21. Dark and Narrow Water Paths
Ilunged for his orb, but it slid from my fingers, dropping from sight. Corvin lurched again, striking his head. I hit my head on the jagged ledge. Blood trickled from the scrape, but I barely felt it. The second orb faded from sight. "Corvin!"
He clutched his right hand to his chest.
Tagger nuzzled up against him, squeaking fearfully.
"What do you need?" Not that there was much I could do. "Do you want food? Will that help you heal faster?"
He drew in a sharp breath. "We'll have to hurry."
"How long before the next one strikes you?" I stared at him helplessly. "I couldn't save your orb!"
He shook his head. "I can time it out. Come on."
His arm shook as he wrapped it around my waist. I held on to him, drawing in a deep breath. His heart beat fast within his chest, so strong I could feel it with ease.
Down into the dark waters we went again.
The passage tightened. He wriggled along. I tried to mirror his movements, following his lead as I struggled not to panic. The water filled my nose and mouth.
Then we emerged.
We'd barely crept along the ledge before he fell back, gasping. His head banged the back of the wall, and his stripes went pale yellow and sickly green. The sharp scent of venom and blood reached my nostrils.
"I just—just have to fight through." He struggled to force a smile. "It's fine."
"Our mating bond—it's going to kick in soon and help you get full immunity, right?" I shivered in the water and glanced back at the narrow tunnel we'd crawled through. The bag hung heavy against my side.
He swallowed hard. "It's a little too soon for it to be there all the way," he said thickly. "It's changed enough that I've got—I've got a chance." He stroked my cheek, his fingers trembling. "Come on, clever girl. Don't give up on me now."
Tagger chittered his own commentary.
"I'm never giving up on you. Just breathe."
"I was thinking about stopping," he said, giving me a crooked grin.
Scowling, I smacked his shoulder. "Don't joke about that."
Tagger underscored my statement with a sharp trill. Neither of us wanted to think of anything happening to Corvin.
"Is there anything we can do to make the mating bond finalize faster?" I asked.
He shook his head. "It's going as fast as it can. That suppressant has to leave my blood. I could try bloodletting I suppose, but that's dangerous for other reasons. You being near me, though…that does help."
"How will we know when it's done?" I asked.
"Well, the mate bond may give you greater lung capacity and healing, among other things. It will strengthen us both." He nudged my cheek with his chin and kissed my forehead. "And for me, well, if everything changes then, I won't have these stripes or claws, and I'll be able to turn into something else."
"Something else?" My hand tightened around his. I tried to sound light and happy, hoping to encourage him. Right now, a peculiar combination of elation and terror cut through me. "What would you turn into?"
"Something with wings," he said. "I've always wanted to fly."
"Like a raven?"
"I was going to say dragon," he said with a weak laugh.
"Maybe a raven dragon," I suggested playfully, recalling the meaning of his name.
"Probably as likely as any other kind of dragon. My forms will likely be the forms that were strongest with my parents, and I don't know what those were. I don't know anything about them except what the king said, and…well, all of that is subject to doubt now." He leaned his head back against the cave wall, his breaths still rapid. His pulse throbbed visibly in his throat.
He took another few minutes to catch his breath. I stayed beside him, my whole body chilled from fear and the water. Then it was time. He guided me to another hole in the dark, and down we plunged again.
It was just as horrible as before. Maybe worse.
I couldn't keep track of time. But I knew it passed achingly slow. It was a nightmarish progression of crawling and swimming through water-filled tubes. More than once we almost got stuck. His heartbeat thundered against my ear, and his muscles trembled against me.
We slithered and crawled and crept through the tunnels. We'd barely reached the sixth air pocket before another claw deployed into Corvin's wrist. He groaned, driving his back against the wall and gritting his teeth.
I drew alongside him as close as I could, stroking his shoulder as I watched him grip his wrist and struggle to heal around the bloodied puncture. The broken claws that had embedded into his flesh remained there, unforgiving reminders of his captivity. The remaining ones that curled against his wrist warned of future agony. Already he was so much paler.
"Come on." He winced as he tightened his arm around me. His panting intensified as he pushed me toward one of the narrow holes. "Have to—have to keep moving."
He didn't allow any arguments, and I knew there wasn't time. We wouldn't know if Lishen and his fae had managed to overtake us until it was almost too late. But feeling the rapid tattoo of his heart and the spasms in his muscles terrified me.
I tried to help our pace, wriggling in sync with him whenever we reached a tight point.
On and on we went, devastatingly slow.
The third claw deployed, sending him into rictal shudders. Exhaustion crept through me. Then, all too soon, the fourth claw bit. We barely made it up to an air pocket for that one as he gasped and choked, his body twitching. There were still three more to go.
Each time we surfaced, Tagger swept up against Corvin, whimpering and squeaking. I understood the feeling.
"I'm fine," he murmured through grey lips. But he forced down a mouthful of the fish and some of the fresh water, gagging.
Except he wasn't.
