Chapter 34
Ro
I can feel the intense thrum of fear through the lure connecting me to my mate and my tail snaps harder, driving me through the water at an even faster speed. Although it is rare to feel emotions through the lure, the strongest ones will always get through. Thank the gods that I am already heading towards her. If I felt this while on land, I probably would have been driven mad with helplessness rather than drawing in closer to her by the moment. There is still no guarantee that I will not arrive too late, but I am determined to reach my mate’s side and face whatever danger is threatening her.
I grit my teeth in frustration. No matter how fast I swim it does not feel fast enough and desperation is a living monster inside of me thrashing to get out. Ever since I felt the strange current rush through our bond—one that could only be caused by a talaxi barrier penetrating her magic—I knew nothing but fear that something might happen to her.
That moment of realization was a terrible one, too, and I am still living it, though I regret the fact that I was unfortunately a little rude to Adiele when it caught me off guard. She will have to forgive me for thrusting the bags I was carrying at her. I know she will understand. And even if she does not, that is not something I can afford to be concerned with at the moment. Right now, all that matters is Keri’s safety.
I am also going to murder Gryn, but that is also a concern that can wait until later.
At least I have two things working in my favor. One is that I know exactly which talaxi bed Gryn has taken her to, as it lies within my territory. The second is that I presume Keri is swimming with the equipment that humans require to swim deep below the surface. At least she better be. If that young male gave her the kiss of breath, I will make it a point to not only murder him but scatter his remains. But if she has it that means she will still be presumably within the protection of the barrier by the time I arrive. It does not offer much safety, but the predators that lurk around the talaxi beds will be unable to directly attack her there at least.
The water is a blur of silver around me as I speed through it. I do not slow until I arrive at the tall barrier sentinels. I spin and roll through the water to break by speed so that I am able to come to a full stop, my fins spread wide to steady me as I take stock of the situation. Thankfully there is nothing hunting through the water outside the barrier which means that Keri indeed has not emerged yet from its safety as I had hoped. Just ahead of me, however, Gryn darts anxiously just outside of them, his fins snapping and flicking in the water with his agitation. He’s in a clear state of panic, one that I understand too well as the clattering shrieks of the varkoth carry rapidly through the water.
I snap my tail and swim toward the barrier just as Gryn turns and notices my presence. Relief registers on his face but then shifts gradually to fear as he takes in my expression. It is almost pitiful enough to make me forget about his transgression. Almost. Fortunately for him, I do not have the time to deal with him. I rush past him, diving between the rocks, ignoring his shout of warning. Of course, it is not safe for me to enter the barrier, but I am a driven male and cannot ignore the demands of my instinct or the love in my heart.
The magic of the barrier is nothing like I have ever experienced before. I have felt the subtle threat from a distance that warns all males away from the sacred beds but experiencing it crawling through me, clawing at my insides as I penetrate the barrier forbidden to me, is unlike anything I could have imagined. I spin off course and drift weakly for a moment as I battle against the pain ripping through me. The magic tears at my lure. I now understand the risk that the elders always warned of. If not for being mostly bound to my mate’s magic, I likely wouldn’t survive this. Somehow it is protecting my lure and therefore my own magical core. Floating above the pain, however, is my mate’s increasing panic that strikes discordantly along our bond even as the varkoth’s aggression vocally heightens.
I cannot float aimlessly succumbing to pain. I have to protect her!
Although I cannot pinpoint Keri’s exact position, the sonic vibrations of the varkoth’s clattering provides a course. Putting power behind my final rotation through the water, I spin toward my target, diving between the rocks. I can see it, its monstrously large body twined among the sentinels. Its huge eye glows unmistakably and I aim for it, preparing to directly attack its nervous systems through that one point. Varkoths are difficult to kill, so my aim and force have to be exact. I spread my fingers wide to broaden the scope of my attack with my claws as I propel myself forward. Thankfully, the creature’s vision is abysmal and the stone just ahead is blocking its view of me. I will have to come around it quickly.
I turn my body, preparing to speed around the rock when something slams into me from the left. The force of our bodies colliding flings us back far beyond another grouping of sentinels as we crash into the rocks. I grunt in pain as I am driven into the rocks, but I’m alarmed at the sound of something metallic striking hard and cracking. I roll toward the sound, my eyes frantically searching and landing upon my mate. Though her head is turned away from me and she is clothed entirely in black material, there is no mistaking the scent of my mate’s pheromones as she thrashes about. I am relieved that she isn’t injured after hearing her make such a hard impact, but her rapid movements worry me.
Concerned, I drift forward and grab ahold of her shoulders in an attempt to reassure her, but she slaps my hands away and turns frantically toward me and gestures to the metal strapped to her back. I look at them blankly, not understanding. Her hands grip the sides of my face, though, and tugs my head back around so that I am looking directly at her. I grip her arms and stare at her face, my own worry mounting at the panic I see in her eyes. She batts away my hands again but this time claws at the strange piece over her mouth. Horror fills me and I push her hands down away from it. She can’t breathe!
I drag her into my arms, tightening my grip so that she will not instinctually fight against what I must do. It is only then noticing the rapid stream of bubbles coming from behind her. Using my claws, I slice effortlessly through the straps holding the equipment on her and let it drift off her. It is useless now. She gurgles a sound of protest, but I ignore it as I adjust my grip on her. I capture her body between my chest and forearm so that her arms are pressed uselessly against her side, and she cannot fight me. As expected, she jerks in my hold, her eyes blazing furiously at me, but I do not let my resolve weaken. A delay will kill her. Even if I wanted to, I could not swim fast enough to take her to the outer edge of the boundary before the lack of air kills her.
