Ahead, the bridge ended at a narrow post barely wide enough to stand on. Beyond it dangled more ropes, swaying in the wind.
If I could catch one, I’d lose the verin and give Kiegan a clear shot.
If I missed, I’d hit the water.
I hesitated, but the creature behind me didn’t.
I leapt.
Wind roared in my ears. My hands reached for the ropes. One rope broke loose, slamming across my shoulder like a whip, spinning me sideways.
The water below churned.
It wasn’t empty.
I hit the surface, cold and hard, and the impact knocked the breath out of me. I twisted underwater, reaching for the knife in my boot. But I felt as if I were drowning, trying to curl down to get it, so I swam up instead.
When I broke the surface, gasping, the water was alive with movement.
“Don’t tell me you can’t swim!” Kiegan shouted from above.
“I’m swimming!” I coughed, though it came out mostly as choking. Panic clawed at me. I forced it down. I still had a heartbeat, a frantic one. Steady heart. Still a chance.
Something splashed beside me. A lean figure cutting into the water almost silently.
Not Kiegan, my boulder of a best friend.
The female shifter. Her hair plastered to her face, her expression almost bored.
“Stop flailing,” she said calmly. “You’re calling them to us.”
Her tone was not, in fact, calming.
A furry body dropped into the water near us. The last of the verin.
She seized it with one hand and, pushing herself out of the water, hurled it away from us. There was a flash of silver through the water as several monsters near us unfurled, going for that prey.
“See?” She caught my forearm, grip strong and sure. “Their vision’s limited. They sense movement. If you panic and drag me under, I’ll kill you myself.”
Charming.
She pulled me with her, her movements barely rippling the surface. Around us, the sea boiled with blood and motion. My chin dipped below the surface more than once, but she didn’t let go.
Finally, we reached the post I’d leapt from. The ropes above swayed, their knotted ends tantalizing but well out of my reach.
“Kiegan!” she called. “You ready?”
“What are we doing?” I rasped.
“Probably getting dragged under,” she said, flashing me a wild grin. “Climb.”
Before I could ask how, she lunged upward, dragging me with her. She thrust me up. My hands caught the bottom of a dangling rope.
“Hold on!” Kiegan shouted.
I clung to the rope, boots kicking over the water. My arms screamed.
Below, black shapes coiled and circled.
