Page 12 of Surging Reef
Kazimir pushed the dog at him. “Hold him.” He placed the dog’s front legs over Ashby’s shoulder, and without thinking, he curled an arm around its bottom. Ashby was unsure if he’d ever carried a dog before. It was an ugly little thing, but kind of cute in some weird way. It had a mustache. Ashby had never been a fan of mustaches on men, but on dogs it was…cute.
The boat rocked as Kazimir dropped from the ladder. “Okay, hand Pharos over.”
Pharos. What a weird name.
Ashby was capable of following instructions, so he handed the dog over and waited until Kazimir sat before he let go of the ladder and positioned himself by the oars.
Chapter 6
Kazimir breathed out a sigh of relief when Ashby grabbed the oars. He didn’t think he had the energy to row. His limbs had filled with lead.
“There is a pole outside the rocks.” He gestured toward where he’d taken the boat. “I don’t know if there’s a way to leave it and get back to shore without jumping in the water, but…”
Ashby was rowing in the opposite direction.
“No, we have to hand the boat back.”
“Nope, you might have borrowed it, but I’m stealing it.”
Kazimir stared at him. “You’d better not have me arrested for boat theft. Orange is so not my color.”
Ashby grinned. “I don’t think getting caught in a crappy little rowboat would land you in prison.”
“You don’t know. I kidnapped a vampire—You’re right, I’d end up in the loony bin. Are there still asylums around, or have we abolished those?”
“I don’t think you need to worry about any human authorities.” Ashby rowed as if he’d never done anything else, but his focus was on the shore. “You stole a boat from the vampire queen and freed her prisoner. I would be a little worried about that.”
Kazimir gasped. “What?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you home. Your first wish, right? But we need to get out of here before she notices anything. Hopefully, the waves will take the boat away from land.”
Wouldn’t it wash up on the beach if they let it float away? Kazimir wished he’d studied the sea better. “The water will ebb soon? Will it take the boat out to sea?”
Ashby met his gaze. “If it was fastened to a pole, and you had to get into the water to get to it, I assume you arrived at high water. Anne, while capable of many things, wouldn’t wantto risk getting wet to get into a boat when she’s about to prove her power.”
Kazimir nodded slowly, not sure he understood Ashby’s reasoning, but figured it didn’t matter. A queen wouldn’t go swimming to reach her boat.
“Which, of course, means she might be arriving anytime now. If the water is ebbing, the boat will be easily reachable, and I wouldn’t have lasted much longer in the lighthouse.” Then he grimaced. “Not if she wants me lucid, at least, and I’m sure she does. She wants me to know what’s being done to me.”
What? What the fuck was wrong with these people?
Ashby’s gaze turned back to the shore, and he rowed faster. Some of Kazimir’s lethargy made room for fear. “What happens if she catches us?”
Ashby focused on him for a short moment before scanning the beach once more. “She’d kill you and most likely take me back to the lighthouse.”
“Is she…eh…much stronger than you?”
“Physical strength?” Ashby gave him a quick grin. “Nah, she’s not stronger than me, several times stronger than you, though.”
Kazimir nodded. He’d always been average—average height, average weight, average physical condition. He went jogging a few times a week, but he wasn’t one to lift weights. Ashby, though. He looked pretty buff.
“She’s never alone. I’d most likely win a fight one-on-one, but she always travels with guards.”
Ah, of course. Queens didn’t walk around on their own. “Right.”
The shore was close now.
“We need to move fast once we hit the land. I don’t like how exposed we are on the beach.”
