The rush she got as air swept by her was familiar.
Kira crossed her arms over her chest and pointed her toes an instant before she hit the water.
Its icy embrace closed over her head as she held her breath. When her descent slowed, she opened her eyes and started to swim for the surface, the lights she'd seen playing on the waves all around her, emanating from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Kira's ascent paused as she stopped to study a fleck where it bobbed next to her. She reached out to touch it and withdrew in surprise when it winked out.
Her curiosity thwarted, and her lungs burning, she kicked, propelling herself toward the surface. The first gasp of blessed air was a welcome relief.
As soon as she could breathe properly again, she shouted, "Graydon, you bastard. You'd better not have drowned."
A warm chuckle sounded in her ear seconds before arms wrapped around her. Kira had enough time to mentally curse and suck in a lung full of air as he sank beneath the waves, taking her with him.
She wiggled free, using his torso as a springboard as she made her escape. They surfaced at the same time. Graydon remained mostly submerged, only his eyes and nose peeking above the water.
It was surprisingly mischievous—and disturbingly adorable.
A wall of water hit her from the side, nearly drowning her in the process.
Kira coughed and choked when she finally surfaced. "How is that fair? I can't usekito exact revenge."
He smirked at her. "The strong know you have to make your own justice."
He wanted to play like that, did he? He had no idea what he'd started.
The smile that flared on his face said he did and looked forward to the battle.
Kira dove before he could grab her, cutting through the water with the efficiency of a shark. She might not have spent much time planetside, but she'd always loved the water, spending as much time in it as she could.
Unburdened by armor, Kira found herself with the advantage. Graydon was fast, but here, she was faster. She grabbed his leg, yanking him down, disengaging before he could retaliate. She was already swimming away, disappearing into the inky darkness.
The water grabbed her, an invisible current dragging her toward the surface and above where she hovered a foot above the ocean as Graydon laughed.
With a sly grin, Graydon released hiski,and Kira splashed into the water, going under.
Graydon was waiting for her with a taunting smile as she surfaced. "That's not all you've got, is it? I must confess to being disappointed if it is. I was looking forward to a challenge."
Kira snarled, whipping the water off her face.
"Now, what are you going to do,coli?" he said, his voice wrapping around her like decadent silk.
She was going to conquer.
Before she got the chance, waves, disobeying the laws of physics, swamped her, sending her spinning. She grinned as she tumbled through the water. It wasn't going to be that easy.
She reached out with her senses, her heart leaping as the faintest trickle ofkianswered her. It was nowhere near the tsunami that had once flooded her, but after weeks of nothing, its presence felt like the first battle cry of victory.
As it flowed through her fingers, Kira considered her best options. She couldn't compete head to head with Graydon, not withki. Not yet.
However, there were other ways.
Kira started to swim away from him, letting him think he'd won, and she was trying to escape. A chuckle rumbled from him as he sliced through the water toward her.
That's it. Come to mama.
Thekitrailed out from her, gossamer-thin strands barely visible in her mind’s eye as Graydon cut through them. Sweat popped on her forehead as she coaxed more of those strands out of her, faster and faster, tangling them to create a deceptive web, one that looked fragile but wasn't.
Those threads wrapped around Graydon's limbs, creating a lasso that tightened the more he moved.
