Page 67 of Last Shot at Love

They’d hired a witch to ensure I couldn’t escape my death. Go figure the first time they put actual work into making something happen, it would be my death.

They hefted the weight over the side of the boat. Turning quickly, they grabbed me from the bottom of the boat and flung me over the side after it.

My body was airborne for a few long seconds before hitting the surface of the water and immediately being yanked downward.

The pressure changed, and my ears ached. Unable to clear them, the pressure continued to build until dizzying pain tore through both ears as my eardrums ruptured.

No! I couldn’t pass out.

I needed to stay conscious if I hoped to escape this alive.

The boat overhead roared to life as my father and brother left me to a watery grave.

When the weight hit the seafloor, it sent a billowing cloud of sand into the water surrounding me.

The temperature had dropped, and combined with my blood loss, I struggled to keep my body heated.

If I were a full vampire, this wouldn’t kill me. Very few things could kill a full-blooded vampire. I’d grow weak, but I wouldn’t die. And if I caught a few large meals, I might have found the strength to break the chains. To be fair, catching anything without hands would have been next to impossible, but if a vampire stayed down long enough, it might happen.

But I was only half vampire, which meant I was half human. And pretty much everything could kill a human.

I could go without breathing longer than a human, but only if I slowed my thundering heart. Otherwise, I was going to burn through my air in less than five minutes.

Closing my eyes, I imagined Cerulean’s arms were wrapped around me. Strong, reassuring, and full of love.

My heartbeat slowed until it was beating only once or twice per minute. The downside was my movements were now sluggish, but until I formed an actual plan, it was my only option.

For ten minutes, I worked the chains, desperately trying to bend the links or break the lock. It was useless. The chains were invincible and were probably going to be around at the apocalypse.

I was running out of time. Pulling myself down the chain, I felt for the screw that had to be anchoring me to the concrete. To my horror, the chain had been embedded through the concrete slab. There was no anchor or screw for me to pull loose.

My lungs screamed for air and tears of hopelessness leaked from my eyes to merge with the salty sea. This couldn’t be how I died.

I’d just found Cerulean.

I’d just learned what love could be like.

Refusing to give up, I continued trying to pull my wrists free. When my wrist cracked, I bit down on my lip to keep from screaming in agony. I couldn’t afford to lose what little oxygen remained in my lungs.

Even with my wrist broken, I couldn’t work it free.

Despite my determination to live, I was going to die.

And there was nothing I could do about it.

I closed my eyes as dizziness turned my vision black. My temperature had continued to drop thanks to my blood loss, and I couldn’t feel my fingers or feet anymore. How long did I have? Two minutes? Three?

As I waited for death, I thought of all the things I wished I’d done differently. I’d lived an amazing life, but I’d gotten in my way of happiness at every turn.

My biggest regret was that I hadn’t been brave enough to tell Cerulean how I felt.

The current shifted, and water surged into me. I would have been pushed away if not for the heavy concrete slab holding me down.

A pod of dolphins darted through the water around me, their smooth bodies looking like silver bullets. They were beautiful, and as my vision continued to darken, I was happy they would be the last thing I saw.

Suddenly, Cerulean materialized in front of me, his hands cupping my face and his terrified eyes searching my eyes. He thought I was already dead.

I blinked. The movement was slow, but it reassured him I was still among the living… or at least I was only half-undead.

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