"Okay. Just checking." In the darkness, Zakariel's yellow eye seemed to glow while his black one disappeared except for the slightest shimmer of reflected light. "But seriously, it's like nobody's been here in a long time."
My hopes fell. If Nautilus wasn't in his own temple, then was he truly gone?
The water reached our knees now. I frowned. The narrow passage continued ahead, but the ceiling was low. There wasn't enough clearance for me to assume my orca form--my dorsal fin would scrape it.
"You want to keep going?" Zakariel asked.
"Of course I do," I said irritably. "I'm not abandoning my search halfway through."
"Relax, boss. What Imeantwas, I could go on ahead since you're not going to fit."
I tried to ignore the automatic tingle that wormed down my spine whenever he called me that. It was just a joke. A stupid one.
"And leave you all the glory? I don't think so," I said.
Zakariel leapt down, skipping a few steps, then shook his head. "No dice. You won't fit as an orca. It's too shallow."
I recalled the depiction of Nautilus and his long, snakelike form. I didn't know if he built the temple or if it was created with him in mind, but the proportions of this passage were definitely not suited to a killer whale. I wasn't used to my size and power being a hindrance. I grew annoyed at myself.
"It's fine," I growled. "I'll swim as a human."
Zakariel grimaced. "The water's too cold." He looked me up and down. "You're all muscle and not enough fat. You'll freeze."
I wanted to smack that sympathetic look on his face, even though it was strangely sweet. But only a little. It mostly pissed me off.
"How about this?" Zakariel said. "I'll be in my wolf form, obviously, and you can ride on my back. It won't be perfect but my body heat should keep you warm enough."
"No," I said instantly.
"Why?" Zakariel shot back.
A surge of panic hit me. It wasn't that the idea was awful--given the situation, it was the best either of us could do--but it was the fact that Ilikedit. That was what frightened me.
Zakariel crossed his arms. "You think of something, then."
The problem was that I couldn't. And maybe deep down, I didn't want to. But that didn't make any sense. Zakariel was intensely aggravating. Why did I want any sort of physical closeness with him? The worst part was that I couldn't suppress my desire.
I blew out a thin, exasperated breath. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."
Zakariel nodded, then shifted into his wolf form. His yellow eye and the silver streak of silver fur running down his chest were the only part of his body not sucked into the darkness. He padded down the remaining steps into the water. It was too shallow for my orca form, but it was still high enough that Zakariel had to swim when fully emerged.
"Get on," he said.
I swallowed my pride and stepped closer. Zakariel waited expectantly as I grasped the thick fur on his back.
"You can put your arms around my neck, if that's easier," Zakariel said, his voice tinged by a wolf's growl.
I couldn't find the words to argue so I did what he said. It felt too close, too intimate. I felt Zakariel's pulse against my arms. My heart sped up.
Zakariel kicked off the last ledge and began swimming. With the position we were in, my body naturally draped on top of his, which was both embarrassing and weirdly thrilling. But Zakariel was right. The water was icy, the kind of cold that sunk into your bones. If I didn't have my chest pressed up against Zakariel's body heat, I'd be freezing.
The only noise in the dark passage was the gentle rippling of water as Zakariel swam and the sound of our own breathing. There was just enough light ahead to know we were going somewhere and not just swimming blindly into blackness.
"You good?" Zakariel asked.
"Fine."
"You're shivering."
