Page 14 of Henrikk’s Secret

He swivelled, hitting his forehead on a piece of coral that jutted out. Sharp pain exploded across his face, and more precious bubbles escaped as he winced and gritted his teeth.

Something coloured the water a dark red.

Fucking fuck. What now?

He could go back, try a different turn, but if he was wrong again, he was doomed.

Maybe he was already doomed.

Henrikk’s vision dimmed as dread wrapped around him, holding him close as his chest convulsed with contractions. Low gargled groans built in his throat as he fought the urge to open his mouth and breathe.

He was furious.

This would be a suitable death for him—alone in the dark, where no one would ever find him. But Asher did not deserve to die.

I can’t die. Not until Asher is safe. I cannot abandon him on his deathbed.

A fresh surge of determination pushed through Henrikk, and he swung back to face the impasse.

Trust yourself, an inner voice said. Trust your judgement.

He stared at the wall of rock, hard and impossible to penetrate, his heart pounding faster and faster, even though it was meant to slow right down during immersion.

Was this really a dead end?

His gaze hitched on the hazy shape of the mushroom-like coral. His mind whirred back into life as a realisation locked into place.

The coral was not there before. Probably a soft, fast-growing specimen.

Navigating around it was impossible.

Pushing it aside didn’t work.

The angle was too awkward to attempt kicking it.

Knowing he’d regret having bloody, skinless knuckles later, but knowing he’d regret being dead even more, Henrikk punched the coral.

Pain shattered through his arm, and he yelped, his hand jarring open.

Despite its name, it was not soft.

And despite his strength as a vampire, the water resistance made trying to punch anything underwater a futile endeavour.

Henrikk braced himself against the rocky ceiling and clenched his right hand back into a fist. He punched the coral again, and a piece broke off. He grunted in pain, and more bubbles escaped, heralding his rapidly depleting energy. All he could hear was the ominous press of the underwater world and the blood pounding in his ears as death reached for him.

Hitting the coral was like trying to punch solid rock, the force of each impact jolting his bones. Drawing his arm back, he struck the coral again, and again, and again.

For Asher.

His strength was fading, his strikes becoming less effective. As his body grew weak from struggling to hold in the air ready to burst from his mouth, a ridiculous thought entered his mind.

If Asher had been here, he would have been distressed by Henrikk’s attempt to destroy the marine habitat.

Fuck me…

With his body teetering on the edge between death and insanity, Henrikk laughed.

As the sound burst from him, so did the last of his air, and he threw one last fist at the coral. A large chunk of it shattered in a cloud of debris as his bleeding arm penetrated through, the cloth and skin ravaged by coral.