Page 61 of Lover from the Waves

That flicker of hope rekindled in his chest, and a tiny smile tugged up the corners of his mouth. He’d faced the infinite dark of the sea and the terrifying creatures that dwelled within it for all his life, but he’d never allowed himself to be so overwhelmed by emotion, to be so gripped by fear, as he had here and now. It was only further proof of how immensely important Kathryn was to him—she really waseverything.

And despite her apparent fear, she was still thinking clearly.

Ector opened his eyes and glanced down at her. “I will go and—”

A large, dark shape stirred beneath the surface of the water, moving from the shadowed portion of the hole to the sunny side. He glimpsed a long, powerful, pale body with three sets of fins jutting from along its length, its finer details blurred by the water.

His hearts seized again, and the ache it produced in his chest was almost crippling. For a second, his body felt impossibly weak, and his head spun; he seemed on the verge of pitching forward.

This is not done. She needs me now more than ever.

He willed strength through his veins, forced it into his muscles, clenching his fists and jaw with newfound resolve.

“Be as still as possible,” he called. “There is something in the water with you.”

Her face paled. There was a hesitance in the way she drew her eyes away from him to look down into the water around her.

Ector leaned forward to get a better view of the pool in its entirety, spreading his tentacles as he did so to anchor himself more solidly. One of his tentacles bumped something hard and loose. The greenery around him rustled as the object—a rock—rolled down the remaining slope. It clacked hard on the bare stone around the edge and bounced out into open air.

His eyes widened and his hearts thundered as he watched the stone fall. It landed with a heavy splash with a body’s length of Kathryn.

The creature under the water darted toward the splash with frightening speed and angled itself up, breaching the surface with its blunt snout. It opened a huge, toothy, circular maw and snapped it shut as though to swallow whatever had made the splash. The fleeting instant during which its head was out of water was enough for Ector to see that the pale-skinned beast didn’t seem to have any eyes.

Eyes rounded in fear, Kathryn swam backward, moving away from the creature as it sank back into the water and its form was again obscured.

“Don’t move, Kathryn!” Ector shouted. There was no time to go back to the boat, no time to carefully tie together bits of rope. He needed another solution, and quickly.

Below, the creature neared the surface again, its pale back briefly rising above the water to brush aside a few floating branches and leaves before it dipped under again. Ector forced himself to reassess his surroundings; there had to be something, had to be some way.

The answer came as he raked his gaze around the crest of the hole. On the far side, almost directly across from him, the ground dipped significantly; it was at least a meter and half lower than where he was now. It was a small gain, but it was likely their only chance.

He’d just have to prevent himself from falling off the edge as he rushed through the tangled vegetation and across uneven, sloping ground—and he’d have to get there before his Kathryn was taken from him forever.

Chapter 14

With her strained breaths burning her lungs and throat, Kathryn treaded water as gently as possible. Fear constricted her airway, tightened her muscles, and quickened her heart. The current shifted beneath her as the beast swam near, and she stilled her arms and legs. She sucked in a breath just before her head sank below the surface.

The muffled sound of moving water filled her ears, making everything seem suddenly closer and more immediate. She held as still as possible as she watched the creature swim by. It was larger than she’d thought upon that brief glimpse of it when it had broken the surface. It was pale, its flesh almost pure white where it was touched by sunlight, and had several sets of fins jutting from its long, serpentine body. The creature moved slow and steady, turning its blunt head from side to side as though searching blindly for prey.

She realized suddenly that something was missing from this huge, terrifying creature—it didn’t have eyes.

When the creature was finally far enough away, Kathryn carefully kicked her legs and swung her arms. She resisted the urge to desperately gulp air as her head broke the surface, forcing herself to breathe slow and quiet despite the intensified burning in her chest. It took even more willpower to resist swimming to the rock face nearest her. But Ector had told her to stop moving, and she trusted him.

“Are you all right?” Ector asked tightly.

Kathryn looked up at him. His skin was yellow—a color she’d never seen on him before, but she knew in her heart what it meant. He was afraid.

She nodded, unable to force any words out of her constricted throat.

He nodded, too, and seemed to steel himself. He pointed to the other side of the hole, and his deep voice—calmer now than a moment before—echoed off the walls as he said, “We need to move to the far side.”

Kathryn wished she could wrap herself in that voice, that it could shield her and make all this go away. She followed his gesture with her gaze. He was indicating a spot along the cliff that was lower than the rest, but it was a treacherous looking section of clifftop that was so overgrown with plants that it would be difficult even for him to find solid footing—or tentacle hold—if he was even able to get there to begin with.

It was too dangerous for him to risk it.

“Ector, I don’t want you to fall! It’s too—”

“Quiet!” The firmness and alarm in his voice made her snap her mouth shut.

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