Sebastian pulled his lips back in a snarl. A sunbeam burst from him in a brilliant shockwave, slamming into the sharks. The light was blinding, even underwater. The nearest sharks exploded. Blood clouded the water instantly, staining it red.
The water monsters lunged. Sebastian’s light carved through them, but more kept coming. A serpent wrapped around his leg. He kicked hard, golden light erupting from his foot, and the creature disintegrated.
A massive shark came at me from behind. Before I could kick it in the teeth, Sebastian spun us, his shield of sunlight expanding to meet it, torching it to death.
The serpents multiplied. The sharks circled closer. Poseidon’s will was a current we could not fight.
Sebastian’s sunlight forged a shield around us. He hauled me forward through the temporary clearing, swimming with impossible speed. His arm, locked around my waist, was my only anchor against the raging will of the sea.
My blood threads held the greatest power, but blood magic was useless here, diluted in the endless water. So I wove wind instead—a howling thread that deflected the creatures surging from the depths and pushed us forward faster.
We broke through wave after wave of scaled fury. The water began to lighten, shifting from abyssal black to deep blue, then to green.
Then we shattered the surface.
I gasped, the air a shocking relief. My eyes stung as I stared up at the vast, wild, open sky.
We swam for shore. I had never been so grateful for land.
I dropped onto the volcanic rock, heaving seawater until my lungs were empty, then collapsed onto my back. The impact was rough, painful, but I didn’t care.
Slowly, my breathing evened. The air felt stale and dead here, a stark contrast to the crisp chill of France or the magic-thick atmosphere of the Fates’ chamber.
I took in our surroundings through slitted eyes.
A shore of black volcanic rock stretched for miles in every direction, jagged, inhospitable. At the far edge, a few skeletal trees were scattered over the barren landscape. No green. No life. Only rock and ash and emptiness.
Sebastian stood beside me, guarding. His eyes scanned the horizon, alert and focused.
I must have looked like a drowned cat, but he looked as fresh as if he’d just stepped out of a shower. The battle, the escape—none of it seemed to have touched him at all.
He was breathtakingly beautiful—golden hair clung to his chin, and his features belonged on a statue: high cheekbones, a sculpted nose, and sensual lips curling slightly when he noticed me watching. His eyes were tiger-gold, warm in a way that felt deliberate. His lush lashes caught the light seeping through the gray sky.
His wet clothes showcased a body carved to perfection. Even his presence brightened the air. After all, he was God of Sunand Brightness, one of the twelve most powerful gods. But I let none of my reclaimed knowledge show.
For a moment, I feared he might sense my goddess essence stirring within me, even though my transformation wasn’t complete.
Shivering, conscious of my soaked clothes clinging to my skin, I sat up slowly. I flexed my fingers, attempting to weave a subtle thread to further disguise my essence.
Sebastian might have saved me, but I’d sooner trust a scorpion than a god. Least of all an Olympian.
Nothing formed between my fingers.
“If you’re trying to use your power, don’t bother,” Sebastian said, catching my failed attempt. “This is the dead zone. No magic works here. Or I’d have conjured dry clothes and built a fire.”
I nodded. It worked in my favor. I couldn’t afford to let him discover my awakening.
“Thank you for coming for me, Sebastian,” I said and meant it, despite everything. No matter his past betrayals, his alliances to my worst enemies in other lifetimes, he had helped me today.
But I wouldn’t let my guard down because of it.
I’d been betrayed too many times. It had cut too deep.
“Anytime, Bloom.” He grinned. “I was bored anyway.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Were you?”
He extended a hand to me. “We need to get going.”
