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The pressure on his body, that ache in his lungs, brought a slow anxiety creeping up his chest. It was his body remembering, holding onto the past of drowning.Don’t be a little bitch,he said to himself and kicked harder. A few feet more and he’d have it. The key was rusted metal, about the size of his forearm, with a skull at the top end.

With his fingers within reach he hesitated, knowing what would come next. He remembered this moment like it happened yesterday. But his lungs were already screaming for air, he could not wait.

Fuck. If he could use his magic, this would be easy. He’d annihilate anything that moved, he’d materialize on the shore in a flash, but right now all he had was his fists and an obsidian sword. Even they were slow in water.

One, two… three, he snatched the key from the rock and shoved it inside the hidden pocket of his vest and pushed off the rocky bottom. The skeletons and undead rushed him. Boney fingers outstretched, teeth bared. He shoved them away as he pushed hard upward. Something hooked around his foot, and he kicked with his other, snapping the skull backward.

I need air. I need to breathe.That anxious feeling in his chest started to shift to panic. He swam harder toward the surface, driving his arms, kicking as hard as he could. The dead swarmed, holding onto his shoulders, around his torso, trying to make him one of them. Something sharp sunk into the soft flesh on the back of his neck, the only part of him that wasn’t covered in battle leather. He clenched his jaw, holding in a roar. He couldn’t lose the air. His elbow swung back hard on the thing that bit him. He kicked and punched, throwing off the monsters.

He snapped off an arm that wouldn’t let go and broke free of the swarm. The blue glow of the surface was finally there. He burst through and sucked in glorious air, choking on the remnants that had gotten into his mouth. He swiped his face to clear the burning water from his eyes. Valeen was blurry but she knelt at the edge, reaching toward him. “Hel, grab the vine!”

The black vine hovered above the water next to him and he reached for it, but his hand went through. He grabbed for it a second time and it swirled away like smoke, then reformed. Her vines were magic, and the waters of the underrealm he was soaked in dispelled it. “I can’t grab hold. I’ll make it without.” With a few hard kicks and strokes of his arms, he was close to the edge now.

Valeen leaned over the water, reaching for him, while Varlett held onto her, keeping her from falling in. It was the first time he’d ever seen them actually work together. “That’s something I never thought I’d see,” he muttered, reaching for Valeen’s hand.

Their fingers were inches apart.

A sharp, bony hand wrapped around his calf, and he plunged back under.

“Hel!” Her scream echoed across the waters.

Several of the monsters had created a chain to pull him down. The skeleton that held him now was wrapped around both his legs, and he plummeted fast. He jerked the obsidian sword from its sheath and hacked at the bones, but they didn’t break.

A splash hit the water; Valeen swam toward him.Get out!he screamed into her mind.Get out of the water! Get out!

The golden blade in her hand glinted in the little light there was down here.

Shut up, you stubborn prick!she yelled back.

Soulender came down hard on the skeleton, breaking its arm, then she sliced through the other like it was not even there. Another swam at her and the blade began to glow so bright that the monsters screeched and shielded their faces. She gripped his hand, and they kicked to the surface.

Varlett stood on the edge waving at them. “Hurry!”

She grabbed Valeen’s hand first but slid on the muddy bank and fell in herself, slipping under the black surface. Valeen was the first to drag herself out, then Hel flopped onto dry land, gasping and choking. “I fucking”—he sucked in a breath—“hate water.”

Stumbling out of the lake, Varlett slipped again but finally crawled out. “Stupid mud. Now none of us have any magic down here.” She found a rock to sit on and inspected the ring on her hand. “Although I can’t imagine the lake water dismantling the magic of a demon prince’s ring.”

Valeen was on her hands and knees beside him, dripping with the foul black lake. “Are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

“Fine.” He coughed out more of the salty water. “You?”

“Good. Did you get the key?”

He reached inside his vest and grabbed hold of it then held it up. He rolled onto his elbows and knees and slowly rose. His muscles were weak from fighting off the creatures that tried to drown him. Gods, he hated being mortal, and he hated even more that he needed his wife’s blood to stay strong. He’d need it soon. It seemed the time between needing doses of her was shortening.

“Hel, the back of your neck is bleeding.” Varlett’s voice was like nails scraping glass. He couldn’t wait to get rid of her.

“It’s a scratch. Let’s go.”

“Hold on.” Valeen grabbed his arm before he could march off and stepped behind him. He heard her heartbeat quicken. “This is a bite.”

“It wasn’t a demon. No venom. I’ll be fine.”

“I can heal you,” Varlett said.

Hel sneered. “I don’t want anything from you. You’ve done enough.”

“I’m offering tohelpyou even though you’ve dragged me to this wretched place.”