My jaw hardens and I snatch the machine from her mouth and fling it away, my heart breaking as she struggles frantically against me. I know she feels like she is dying, and I am furious at how helpless I feel as I turn her fully toward me. I cannot save her from this moment of fear, but I can save her.
Dropping my head, I press my mouth against hers, my tongue dipping between the seam of her lips and plunging deep to open her airway completely to my magic. My song flutters softly in my throat, coaxing the magic up for my mate. It flows through me, from me, and straight into her. Keri claws at my scales and kicks my tail with her legs but I do not let up, even though I know that this cannot feel pleasant for her. It may be called a kiss, but the magic is forcing her body into an adaptation—and a far more extreme one than the brief kiss of life that I gave her before. I cannot give her that kiss again. I cannot risk any chance of failure or accident that could occur due to damage from the supplement upon my magic and lure. Nothing can go wrong.
I must give her the true kiss. Or at least try and hope that it will hold out at least long enough to get her to land.
Although her panic makes it worse, I know this magic is creating painful structural transformations in her airways and lungs. I feel her chest rise with giggles and smile against her lips. It is working! My magic is not so damaged after all. If her body is accepting these changes and adapting so quickly, I have no doubt that I can successfully mate with her. Relief slackens my grip which is a mistake because she uses the opportunity to break free and send herself sailing back into the rock behind her, cracking her head on the stone as her mask becomes dislodged. Rushing forward in a panic, I drag her up from the stone and her hand swings, striking me clumsily in the water. There is no force behind it, as my sweet female has not yet developed the strength to strike underwater, but the meaning is clear.
I give her an apologetic look as I drift back a short distance. “Sorry.”
She blinks and cocks her head and then pulls her mask away completely as one of her hands drifts up to her eyes in wonder before coasting down along her throat. I give her a reassuring smile and curl my tail around her protectively.
“You are okay. You see? You can breathe and your eyes have developed a protective coating. Come.” I reach for her hand, but she casts a worried glance back along the rocks in the distance.
“But...” The single word sounds strange, but it is expected since learning to vocalize underwater is a new skill as well.
I shake my head and take her hand in mine. I know exactly what she wants to say anyway. “It is better to avoid the varkoth than confront if possible. I was only willing to take the chance because I was not sure if it had you cornered or not.” I press a kiss to her palm and nuzzle her fingers affectionately. “My intelligent mate. Not only have you avoided being trapped by it, but you also saved me.”
She gives me a startled look but something in her eyes softens so sweetly that I could cry if I possessed the physical capability in this form. “Mate?”
“Always,” I assure her and press a brief kiss to her lips. “But now we must escape the barrier. I do not feel well.”
And that is certainly not a lie. Although our bond is helping to reinforce my lure against deterioration, I can feel a sickly weakness seeping bit by bit into me. Her eyes widen in response, and she looks around quickly as if recalling belatedly where we are. When her gaze lands on me, it is grim.
“Idiot.”
Ah, that vocalization attempt is a lot clearer. I give her a sweet smile and shrug.
“Have pity on your idiot mate. Allow me to take you home before the varkoth decides to change course and come back this way looking for a meal.”
I bite back a laugh as she rolls her eyes, but she nods and threads her fingers with mine. With a flick of my tail, I push away from our hiding place, drawing my mate along with me. I can feel my speed faltering as I swim from the outer sentinels and my strength withering at a rapid rate. I give a frustrated snap of my tail and snarl quietly to myself. My tail is not working right as my motor control over the bones and fine muscles break down. Keri’s hand squeezes mine and I meet her concerned gaze. I attempt another smile of reassurance, but her eyes narrow on me, and I know I am not fooling anyone, especially when I feel her magic surge along our bond, probing the root of my lure within me.
Normally that would be highly erotic, but it just sends a queasy pain through me that makes her eyes widen in alarm. I do not even have the strength to protest when she yanks on my hand, dragging me into her arms. How can I dare to protest this when this is the spot I have always wished to be? Although this makes for awkward swimming, I snap my tail, pushing forward the best I can. I am faltering, but I will not let my mate down. I attempt to make another surge forward and draw on the last reserves of my strength when I suddenly feel a strong upwelling of water rushing up behind us. My grip tightens on her fearfully, certain that it is the varkoth speeding after us, but she gives my back a comforting pat just before it rolls over us.
I flinch, expecting the jaws of a giant predator to snap at us. And yet it never comes. Instead, a deep flow of magic runs behind it, pushing the created currant and us forward at a pace that I never could have hoped to swim even at my best... and it is coming from Keri. My eyes drop to her in surprise, and she grins back at me as her pale hair streams back in the current around us. I work my fins rapidly, steering us among the rocks as we whip through them and past the outer sentinels. We break out of the barrier so close to Gryn that the male rolls back in shock, dropping the equipment he is carrying, but the elation is clear on his face when the current dissipates, allowing the younger male to catch up with us.
His gaze runs over Keri as if he reassuring himself that she is well before turning toward me and doing the same. I give him a begrudging look of thanks for his concern and decide not to completely kill him for this foolishness as we strike out together for the shore.