Well, sort of.

They were stuck on the side of the highway, in the middle of the night, with a boy who’d almost died and a car that was still smoking.

What they were going to do now, she had no clue.

49

The Ocean

YVESWICH, STATE OF KER

Travis burstout of the water—coughing, soaked, and freezing.

And thoroughly blindsided by what just happened.

The boat was capsized. Turbulent waves and churning foam crashed all around him, bobbing him up and down, the chaotic force of the currents threatening to rip him away from the boat.

As if the water didn’t pose enough of a challenge, it was now black as hell out here. He might as well be wading in ink.

He scanned what he could see of his surroundings, the constant pounding of the waves battering and bruising his body.

The others. Where the hell were the others?

‘Noble,’Travis gasped. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Noble was a Mastiff dog whose greatest love—apart from sweet potato and shredded cheese—was naps. His arch-nemesis? Conversation. He might hate talking, but he always pulled through for Travis, and tonight was no exception. The dog was already watching from his shadow, alert as could be.‘I need your help,’Travis said, desperate.‘Help me find the others.’

‘Aye-aye, Cap,’Noble confirmed, his voice a bass rumble.

Travis was too afraid to look down. To see what manner of creature might be stalking him in the depths.

Luckily, he didn’t need to. And neither did Noble.

One by one, Jewels, Aspen, and Malakai broke through the surface of the ocean with ragged gasps.

“Great!”Malakai growled, the word garbled by the water in his mouth. He spat, then whipped his head about like a temperamental dog, fighting to get his drenched hair out of his face. “Just fucking GREAT! We’re trapped now, and I’m going to have to spend my last hours looking atyourugly mug!” He punched the water and pointed a finger at Travis. Hissed, “This is your fault.”

A low growl slipped between Noble’s teeth.

Travis glared. Oh hell no. No way would he sit back and let this bearded buffoon blame him and make this horrible night any worse.

“You’re a fucking asshole, Delaney!” he snapped. “How is any of thisbullshitmy fault?”

Lightning flashed. Wind howled, carrying the smell of the sea.

“If you had simply pissed off like you were supposed to, I could have gotten us out on time! Butnoooooo—you justhadto stay, didn’t you, becauseOh Jewels, she needs me, I’m important and my dick needs attention—”Travis glared as he made his voice squeaky for that part. “—And then it wasyourboss—” He pointed again. “—who had the bright idea that we should get out by boat. And now look what’s happened!” He gestured aggressively at the stormy sea.

Travis scoffed. “Oh, so now you’re blaming Darien, too?”

“You bet I am. We’re in the middle of the goddamn ocean, and if we had taken the motorcycles and blown past all the idiots in their cars like Isuggested,I bet this wouldn’t have happened?—”

“GUYS!” Jewels shrieked. “That’senough!It’s nobody’s fault, okay?Nobody’s!AndMalakai—” She rounded on her brother,pausing briefly to cough as a wave splashed her in the face, forcing her to swallow water. “You know for a fact that westillwouldn’t have made it out on time?—”

“Not at my speed,” he argued.

“Stop!”Jewels wailed, slapping the water with both fists. “Juststop it!We need to focus! We’re in the middle of the ocean, the boat’s upside down, and—” She paled. Her eyes flared, whites showing around the irises. “Holy shit, something just touched my leg.”

Fantastic. Now the hunters were being hunted. It couldn’t get any worse than this.

Try as he may, Travis could not muster the courage to use his Sight and scan the waters below. He’d only ever taken jobs on land, the ocean a monster hunting-ground he’d never even stuck a toe into. What lurked down there was none of his business. He’d save those horrors for the Darkslaying houses that specialized in slaying aquatic breeds. People like Athene Cousens and the members of the Riptide.

Table of Contents