Page 46 of To Kill a Vampire
My eyes are wide, the red glow of the Crimson Sword lighting her thrashing movements.
I’m too tired to fight her, but I’m too desperate to give up. Adamantly, I hold her to me as we both slice through the Emerald Ocean.
I feel them before I see them, and it fuels me further, my legs kicking us deeper into the dark waters. My chest heaves, frantic for air, but it doesn’t stop the small triumphant smile from touching my lips.
Confusion creases her face as she sees the look on mine. Long, blonde hair floats around her as fear begins to trickle into her ever confident features.
Strong movements slither through the water, the waves pushing over our bodies. With jarring strikes, she slashes the Crimson Sword through the water, sending its red light all around us.
White, thin bodies begin to drift toward us; sharp nails reach out for us. The slick, white skin of hundreds of water fae slips against my flesh, their hungry, white eyes glowing in the depthless shadows.
My eyes begin to drift closed, and I see their small jagged teeth just before the helpless and diluted sound of President Docile’s scream ripples through the calming waters. It’s a triumphant sound that puts me at peace for the first time in a long time. The blood red glow of the Crimson Sword pulses through the dark and depthless ocean, sinking lower and lower, holding my attention as it floats down into nothingness.
Nails drag across my arms, shivering across my skin just as darkness settles over my mind.
Twenty-Three
Rain
Asher
I’m flinging myself through the ocean, irrationally searching for her, when I know she’s long gone.
The empty water is all I find.
“You have to stop,” her father tells me.
My jaw clenches with pain as I recklessly push through the cold waves some more. My fingers slip through the blood tinged water, thrashing through it with only determination fueling my movements.
My heart slams through my chest; my breaths come in heaps. They wrack my body as I finally stand, the water drifting into my chest, my clothes clinging to my skin. I stand there staring out at the endless waves.
A dark cloud drifts above me in the night sky. Lightning toys with the weather, rumbling through the background of my thoughts as I continue to stand motionless in the Emerald Ocean.
Movement catches my eye, pulling me from my dark thoughts.
Long white arms slither though the water; slender bodies glide through the waves toward me. Two water fae peek out, their slick heads bobbing above the surface.
When I see what else they have, my heart soars.
They drag her body through the waves, bringing her back to me.
A breath shakes out of my lungs.
“This one isn’t ours to keep,” one of them seethes in a rattling whisper. “Let her go again, and we’ll keep her, hybrid.” Its tiny jagged teeth are on full display.
An empty breath stumbles past my lips as I clutch her to me, her limp body falling into my arms. She isn’t warm; her body is like ice against mine. I grip her closer to me, cradling her to my chest.
“I won’t let her go again,” I whisper as I back away from their narrowed white eyes, their hands reluctantly slipping from her body.
The waves crash around my hurried steps as thunder roars through the night. The darkness seems heavier now, but her faintly blue lips are all I see.
My boots slip up the slick rocks, dripping water from my clinging shirt and jeans with every step I take. I breathe out a heavy breath, my drenched hair waving against my forehead.
I lie her down on shore the moment I’m able, sinking to my knees as she coughs violently. The rocks cut into my knees, but I don’t even think about it. I push her dark hair from her face, just needing to touch her again. My fingers linger against her cool cheek.
My heart pounds against my chest when her beautiful green eyes slowly open to me. Fluttering lashes look all around.
Water drops on her forehead, beading across her skin as hundreds of droplets fall from the heavens above, a cold current building with each one shed.