It had never occurred to me that someone like me could have a mate. I'd accepted my life was ordinary before Erryn went missing, and then I'd found myself thrust into an endless search that was shockingly mind-numbing despite all the close encounters with death.
My life changed within a matter of hours when Erryn vanished.
My life had turned over once again with Corvin. I wasn't going to lose him.
But right now…what could I do except support him and encourage him?
I hugged him tight as we navigated another set of tunnels. The cold numbed my hands and made my body heavy.
If the King of the North Sea wanted Corvin to suffer, he couldn't have asked for more. On and on we moved through dark waters. Three times we reached more open waters in the cave. Corvin moved slower and slower each time, but he guided us into the right passage each time.
This last time I felt his heartbeat racing faster, as if he had been running. Even with all my attempts to help, it wasn't enough. He was fading.
Somehow the lack of the stones around us and the wriggling through the chasm had become terrifying as well. I forced my eyes open as I felt his kicks weaken.
Then I saw it.
My blood chilled.
Below us moved pale lights. Lights like our orb. They were writhing in the space below us, wriggling through the tunnels.
I patted Corvin's shoulder and gestured downward, my lungs burning as if I had inhaled fire.
He twisted his head down as Tagger darted up. His muscles tensed, his arms tightening around me.
He pushed the orb into my hand. I took it in my numb fingers.
He kicked harder and faster, pushing us into a small passage that grated over my backside and thighs. I wriggled and pulled along with him, trying to help propel us into the next air pocket.
He spasmed, his head and back cracking against the coarse rock.
The other claw!
I tasted his blood in the water. Felt him go limp. His right side stopped moving completely, the arm about my waist loosening.
I seized him tight, the fingers of one hand digging into his tunic and the others wrapped tight around the pale-blue orb.
We weren't going to die down here.
Not like this!
I kicked and struggled, wriggling and tugging up—up—up.
My head broke the surface first. I jammed the pale-blue orb into a crevice in the wall above the water and dragged Corvin up the rest of the way.
He'd gone almost entirely grey. Water ran down his face, his lips parted. His hair covered his eyes. I had to drag him along the narrow tube to make room for Tagger to get up.
Tagger emerged, chattering and squeaking. He immediately nuzzled Corvin and nipped at his chin.
"Corvin, come on, it's all right," I rasped. I leaned him against the wall. The water was shallow enough we could sit. But something was coming. I could feel it.
Hands shaking, I groped in the water for a rock. Nothing moved. More holes opened up in the floor. Visions of something lunging up and snatching me filled my mind—sharp teeth, bulging eyes, heavy claws.
My shaking fingers at last found a rock that moved. I dragged it over to block the hole we'd crawled through. It slid partially through and then wedged into place. Bad news for anyone else. A flare of fear pulsed through me as I imagined encountering a similar obstacle.
Corvin's breathing had grown dangerously shallow. He trembled as if he had chills. "Mena," he whispered.
I curled against him, hugging him close. "You can do this. You can do this, Corvin. Just breathe through it. Breathe. Keep breathing! The mate bond is working. I could feel it when we were in the tunnel. My lungs aren't burning as much. That's got to mean you're getting closer too." Closer—and yet he still had more venom-dipped claws to go.
His left arm wrapped around me. He nuzzled me. "Runes—three slashes and the arrowhead," he murmured thickly. "Fifth chasm down. Two up."
I nodded, though my heart screamed. I wanted to be out of this place. Out of this tight, awful, cold darkness. My breaths shuddered in my chest as I put down those fears and stroked the hair back from his face. "I'm not leaving you."
"You should." He shook his head weakly. "Can barely feel the right side of my body. I'm sorry. It's time now, clever girl. Take Tagger. Get to?—"
I kissed him. The salt of the water mixed with the salt of my tears as I held him tight. "I'm never leaving you."
He smiled weakly. "Tagger," he said, trying to pet the otter. "Tagger, if anything goes wrong, take Mena to air." His gaze slid to me, then his eyelids started to slide shut.
The thud thud of his heart had slowed. It wasn't as steady as it should be. I kissed him again and wished that there were some way for me to heal him. The best I could do was make sure we made it to the temple and we got through that portal. Then he'd be away from the King of the North Sea's magic.
Corvin's eyelids fluttered as he struggled to stay conscious. I turned his head so he wouldn't swallow more water, keeping him propped against me.
Tagger huddled against us, ears flat, gazing up at Corvin with sorrowful eyes. He gave a soft, squeaking whine, and I swore he was asking what he could do to help. I wished I had an answer.
A small vibration pulsed through the water.
The something was closer.
I swallowed hard. "Come on, Corvin. Deep breaths for me, please. We've got to go."
He nodded weakly.
I started fumbling about in the dark water, searching for the holes to count. One. Two. Three.
Another vibration pulsed up. Stronger this time.
"Mena," Corvin said, his voice cracking. He struggled forward. "You missed—" He slipped and plunged into darkness.