Page 49 of Treasure of the Abyss

Macy grinned and lowered her legs from his hips, patting his arm. He hesitated, eyeing her skeptically, but released his hold onher.

She dropped the last bit of distance. Her feet touched the bottom lightly, and though she couldn’t feel the grains of sand through the suit, it was an amazingexperience.

She waswalkingon the oceanfloor.

The joy she’d known as a child came roaring back. It had been so long since she felt such exhilaration, such delight, so long since she’d reveled in discovering somethingnew.

Jax remained close as she stepped around the plant life. She bent down and brushed her fingers over a shell tucked in the seagrass. Picking it up, she raised it for inspection, releasing a yelp when at least a dozen legs sprouted from the opening. Macy dropped the shell and stumbledback.

A tentacle wrapped around her waist, halting her backward momentum. She glanced at Jax first — he wore an amused smile — and then behind her. Jagged rocks jutted from the seafloor just centimeters from herheel.

He righted her, and she patted his tentacle. When he released his hold, she turned her attention down, searching for the shelled creature. It was about a meter away, sending up puffs of sand as it dug a hole to bury itselfin.

Jax caught her attention and waved for her to follow as he swam away. She felt a moment of alarm — he was her safety, her rock, and walking on solid ground wasn’t nearly the same asswimmingin open water, dealing with currents and riptidesand…

He won’t let anything happen tome.

Keeping her eyes on Jax, Macy kicked off the sea floor. She swam after him, and any lingering worry faded away; with the suit, sheglidedthrough the water and caught up with himquickly.

He increased his pace gradually, swimming just to the side and ahead of her. She pulled ahead briefly between each of his powerful thrusts — and she’d been right, itwaslike flying, now more than ever. But her attention returned to Jax over and over; he moved with undeniable strength and grace, and seeing him here — in his natural environment — was as wondrous as the oceanitself.

Jax glanced at her over his shoulder. Macy smiled, her stomach fluttering with excitement. She hadn’t felt so giddy since her childhood. When he returned the smile, her excitement took a different turn; the sensation in her belly spread until she was warm allover.

“I have detected a fluctuation in your body temperature. Doyou—”

“Not now, Sam,” she said,blushing.

As Jax drew alongside her, he caught her hand and pulled her close. He slipped his arms around her; she wrapped her arms and legs around him without consciousthought.

Their momentum slowed, and for a moment, they seemed to drift on the current. Then they darted forward, faster than she’d thought possible. Water rushed by; Jax spun, giving Macy a dazzling show of light as the sparkling surface tumbled around her, alternately above and below, until she wasn’t sure which way was up. She laughed, pressing her head to hisshoulder.

His spin gradually ended, and they came to a stop. Macy pulled back to look at Jax. He grinned at her, displaying his sharp teeth, and it didn’t unsettle her. There was genuine delight in hisexpression.

He shifted so they were both upright, and Macy withdrew her legs from his waist. His gaze flicked to something over her shoulder, and he nodded in the same direction. Macy turned her head to see what he had gesturedtoward.

Huge stalks of seaweed swayed in the current behind her, anchored to the seafloor by thick stems. Sunlight beamed through the large leaves, granting them delicate violet and crimson glows. The plants stretched as far as she could see, so dense in some places that they appeared impenetrable, and a variety of creatures swam in and out of theleaves.

It was an underwaterforest.

“Wow.” She looked back to Jax and pointed toward theseaweed.

He released her, and once there was a little space between them, he pointed at her and then down at the ground. She nodded and allowed herself to sink to the sea floor. Jax cast her a glance over his shoulder and disappeared into the seaweedforest.

Macy frowned, sweeping her gaze over the stalks for any sign of him. What was hedoing?

“Jax?” she called, before remembering he couldn’t hear her. She steppedcloser.

The fish continued their business, and small creatures scurried along the bottom, darting from stalk to stalk. The leaves cast tinted shadows on the seafloor around Macy’s feet. She raised a hand and pushed aside the seaweed to peerbeyond.

Macy crossed the boundary, brushing leaves as she moved farther in. Seagrass was thick around her feet. Creatures fled at her approach, seeking shelter in the surroundingseaweed.

“Jax?”

Something grabbed hershoulder.

Macy shrieked and spunaround.

It took her a moment to realize she was looking at Jax; his skin matched the seaweed — a blend of red and purple — right down to its apparent texture. He frowned, eyesnarrowed.

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