Page 19 of Of Rime and Ruin
His body shifts as he alters his course. I peer around his arm, watching the wake of water sprawl behind us as he speeds through the Rime.
Soon, we enter a submerged cave system, and my stomach flips. Is he going to eat me here? Take me home to feed his starving guppies?
The roof of the cave blocks the surface light, and the water darkens beneath its eerie blue shadow. He swims between ice walls, deeper into it. I can’t see much beyond the expanse of his skin.
Diplomacy has failed. Magic, failed. That leaves only Plan C: engage combat.
I bite his nipple. Hard.
The beast roars. He grabs at me, tugging my body away, but I latch on. His claws dig into my flesh, and the scent of my blood trickles into the water. I clamp the bud like a tartberry between my teeth.
He dives suddenly, wrenching his body into a sickening spiral toward the floor. His hands leave me, and I’m left clinging to him with my teeth alone. I reach for his shoulders and loop my arms around his thick corded neck. But I can’t reach all the way around, and my hands slip on his smooth scales. He twists again, and the torque sends me flying away from him.
I spiral backward, slamming into the ice. Stars splatter my vision.
Fuck Plan C. Time to go.
I push off the wall and kick my tail, speeding out the way we came. The cave is a tunnel, with openings along the sides that lead into more tunnels. One way in, one way out. A pocket of light streams through the opening. I stretch for it, my body lengthening. The thin membrane of my tailfin clusters with ice, heavier than I’m used to. I labor through the water, knowing already it won’t be enough.
The beast passes above me, then drops into my trajectory. His teeth flash in the low light, bright white razors. He grins—or grimaces, hard to tell—and raises his claws.
I stop short of slamming into him. I smile, doing my damndest to appear friendly as my heart batters my ribs. As if to say:See? I’m fucking adorable. Don’t you want to be friends?
His eyes trace me from head to tail, and a rumble emanates from his chest.
Can he not use words? For a sea god, he sure does a lot of growling.
Then he grabs me again, yanking my body like a wet strand of reedgrass. He dives into one of the side caves. The walls narrow around us. At the end of the tunnel, a dead end.
He tosses me, and I slam into the wall, tumbling down the ice to skid across the floor.
Metal creaks. I look up in time to see him dragging a grate across the opening. Thick iron bars to lock me in.
“Hey!” I shout, dashing toward him. The bars stop me, stinging ice against my skin. I slam my palm against the metal with a clang. “Chumwad!”
He stares at me, tail thrashing, but says nothing. Only snarls.
“You can’t do this to me! I’m a—”
The beast snorts, releasing a flood of bubbles, and with a push of his mighty legs, he slips out of the tunnel.
“Princess,” I mutter. The bubbles float to the ceiling and pop, one by one.
Princess or not, I’m in deep fucking shit.
Chapter nine
Aethan
Icranktheheatin my shower. Water hisses from the spout, burning my skin. My fingers slip through tangled hair, and I ball my hands into fists, gripping the strands. Pulling hard.
But the pain isn’t enough.
My memory is gone.
Last thing I knew, I was in my chamber. Peering into the sight-pool as I looked for signs of another clawbeast.
There was a female. Wasn’t there? A female in the Rime? I saw her in the pool. And then I… Then what?What have I done?
