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The velocity behind his descent, combined with the Harpy’s dreadful, brain-melting screams, was nearly enough to shove him into oblivion. But the water rushing into his ears was a blessing in disguise. And as gravity sucked him farther down, the distance and the crushing weight of the water rendered her lethal voice powerless.

Safe. He was safe down here.

From the Harpy, anyway. He still had to deal with the serpents. He couldn’t decide which was worse.

The water was pitch-black and so cold it shocked his heart into an unsteady rhythm. He gave himself two seconds to gather his bearings, and then he started swimming down.

He made it about six feet when he spotted Delaney. His eyes were shut, body buoyant and drifting.

Travis swam, slicing his arms through the frigid water and rapidly kicking his feet. He had to be quick; he sensed something hunting him.

How the hell he was going to getoutof here after, he had no clue. That was a problem for near-future Travis.

When he made it to Malakai, he grabbed him around the middle and swam up, using his own air bubbles to guide him toward the surface.

Rows of jagged, arm-length teeth glinted in the murk.

Oh shit.

He paddled backward and ducked his head, narrowly escaping the snapping jaws of a Karkharia, the armor of scales on its impossibly long body passing close enough to touch. He twisted?—

Another one was coming.

He dipped left, Malakai a dead weight in his arms.

The Karkharias started swimming laps—walling him in, he realized. In the blink of an eye, there were scales everywhere, the serpents rotating around him in a cyclone. Their bodies were solong and tangled up, to attempt to swim through them would be like fighting through an inescapable maze.

It was terrifying. There was literally nowhere to go.

His lungs began to cramp. Desperate for air, forlife,he took his chances and swam up.

Up.

Up.

The Karkharias kept spinning, their twining bodies getting closer with each rotation.

He sensed something approaching from behind.

He turned. Saw massive jaws opening.

This was it. This was where he would die—in this watery grave.

He braced himself?—

White light drenched the water. So bright, he was forced to shut his eyes.

The serpents screamed and fled, their swift escape generating strong currents that twirled him around and flipped him head over feet. He opened his eyes?—

Shit—he could no longer tell where the surface was. And his lungs?—

His heart seized, the pain so sharp it was like a knife had been punched into his chest, blade twisting. His vision fuzzed over, the last of the air leaving his lungs in a trickle of bubbles.

Just as he passed out, Malakai drifting out of his hold, he saw a silver-haired woman reaching for him, her body limned with heavenly light.

She had the wings of an angel.

If Max managedto survive this, he was going to find Malakai and kill him.