Page 80 of Hot in Witch City
Chapter 17
Gianna
Sebastian had to be okay. He had to be.
I held his limp body as I swam to the surface, swishing my tail to get us there quicker.
I didn’t know he’d been there, trying to help me. Jakob and Max had left me, swimming ahead to meet up with the pod. While I’d thrashed around trying to free my bound wrists, I’d smashed Sebastian with my tail. That might have cost him precious seconds—seconds where he could have resurfaced and gulped oxygen.
Not only had he faced his biggest fear to free me, but he might have sacrificed his life to do so. Panic clutched my throat.
No, that wouldn’t help. I had to push on.
I flapped my tail hard, propelling me higher. Once I closed in on the shore and broke the surface, I shifted back to human form. My breathing and body adjusted to the new environment. As I dragged Sebastian onto the sand, flashlights scanned around the house and water, just missing us.
After I lay him on his back, I checked for signs that he’d be okay. But he wasn’t breathing!
My muscles froze. The urge to scream rose, but I stifled it. It was more important to try to save him. Forcing myself not to panic, I adjusted his position and applied compressions to his chest and counted along to “Staying Alive” the way I’d learned in a CPR course long ago.
I checked again to see if he started to breathe. No. Nothing.
After two more rescue breaths, I pleaded, “Sebastian, wake up,” and resumed compressions. “Don’t leave me!”
What else could I do?
I returned to the compressions. Shit, maybe I was doing it wrong. It was one thing to practice in a controlled situation and another when faced with the terror of a life-and-death situation. I scrambled through my brain for the steps. Wait, didn’t I hear something about rescue breaths no longer recommended? Then what? I didn’t know. My training was outdated. Would I be doing more harm than good?
Bending closer to his ear, I crooned, “Sebastian, come back. Be with me. Be my mate.” I put all my intention behind my song, willing him to wake.
I didn’t know if it would work. When I’d tried to use my song inside to confuse Jakob, he’d laughed and said my magic wouldn’t work on him. Still, I had to try. I’d do anything to save Sebastian.
I continued with the rescue breaths because I didn’t know any other options. An unexpected shock stunned me, and I pulled back. Tingles vibrated from my lips down my throat and into my chest. Warmth spread to my limbs, radiating outward to my naked skin.
What the hell was going on?
Stunned, I stared at my hands as I resumed compressions. Magic coursed through me—a kind I’d never felt before.
Sebastian sputtered and coughed up water.
“Sebastian!” I covered my chest.
He coughed some more. I helped turn him to the side, and he pushed out more water. He gasped for breath and then lay on his back in the sand.
“Gianna.” His voice sounded hoarse.
“Are you okay?” I fretted over him, touching his cheek and then his chest. His heart beat beneath my fingers.
He forced a weak smile. “I am now.” After two more heaving breaths, he added, “Now that you’re safe.”
“Me?” My heart raced. “Sebastian, you almost drowned to save me!”
“You’re worth it.” Another deep breath. “You’re my ma—” He stopped. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” The magic continued to travel through me. I raised my hand. “Do you feel it? The magic?”
A wondrous expression passed over his face. “Do you mean between us?”
That was what it was. This strange sense that we were connected. “Yes.”
