Page 11 of Echoes of the Tide

But she hesitated before putting her hands on his shoulders, and then he scooped her up and dove perhaps a little too quickly. But he would take no risks when it came to this strange achromo. She would be safer with him than with them.

CHAPTER 5

She told herself not to scream in the bubble of her diving suit, and she didn’t. But she definitely might have let out an embarrassing whimper. There was something horrible about the sensation of going underneath the water. The old dive suit wasn’t exactly as warm as it should have been. There was too much space between her skin and the insulated fabric of the suit, so she felt it suction to her and then they were off.

She had the momentary terror that the oxygen tank wouldn’t work. It was old, after all. They’d had someone look at it to make sure that she wouldn’t drown, but there was always the chance. Or that they hadn’t sealed it right and soon enough she would feel water creep in underneath the helmet. A thousand things could go wrong, and that was all she could focus on for a long time.

The dark water covered her head and once she had time to calm her nerves about the ancient suit that was supposed to keep her alive, all she could feel was the muscular arm around her waist.

There was so much strength in that band of forearm that held her back pressed against his chest. He glided through the water with ease, holding onto her like she weighed absolutely nothingwhen she knew that damn well wasn’t true. The faintest pricks of claws brushed along her stomach, and her belly tensed at the sensation.

No light penetrated this deep into the ocean. All she could see was the darkness surrounding them. And with that, came the realization that there were other sensations. She could feel every individual claw as it brushed along her suit. The flexing of his muscles as he darted away from her home and dragged her into the deep. The sound of her own breath, coming too rapid and too shallow because she couldn’t focus on anything other than the terror that raced throughout her mind.

She could die. He could drop her and she’d sink like a stone. The ocean could claim her just as it had so many other bodies. She’d never realized until right now how much she hated the ocean.

“Where are we going?” he asked, his deep voice somehow even louder in the water than it had been out of it.

She flinched, but he only drew her back into his chest, even firmer. It was like he wanted her to get closer to him, because his arm tightened even more, drawing her so close that her legs brushed against his tail as they fairly flew through the water.

“Um...” Where were they going? Her mind had frayed with fear and now she wasn’t... Jacob had said something... He’d made it very clear that she had to go somewhere to get... shit.

His other arm joined the first, wrapping her up in him. Then, suddenly, she was flipped mid swim. Turned again like she weighed nothing, so she was facing him with her helmet mashed against his strong chest. She tried to still herself, wondering if he was just going to snap her neck or if this was his apology hug before he dropped her into the abyss.

But nothing happened. He just held her. Quietly. Calmly. Then he slowed his speed until they weren’t darting through the water like a missile, they were just floating. Letting the sea holdthem up together as though this was the most normal thing in the world.

Maybe it was. Maybe it was entirely normal for him, but it was so strange for her.

She took in a deep, rattling breath. Then another. She had to get herself under control because if she didn’t, then she wouldn’t remember a damn thing of what she was supposed to do.

A steady thud caught her attention. Not quite a beat of a drum, more of a bump-thud sound that was so unusual. She couldn’t think of anything else. She listened to that sound, wondering what in the world it was, until she realized it was his heartbeat.

He’d stopped swimming so she could be wrapped in his arms, listening to his heart. What kind of monster did that? Not a monster at all. Just someone who saw another person in distress and wanted to help.

Taking a deep breath, she let her own fears float away. Taking one deep breath after another, she slowed her heart rate down until she nodded against his chest. “Right. We’re going to the medical pavilion.”

“And where is that?”

“It’s so weird talking to an undine,” she muttered under her breath, before trying to rotate in his arms. “I need to look around.”

“Why is it strange to talk to me?”

“Because you’re...” Ace tried to find the right words. “Massive? The only kind of sea creature capable of speech?”

“Not true.” He let her turn, even helping her by holding her under the armpits like she was a child. And then he just... held her out in front of him. Arms straight, hands under her arms. “Dolphins and whales speak.”

This was a distraction she didn’t need. Ace’s vision had finally adjusted to the darkness of the sea and she could seethere were pinpricks of light ahead of her. The medical pavilion should be blue if she remembered right. She wasn’t sure if it would have a neon blue exterior, however. It would make sense that all the signs would have some kind of color coded legend, but... Well. It wasn’t like everything here was consistent.

Apparently, she didn’t respond fast enough, because he swayed her side to side. Swishing her legs through the water in the slowest kind of shake. “Did you hear me?”

“I heard you.”

“Why did you not reply?”

She recognized this behavior. He’d done something very similar when they had been talking through their devices. He wasn’t very patient when it came to responses. He wanted an answer, acknowledgement, all the things that sometimes she just didn’t have time to give him.

Sighing, she replied, “Because I’m looking for where we need to go. The medical pavilion is where the last known owner of the key was. It should be blue, and have something that looks like a cross outside of it.”

“A cross?”

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