I instinctively took and held my deepest breath. I imagined it would be my feet meeting the water first, but instead, I was hit all at once. Two waves clapped, consuming me synchronously as if timing my entrance. I was fully submerged, my mouth forcefully closed, my nose wrinkled. I moved my arms and trashed my legs, pushing myself to reach the surface.
Fear returned—stronger than ever. It enveloped my whole body, just as the fierce waters did. I opened my eyes and clawed frantically against the sea.
I thought that was it, but then I felt something against my belly—something grey, something massive.Marshen. I moved my desperate hands, hoping to grasp a fin.There. I clenched both hands and firmly locked my legs against his sides. My lungs ached and contracted, but I begged them to hold on. My head finally reached the surface.
Breathe.
I barely did. A mighty wave hit me so forcefully, I was smashed back-first into the water. Marshen darted into the current. My chest slammed against his back and my hands seized his fin. He swam us towards the surface once more. I stole another breath, and this time I held it—and this time, I held on. Ilatched onto Marshen like a parasite as the waves slammed over us. And as soon as air replaced water, I snatched another breath.
For some time it was a looped dance of death, consisting of holding on for dear life, followed by a deep, vital breath between unyielding waves. I squinted my eyes against the rush of water as we moved through the mist.
Despite my efforts, the next wave hit me with both force and surprise. It threw me back, smashing me into the turbulent water. I tried to scrabble my way up, but as I was about to reach the surface, another wave struck me from above, pushing me back into the deep waters. My body moved as the current willed.
Opposite to what another person would feel towards a close encounter with a great white shark,Ifelt a glimmer of relief at Marshen’s approach. He looked fucking terrifying.
Marshen shifted into his male form and grabbed hold of my wrists, twisting himself around. He urged me to place my arms around his belly and my legs around his hips.
I felt his power—ice-cold—as he shifted beneath me. I clutched him, holding on with as much force as my body allowed me to, knowing that I was only a few seconds away from my death. We finally reached the surface and I grasped frantically for air. The desperate noises my throat made—I could still hear them despite the relentless roars of the merciless sea.
Then we went into another battle against wrathful force and time.
My arms and thighs felt weaker with each passing second, my muscles ached, my strength ebbed. But adrenaline kept me going. It lent me strength I didn’t know I could summon and stifled my aches, exhorting me to hold on.
Marshen’s shark form was of considerable strength. His robust body propelled us incredibly fast as if predicting the erratic oscillations of the waves and acting gracefully in anticipation.
It was bittersweet—moving towards the island.
Bitter, because our visibility was gradually fading as we glided into the thickening heart of the white fog. Sweet, knowing we were concealed and drawing closer to land. I needed close. I was afraid I couldn’t hold on for much longer.
Marshen surged towards the surface and arched in a graceful leap. We erupted gloriously from the crushing sea.Breathe. But it turned out that the unforgiving sea wasn’t quite done with us. It was too strong. Marshen’s strength wasn’t enough.Iwasn’t enough. I had barely managed to steal a quick breath when a ruthless wave hit our sides, sending us both back into the angry deep. I lost my grip on Marshen, the stubborn waves moving me away from him. I tried to tear the sea, to swim towards him, but the harder I pushed, the farther we were torn apart. The current swept me away, and I again found myself surrounded by foamy sea. I didn’t have time to choose. It was either I remained still—to conserve air before I was to meet my death—or exerted my body until my nearing last breath.
I fucking fought.
I kicked, pulled, and clawed against the sea. My chest tightened and pulsed in desperation for air. I beat and struggled just as my lungs did and I didn’t dare stop, until…until I could no longer command my body. My last couple of blinks were in hopes of glimpsing Marshen—my only chance of surviving this—but he wasn’t there.
I reluctantly surrendered myself. My eyes closed. But it wasn’t eerie darkness that swallowed me. It washim, his eyes, green of a forest, the last image my mind conceived before I drifted into the world of death.
I knew I wouldn’t be surviving this one.
CHAPTER 45
My eyes shot open.
They met Marshen’s wide celeste stare as he knelt beside me, imploring me to wake up. Strands of platinum-white hair clung to his wet, pallid face. Marshen drew his interlocked hands away from my breastbone and sat back, breathless, his palms planted at his sides.
I coughed up salt water, a necessary reflex that agonisingly delayed precious seconds for my lungs to gulp down air. And once they did, they couldn’t—wouldn’t—stop. I hyperventilated, each gasp compensating for the many breaths I’d been denied.
I managed to choke out the words, “You—you saved my life. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Marshen said, shrugging his shoulders.
I touched my forehead and winced. When I lowered my hand, my fingertips were stained with blood. I propped myself up on my elbows, slowly adapting to my existence.
“We made it,” I breathed. I wasn’t sure if it was a statement or a question.
“Yep. We’re on Mistgeil Island,” Marshen replied. “Who needs a bridge, right?” I lifted my head towards the partly cloudy sky.
“Shit!” I scrambled to my knees. “We have to run,” I rasped, trying to stand and failing.
