Page 59 of Lover from the Waves

She gifted him with a smile in return just before she stepped onto the trail and resumed their trek. Ector adjusted his tentacles to lower his torso, dropping his head below the ceiling of the tunnel like path. He noticed an immediate difference; though the ground was blanketed in plants life everywhere else in this jungle, it was relatively clear of debris, and Kathryn brushed aside most of the fallen branches she came across with her boot before they presented any issue for Ector. It was thus far the easiest travel he’d experienced within jungle so thick—not that he’d been anywhere like this more than a handful of times.

As they proceeded, the vegetation on either side of the trail grew increasingly thicker, especially on the right; before long, it was a solid looking wall of green and violet that didn’t even allow light through.

“It opens up farther ahead,” Kathryn said over her shoulder.

Ector flicked his gaze down the trail. He couldn’t guess the distance in these tight confines, but there was golden, glaring sunlight concentrated ahead, a sure sign that they’d soon emerge from the jungle—hopefully close to the spot Kathryn had intended.

A faint rustling in the foliage to the left of the trail was their only warning before something shot out of the greenery.

Kathryn cried out and leapt aside, stumbling and falling backward into the thick vegetation on the right. Ector darted forward without thought to intercept the attack. Instinct and reflex were all that drove him; his hand snapped out and closed around the long, thin, fleshy creature’s neck. It thrashed and curled its body—which was like a single tentacle with no other appendages to be seen—around his arm, coiling in a stunningly strong grip.

Leaves, grass, and branches shook and snapped to Ector’s right.

Kathryn screamed. The sound prickled Ector’s skin and sent a rush of fear through him.

The creature opened its jaws—they opened side-to-side—and several long, glistening fangs sprung out.

There was a large splash from somewhere beyond the righthand vegetation.

Growling, Ector squeezed as tightly as he could. Bone crunched and flesh burst within his fist. Warm blood trickled from between his fingers. With a fading hiss, the creature stilled and went limp. Ector tossed it aside without second thought and thrust himself into the broken greenery that Kathryn had fallen through. He found himself moving down a steep decline.

His hearts raced with speed and force enough that they were likely to shatter his ribs, and it had nothing to do with the creature’s sudden attack. He could not reconcile the sounds he’d heard—breaking vegetation, snapping branches, a scream, and a splash.

“Kathryn!”

Just as he was about to shout her name again, his eyes flared, and his hearts stopped. He thrust his tentacles out to the sides and behind him, latching onto anything he could grab, and only barely caught himself before he could plummet directly off the edge of a sudden drop.

There was a huge hole in the ground in front of him, at least fifteen or twenty meters across by human measure. It was ringed by thick vegetation all around, with roots, vines, and flowering branches dangling from it in many places. Beneath the vegetation was bare, smooth stone. The stone face led down another twenty meters or so—as high as the cliff they’d climbed to get here, he guessed—to blue, still water.

And in the center of that pool was a single wide-eyed human with strands of wet hair stuck to her skin, looking small and lost.

Ector’s hearts resumed their frantic beating.

“Kathryn,” he called again, lowering his torso and placing his hands on the edge of the drop. “Are you all right?”

She spun in the water and tilted her head back, looking up at him. “I-I’m fine. Just a few bumps and bruises, but nothing’s broken.” Bits of debris rained down from beneath Ector’s hands to fall into the water near her. “Don’t get too close!”

Powerful instincts tore through Ector’s mind, vying for dominance; most insisted he leap down to her. He drew in a deep breath through his nostrils, growled, and tossed those instincts aside. Rash action would not help this situation. He needed tothink.

That moment of clarity was enough for him to understand the wisdom of her words; he couldfeelthe precariousness of his position. The vegetation around and beneath him was serving as anchor enough for now, but he could not rely on any of these fragile plants to hold him. The smallest slip could provide enough momentum, given his weight, to send him over the edge.

And from where he was currently positioned, he couldn’t see any part of the smooth-walled hole that would provide adequate holds to climb.

“Are you safe?” he asked, trying to keep his panic from entering his voice.

She turned her head from side to side, studying the water. Ector couldn’t see anything in it beside Kathryn and the numerous leaves, sticks, and flower petals floating on the surface, but that didn’t offer him any comfort;anythingcould be lurking below, where the water was dark.

She looked back up at him. “I think so.”

Carefully, he turned his head and glanced behind him. There was a tree not far away. He eased a pair of tentacles toward it, leaning his torso away from the edge, and wrapped them securely around the trunk. He gave the tree a tentative tug. It held solid.

With that anchor established, he leaned closer to the edge. Sunlight hit part of the water, but it wouldn’t be long before the sun had moved far enough toward the sea that the hole would be completely shadowed. And even with that sunlight, he could not see the bottom of the water. He couldn’t guess how deep it was.

“Do you see any way out or up?” he called.

“No, I don’t.” There was a slight tremor in her otherwise calm voice.

Ector’s mate had been shaken, but she wasn’t letting it control her. Not yet. He needed to find a way to get her out of there before she began panicking.

---