His eyes met mine while he worked.

I could see the concern on his face, but no one spoke until he finally pulled back from me. His eyes darted down my body again as if in confirmation that I was indeed healed. Nodding at me, he moved back over to Lennox.

“What the fuck was that?” Callum barked at me as I started to sit up, my muscles still tender and sore despite not having any more visible wounds.

I glanced up at him. “That was me saving Lennox,” I told him, too tired to give him the full weight of my anger and irritation at his questioning of my actions.

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