The sound is involuntary and ugly, ripped straight from the gut. The canoe wobbles violently. Someone swears. A paddle splashes.
For one terrible second, everything freezes.
Then, finally, there are footsteps—heavy and fast, from someone running on the walkways.
A door slams open above us.
“Callie!”
My name tears through the night, raw and furious. Relief and terror crash together so hard my vision blurs.
I twist, straining to see. Crat'ax stands on the platform, a dark shape against torchlight, head snapping left and right as he searches.
We’re already moving, paddles digging deep now. And I know we must be hard to make out in the dark.
“Hold her,” someone hisses.
I lunge again, wild and desperate, but my kick goes wide this time, striking only air. I don’t stop. I throw my head back as hard as I can.
I hit something hard with a sickeningcrack. The back of my head stings for a moment.
Sprub’ex grunts, a wet sound, and his grip loosens just enough for me to suck in a breath as I throw my head back again, using it as a club. Warm liquid splashes my neck and shoulder. He howls, clutching his face.
“Idiot!” one of the others snaps.
Crat'ax sees us. I know he does because he stops searching. His body goes utterly still for half a heartbeat.
Then he dives with no hesitation. I don’t see his spear, just a massive shape plunging into the bay, water exploding around him. He surfaces already moving, arms cutting through the water with terrifying speed.
The canoe jerks as panic ripples through the men.
“He’s coming!” the men paddle harder.
I’m pressed down as the hull rocks. Spray hits my face. My heart hammers so hard it hurts.
Crat'ax reaches us in seconds. A hand clamps onto the side of the canoe, fingers like iron. The whole vessel tilts violently as he hauls himself up. One Adropo man lunges at him, and Crat'ax catches him mid-motion and simply throws him.
The man hits the water with a scream. Crat'ax uses his body as a step, rising fully into the canoe. There’s a knife in his hand now, and his face is something I’ve never seen before: absolute fury.
The blade flashes once. An Adropo man collapses with a choking sound, blood dark against the wood. Another is kicked over the side, vanishing into the water with a splash.
The canoe rocks violently, threatening to tip. I cling to the edge, gasping.
Only Sprub’ex remains.
He yanks me back against him, his arm crushing tight around my throat now, cutting off my air. Black spots bloom in my vision.
“Stay back!” he screams, voice cracked and wild. “She’s mine! She was promised!”
Crat'ax freezes.
Sprub’ex laughs, a broken, hysterical sound, blood pouring down his chin. “The Woman,” he babbles. “The Ancestors spoke of her. The Woman! She is! She’s mine! Not the Deep. Never the Deep. It lies! It cages! It?—”
“Let her go,” Crat'ax says, his voice terrifyingly calm.
Sprub’ex shakes his head violently. “You don’t understand. None of you do. She changes everything! I will not give her to the sea. I will not?—”
The canoe lurches.
