Chapter 61 #2
Five times Ehsash surfaced and dove, but in the glowing waterways time was meaningless.
It was like being suspended in a moment in eternity as they were carried forward into luminous depths.
It brightened as the rocks compressed inward, Ehsash’s bioluminescence making them glow even more vividly in splashes of color as the tunnel narrowed around them.
And as it tapered, the current rushed faster, like liquid forcing its way through a bottle top.
Alex dug her fingernails anxiously into his scales as the colors bled into each other so brightly that she was forced to close her eyes.
It blazed behind her eyelids as the pressure built rapidly around them.
She could feel the tremble of Ehsash’s wings vibrating through her as they began to fold while he steered them relentlessly with the whip of his tail.
Her nails bit into his scales, and she gritted her teeth as discomfort gradually shifted to a deep ache.
And then everything exploded outward with a popping sensation that pushed them forward into open water.
There, everything slowed to a flowing sense of serenity as Ehsash extended his wings in the water once again, riding a gentle current bathed in a soft glow that had Alex slowly prying her eyes open to look around curiously.
Craning her neck, her eyes widened as she stared at the rocky floor beneath them.
It was alive and luminous with hundreds of thousands of underwater flora stretching in all directions.
The plants swayed with the current, and small finned creatures shot around them and out of their path.
Ehsash sailed over them purposefully and gradually she became aware of them angling upward as the bed rose beneath them and shimmering sand condensed around the plants until it began to form a shoreline just as he broke the surface, bringing a village built upon numerous canals and riot with color into view.
Alex stared as she tried to look everywhere at once until her gaze finally fell on a tall woman running toward them, her hands waving above her head.
Vi?
Alex struggled to get her legs beneath her as Ehsash bent and lowered her to the ground, the water dragging at the loose material around her legs as she stumble-splashed toward the other woman.
The soggy material around her arms flapping, she threw her arms around Vi and hugged her hard with relief.
Vi’s laughter filled her ears as she hugged her back.
Alex sagged slightly in her embrace but froze when her gut clenched and compressed with a violent heave that had her pushing away as she began to gag and retch with every stumbling step.
Weighed down with what had to be fifty pounds of water, every step felt like an eternity as she made her way up higher onto the beach until she was able to safely drop to her hands and knees.
Doubling over, she retched violently, her entire body spasming as trickles of water poured from her belly and something yellowish and almost pus-like fell from her lips in thick strings to splatter on the stones.
It worked its way up from her throat until she began to vomit too, drenching the rocks with a foulness that was carried away by the lapping water as Vi’s hand thumped her back.
“Just a little more... there you go, that’s it.
Just cough that crap up,” Vi encouraged in a soothing voice that she didn’t know the other woman even possessed.
“I’ve been there, and it’s one hell of an experience.
But hey, look at this way, at least you’re not suffering through that with your face a mess of pain. ”
Alex slowly lifted her head and blinked in confusion, only for her mouth to drop open in shock at the sight awaiting her.
She barely recognized the other woman leaning over her.
While Vi had a few noteworthy scars, she now carried a thick network of bright pink scars in a starburst that spread from the center of her nose and around her eyes like a mask, with several long scars stretching even lower to her jaw.
The corner of Vi’s mouth hitched upward.
“Quite a sight, huh? I caught an explosion right in the face when we crashed. Thank fuck for Ehsash’s quick thinking,” she added as she looked over at the male watching them from the beach as he slowly shook the water from his wings.
Vi’s gaze dropped back to Alex, and she gave her a half-hearted grimace.
“You look a bit beat up, too. Though that is a pretty clever way to rig up your flight suit,” she added with a chuckle. “No TRS huh?”
Alex gave her a wan smile. “Don’t tell anyone,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Sure thing,” Vi replied with a chuckle as she ducked down and drew Alex’s arm around her neck to hoist her up against her side, making her groan.
“Yeah, I remember that too,” Vi added cheerfully.
“Your chest is going to feel like hamburger for a few days. Nothing that some rest won’t fix.
Let’s get you somewhere comfortable. There is an empty nest next to mine.
Then we will see about getting you something better to wear.
Like a whole outfit for one. As clever as this is, the Uralial weavers can make actual clothing appropriate for human bodies. ”
“Wasn’t really an option while hiding among the Seshanamitesh,” Alex replied around a groan as Vi started ruthlessly forward.
Vi’s mouth twisted with a grimace. “Yeah, copy that. I’ve heard all kinds of fucked up shit about the shinara and that queen.”
“Zathexa isn’t so bad,” Alex protested, and Vi’s brows winged up in surprise.
“Well, now this one I got to hear. Because all my information says otherwise. What inside secrets do you have?” she teased.
“She is Therxian’s mate,” Ehsash replied drily as he joined them. “I think she would understand the situation quite intimately.
The look Vi turned on her, and her low whistle of appreciation, sent a hot blush through Alex’s cheeks.
“Ok, bed first but then you are definitely spilling the tea, because I bet it is scalding.”