Page 55 of Venomous Heart
“I’m going to die here.”
Nothing but an echo answered her, and Ava understood she was right as her breath began to condense on the glass. There was no way she was getting out of this alive.
“No, you’re not.” A voice blared over the communication board of the transport, crackling with interference, but unmistakable. “But you would deserve it.”
“Arlen. How? Where are you?”
Ava blinked and stared out of the translucent transport ceiling, but saw nothing but small fish and rocks at the bottom of the lake.
“Just hold tight. I’m coming for you.”
Her hands went to rest on the glass as she watched the endless depth of the lake. Then, a large figure appeared, swimming with an impossible speed, making a beeline for the sunken transport. After a few minutes, Arlen’s face hovered on the other side of the glass. In his mouth was an oxygen extractor, providing him with what he needed to swim so deep down.
But he has only one. How are we going to swim back up?
It didn’t matter. What mattered was that she didn’t want to die in there alone, and trapped.
Arlen motioned to her and after a while, she understood. He wanted her to unstrap herself and move to the side. Her fear cranked up as she understood what he was about to do.
“No.” Ava shook her head. “If you break the glass, the water will crush me. I won’t be able to swim back up. You need to get more help. I don’t have oxygen for long in this small space.”
Arlen motioned again, his gesture impatient, confident. Ava swallowed. She knew there was no time to call anyone else. He was her only chance.
Her hands shook as she unbuckled herself from her seat, then scooted across to the other seat, as far away from Arlen as possible. They locked gazes and he flattened his hand against the glass. Ava stared, then placed her palm on the other side. They looked at each other, their hands separated by the glass, until she nodded. That simple gesture was more reassuring than anything else he could have done. It tempered the rising panic in her gut to a manageable level, and she took a shaky, steadying breath.
As Arlen drew his arm back to hit the glass surface, Ava hunched over, protecting her head and face with her arms.
Then a wall of water as solid as brick hit her. It flooded the inside of the cabin, exploding in a rush fueled by the pressure of being so deep. Ava screamed, but her voice was drowned in the liquid that filled her mouth, then her throat.
The panic she had managed to hold back finally won. Her eyes shot open underwater, but all she could see was a blur. She didn’t know which way was up or down, she was completely disoriented in the strange aquatic world. She fought the water, kicking and twisting, wasting precious energy in a useless struggle.
Then two arms closed around her, forcing her to be still. Arlen’s face appeared in front of her and she floated there, panic filling every fiber of her being as her lungs burned with need. She knew she would try and breathe in—and then, she would die. Her last survival instinct would also be her doom.
But Arlen pulled the oxygen generator out of his mouth and pushed it unceremoniously into hers. Ava breathed the thin air greedily, sucking on the mouthpiece to extract the water’s dissolved oxygen. As she did so, Arlen swam, one arm locked firmly around her while his powerful legs pumped.
He swam fast and steadily, strong legs kicking as his free arm pumped the water, going straight up. Soon, Ava’s panic died down and she tried to give him the oxygen generator back, knowing he needed it, but he ignored her.
How can he still be swimming? It’s been over two minutes.
But Arlen kept going, showing no signs of slowing. Soon, they broke the surface. Ava spat out the oxygen generator and gulped the fresh air in long, greedy lungfuls while Arlen tugged her tirelessly toward the shore. When he was close enough, he scooped her up in his arms, carrying her against his hot, hard chest until they cleared the water and he stood on the pebbled beach just beside his hover transport.
Ava pressed her face against Arlen’s warm skin, her mind blank and her body still shaking from the remnants of her terror. Finding a large, flat boulder, Arlen sat her down on it.
He wasted no time. He was all over her, moving with frightening speed, his features filled with gut-wrenching concern. His hands ran across her limbs, her torso, her face… until he finally knelt between her legs and lowered his head then exhaled a long, relieved breath.
When he looked back up at her, concern wasn’t what twisted his features anymore. He wasn’t just angry, he was borderline mad with rage.
“Are you physically incapable of following orders?” He bit out his words in a voice that was more like a growl. “What is wrong with you?”
He didn’t wait for her answer; he grabbed her upper arm to jerk her to her feet, then half-dragged her toward the transport. At first, all she could do was follow his lead, led by his superior strength and size. Then she blinked and reality set in.
Reality—and her temper.
“Will you stop!” Ava struggled, trying to pull free from Arlen’s hold, but it was no good. He just stared straight ahead, ignoring her pathetic attempts at freeing herself, his face stony.
His expression made it clear she wasn’t going anywhere he didn’t want her to go.
It irritated Ava to her core, igniting that rebellious streak she’d nurtured inside herself during all those years of being Knut’s little pet project.
