Page 26 of Heart of the Deep

“I’m not going to leave you here to die.” She moved to his wrists next, freeing them one at a time.

He lowered his arms stiffly and groaned as he straightened his elbows and curled his fingers. The popping of his joints was audible even over the fury of the wind and sea.

Reaching into her boot, she pulled out a small knife and cut the netting around his tentacles.

Dracchus sagged onto his side, catching himself on an arm that nearly buckled beneath his weight. He kept his head down as his broad back rose and fell with several deep, shaky breaths. He spread his tentacles once she’d cut enough of the netting, tearing apart what remained.

Larkin clutched the bars for support as she stepped out of Dracchus’s cell. She hung the lantern on the wall before making her way toward Vasil. Once his cell was open, she set about releasing him from his bonds.

He moved with the same sluggishness as Dracchus, limbs trembling, as he slowly dragged himself toward the door.

The ship creaked and moaned, and thunder boomed, rattling wood and metal all around. Larkin turned to exit Vasil’s cell but stopped abruptly as she nearly collided with a black wall of muscle.

Dracchus loomed in the space between the cells, erect on his tentacles. She’d thought him large while he was restrained, but she hadn’t understood the breadth of him; her eye level was at his chest and his shoulders nearly spanned the entire walkway.

She’d known men with commanding presences, but Dracchusdominatedthis space.

“Here.” She shoved the keys and the knife into his huge hand. “Free your friend and get off the ship.”

His brow furrowed when he looked down at the items on his palm. “I will not leave you to die, either.”

“My father is waiting for me above deck. There’s another boat. Just get yourselves to safety.”

Dracchus frowned.

She heard Vasil move behind her and glanced over her shoulder. He wasn’t as large as Dracchus, but he still towered over Larkin. Being surrounded by them made her uncomfortable; they could tear her apart effortlessly. After what her father had done, what reason did they have to spare her? Why would they be selective if they chose to take revenge on the humans aboard these ships?

Finally, Dracchus closed his fist around the knife and keys. He shifted aside, opening a narrow path for her. “Go.”

As she moved through the gap, her chest brushed his abdomen. She stilled and stared up at him. “Hurry, Dracchus. Before the fire traps you down here.”

His gaze held her in place, enveloped her, deeper and more mysterious than the ocean. Nostrils flaring, he leaned his face closer to hers. “We will survive. See to yourself, Larkin.”

She lingered, searching his eyes. Common sense returned a moment later. She raced through the door and up the ramp.

The heat of the blaze hit her like she’d run into a wall at the top of the ramp. Her first breath had her coughing as the wind wafted smoke into her face.

Lifting her hand to shield her eyes, she stumbled toward the spot where they’d tethered the harpoon. Her father’s form materialized in the haze. As he assisted a man onto the line, he turned his head, squinting through the smoke until he caught sight of her.

She ran to him.

“Where the hell were you?” he demanded, grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer. Beads of sweat coated his skin, glistening in the firelight. He seemed to have aged years while she was gone.

“There was something I needed to do,” she said.

“Get your ass to that boat, Elle.” His tone indicated there’d be a tongue-lashing for her later.

She didn’t fight him. Throwing her leg over the rail, she gripped the rope and looked across the water, visible only because of the vibrant, reflected flames on its surface. The smaller boat was a ghostly glow twenty or thirty meters away. A man’s head bobbed in the water as he pulled himself toward the other ship, clutching the line desperately.

The waves swelled, lifting the smaller boat high and drawing the tether suddenly taut. The man was flung out of the water, losing his hold on the line, and disappeared under the surface when he came back down.

Larkin gritted her teeth. How many had they lost so far?

“Youwillmake it across,” Nicholas said behind her. “You’re not getting out of the ass chewing you have coming.”

“Maybe give me something to look forward to?” She attempted a smile and failed.

Her father placed his hands on her waist, steadying her as she lifted her other leg over the rail. She grasped the line with both hands, wrapped her legs around it, and crossed her ankles before she lay on her belly. Dark water churned below her, too close for her comfort.

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