Page 64 of Trapped By Claws
I had to hold in screams and whimpers and panic. My lungs were already burning.
His arms tightened around me, his cheek pressed to mine.
We tilted up.
Our heads broke from the surface of the water.
I gasped and gulped in the air, my heart racing. A rock scraped the back of my head.
"Easy there," Corvin said, pulling me along.
The water shallowed here, the light coming solely from the orbs we carried. We were in a stone tube.
My feet and knees pressed against the coarse black stone. Ridges of rock pressed against the top of my head.
Tagger popped up beside us, chirping and squeaking. He booped his nose against mine and then thrust his snout under my chin.
"This is…a very special kind of awful," I said, my teeth chattering. "Are they going to follow us in here? Can they?"
"It'll be tougher for them to track us. But yes. Ah!" Corvin gasped. His head slammed back against the wall with a sharp crack as his body spasmed. The orb dropped into the water.
DARK AND NARROW WATER PATHS
Ilunged for his orb, but it slid from my fingers, dropping from sight. Corvin lurched again, striking his head. I hit my head on the jagged ledge. Blood trickled from the scrape, but I barely felt it. The second orb faded from sight. "Corvin!"
He clutched his right hand to his chest.
Tagger nuzzled up against him, squeaking fearfully.
"What do you need?" Not that there was much I could do. "Do you want food? Will that help you heal faster?"
He drew in a sharp breath. "We'll have to hurry."
"How long before the next one strikes you?" I stared at him helplessly. "I couldn't save your orb!"
He shook his head. "I can time it out. Come on."
His arm shook as he wrapped it around my waist. I held on to him, drawing in a deep breath. His heart beat fast within his chest, so strong I could feel it with ease.
Down into the dark waters we went again.
The passage tightened. He wriggled along. I tried to mirror his movements, following his lead as I struggled not to panic. The water filled my nose and mouth.
Then we emerged.
We'd barely crept along the ledge before he fell back, gasping. His head banged the back of the wall, and his stripes went pale yellow and sickly green. The sharp scent of venom and blood reached my nostrils.
"I just—just have to fight through." He struggled to force a smile. "It's fine."
"Our mating bond—it's going to kick in soon and help you get full immunity, right?" I shivered in the water and glanced back at the narrow tunnel we'd crawled through. The bag hung heavy against my side.
He swallowed hard. "It's a little too soon for it to be there all the way," he said thickly. "It's changed enough that I've got—I've got a chance." He stroked my cheek, his fingers trembling. "Come on, clever girl. Don't give up on me now."
Tagger chittered his own commentary.
"I'm never giving up on you. Just breathe."
"I was thinking about stopping," he said, giving me a crooked grin.
