Page 39 of Deep Sea Kiss
Then she ran. Before, when she’d jogged from the restaurant to Mrs. Enstad’s house, she’d suspected the twins were in danger, and that had fueled her steps. Now, though, fear lit a fire under her feet, and she flew down the road, then onto the path that veered off toward the shore. The light of the summer evening was fading faster than usual because the sky was clouded over, and she tried not to stumble over the craggy rocks.
She saw Mikkel’s house in the distance, lights blazing from the large bay windows. This story had started in that house, and she was grateful for it. But she had no idea how it would end.
The cove opened up before her, and there they were: a pale, dark-haired man stood in the shallow surf, holding Aksel by his tail. The baby dragon squirmed in his grip, keening softly. Elise, still in her human form, was crawling toward them over the pebbles, a fierce little frown on her face.
Lottie didn’t stop to think. “Hey!” she yelled. “Get away from them!”
Magnus had told her to distract the witch, and that was exactly what she did. The man jerked in surprise, and in that moment, Aksel wriggled free. With a loud yip, he plunged into deeper water and disappeared under the surface. Lottie shrieked and hurried after him—if he got lost in the deep sea, he might not find his way back.
She hadn’t even reached the water’s edge when an invisible force knocked her back. She crashed to the ground, hitting her head hard on a rock, and blinked several times to clear her foggy vision. The man still stood in that same spot—he hadn’t moved. Something strange had happened, like a gust of freakishly strong wind had pushed her over.
Until that moment, she hadn’t exactly believed Eiric when he’d claimed that witches were real. She’d thought that maybe he was exaggerating, or that these people were simply a secretive organization who called themselves witches to make themselves appear scarier. What happened to her in the restaurant could have been the result of a drug. Maybe he’d spiked her drink or something. But now the man used some sort of spell on her. Lottie’s world-view, which had been through a wringer in the recent months, shifted again, leaving her afraid and unsteady on her feet.
But she did get up. Hunched over like she was hurt, she cradled a large rock to her side, hiding it. She made sure that Elise was still several steps away from the man. Where the hell was Magnus?
It didn’t matter. He wasn’t here yet—but she was. She would fight for her babies as long as she could stand. She swung her arm back and hurled the rock at the witch with all her might.
He turned to her and deflected the rock in mid-air, with one flick of his hand. Lottie stared open-mouthed as it splashed into the water.
The world was silent for a beat. She realized that she had no skills or weapons that could counter this man’s strength. Aksel had disappeared and was swimming in the open sea, adrift on the retreating tide, and Elise was just feet away from her kidnapper who happened to be a witch.
Suddenly, a massive shape erupted from the bay, sending a wave of water splashing up the shore. The witch turned, his attention on this new threat. A sea dragon heaved himself onto the rocks and bellowed at the man.
Lottie blinked, then her instinct took over. She threw herself at Elise, grabbing the baby girl and wrapping her in her arms. She retreated as far up the shore as she could, trying to think of a way to snatch Aksel and get the hell out of there.
Another shape darted by in her peripheral vision. Lottie caught a flash of red hair, then focused on Eiric, who ran down the rough rocks, his face contorted in a furious, determined grimace.
He was coming for her. He’d come when she’d called him, and from his expression, she didn’t doubt that he had murder on his mind.
But she needed him to find her son first.
“Aksel escaped,” she screamed. “Eiric, Aksel’s swimming away!”
He ground to a stop, taking her in. A flicker of frustration passed his eyes, then he dipped his chin in a curt nod.
“Run!” he barked at her. Then he flung himself into the sea, still clothed, and disappeared from view.
Lottie swallowed a gasp, a plea for him to hurry. Aksel had never been in the sea for this long, and she had no idea what baby dragons were capable of. But she needed to trust Eiric, trust him to take care of her child.
She focused back on the sea creature who was facing off with the witch. That had to be Magnus. His scales glittered yellow and green in the fading light. The witch raised his arms and chanted, and a jet of purple flames shot toward the dragon’s head.
Magnus roared and swung his tail at his attacker, though the flames singed the tips of his fins.
Water was the dragons’ element, so his steps were clumsy on the shore. Still, he advanced on the stranger, his jaws snapping just inches from the man’s shirt. The witch glanced over at Lottie, his expression panicked. If he thought she would help him, he had to be crazy—he’d kidnapped her children, cursed her,andattacked Mrs. Enstad.
Another lunge, and Magnus swung his tail at the witch, knocking his feet from under him. The man flailed, his concentration breaking, and the ball of energy he’d been gathering fizzled harmlessly in the water. The sea dragon opened his big jaws and bit off his right hand.
Lottie gaped at them. The witch screamed, his blood spurting on the pebbles, and finally passed out. His limp body fell to the ground and lay still.
Silence descended on the cove, broken only by the gentle lapping of the waves and the dragon’s rumbling huff. Lottie stared at him. He curled up in the shallows and examined the burned side of his body.
Shakily, she got to her feet, still clutching Elise to her chest. She approached the dragon’s head and stopped where she could look him in the eyes.
“Is Eiric getting Aksel?” she asked, her voice trembling.
The dragon inclined his head. She had no idea when Magnus would change back to his human form, so she supposed that answer would suffice for now.
Then, carefully, she placed her hand on the sea dragon’s scaly neck. “Thank you.”
