I don’t think. I just grab her, swing us both towards the drop, and leap. We hit the water which is now up to my hips and I shove us under the ledge’s lip just as a wall of water crashes through, pounding the chamber. The once lit torch now doused and floating away.
Through the spray, she twists her head towards me. “What were you saying?”
I roll my eyes, holding us in place against the surge. “Well, what do you suggest we do?”
“There has to be a tunnel somewhere.”
The water keeps rising. And she might be right—but finding it before she drowns is another thing entirely.
I refuse to give in to that nagging pull of fear clawing at the edges of my mind. The riddle says it plain—No greater beast than a man’s mind, and the fear that seeks to claim it.
I won’t let it take me.
Not the fear of never making it out.
Not the fear of never seeing my crew again.
Not the fear of dying without answers about my mother’s disappearance.
And sure as hell not the fear of leaving wet wraps inside Odi’s boots. With her brain, and my brawn, we can do this.
But the water is rising faster than I can think. “Wait here. Hold onto the root. I’m going to shift and see if my darkvision can find us away out of here.”
Odi’s eyes grow wider in the darkness, and I notice the bob in her throat. I offer her a reassuring smile before I turn, but before I can dive into the water, she’s caught me by the wrist.
“Rune, wait—”
Without thinking, I reach out and brush my thumb over her chin, barely grazing her bottom lip. “I’ll only be gone for a moment.”
The usual determination and fierceness return to her eyes, like she suddenly remembers who she is, and she nods once. Then I’m gone. Diving head first into the swirling waters. The cold hits like a slap as I swim down, gills behind my ears filtering the oxygen into my lungs. My skin prickles, bones reshaping, webbing stretching between my fingers. Claws sharpen, teeth lengthen, and my vision cuts through the murk like it’s nothing.
I push deeper, scanning the jagged walls until I spot it—a thin crack, just wide enough to promise something on the other side. Loose stones shift in the current, the edges crumbling like old bread.
A surge of water shoves past me, dragging a thick branch along. I snatch it before it’s gone, jamming the end into the gap and wrenching at the weakest points. Stone gives way with a dull crunch, bits swirling off into the dark. I dig harder, faster, until the hole yawns just wide enough for me to squeeze through.
It’s the way out. Has to be.
With a powerful flick of my tail, I return to Odi. I find her clinging to the roots, worry creased on her brow.
“Take my hand,” I call above the rushing water.
She focuses her attention on trying to find my claws stretching for her in the dark. For a moment I think she’s going to shake her head, and retreat back under the ledge, but she doesn’t. She entwines her fingers in mine, fitting us together like puzzle pieces.
With a grin, I pull her close. “Now, it's not too deep yet but we’re going to have to swim under the water for a moment.”
Odi musters a smile into the dark, but I know it’s only to distract me from the fear written across her face. “Lovely. Just don’t let go, yeah?”
I pull her closer. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
She takes in a deep breath, and then we dive. The force of the water swirls around us at first, dragging at the billowing fabric of her clothes, but I push through, swimming with one arm around Odi’s waist until it catches us. We reach the hole, which has grown larger with the churning current. Water sucks through like the stones were the plug and I’ve unclogged the drain. I pull Odi tighter into my arms, shift back into my human form and brace for impact.
The current shoves us through. We’re spat out into open air, tumbling blind until gravity takes over. We drop—hard.
I twist mid-fall, slamming my back against the stone floor with a bone-jarring thud. Air punches from my lungs and I grit my teeth against the pain, trying not to let it show. All that matters is that Odi’s safe. She’s still in one piece, sprawled across me. Drenched dark hair sticks to my face, her heartbeat hammering against my ribs.
The water rushes past, hissing into the shadows, leaving us dripping in the sudden,echoing quiet.
“You all right?” My voice is rough, half-growl, half-breath.
