Page 14

SHE HIT the water hard, the shock like a physical blow, stealing her breath and locking her muscles for a terrifying second. The water closed over her head, asuffocating crush of cold and salt, burning against her skin and into her lungs when she gasped.

Brightness surrounded her, pressing in from all sides.

Her body flew into motion before her mind could catch up, arms flailing, legs kicking upward toward the shimmer of light above.

When she broke the surface, she sucked in a ragged breath that burned all the way down, tasting of brine and cold air in equal measure and immediately went under again.

Panic clawed up her throat. Her muscles locked, then jerked into motion.

She fought her way back up, chest screaming for air, arms slicing through the water in sharp, frantic strokes.

Her legs kicked, sneakers dragging her down, but she didn’t stop.

Couldn’t. Her head broke the surface once more, and she choked in another breath.

The air hit her lungs like broken glass. Cold. Wet.Real.

The sky overhead was bright, pale blue stretching wide and endless.

Sunlight cut sharp against the water, glinting in waves that shimmered like liquid glass.

The water around her stretched in every direction, awide expanse broken only by the subtle swell of waves.

But there—ahead. Athin, jagged strip of something pale. Land.

Maya kicked harder, forcing her body toward it.

The cold wasn’t freezing, but it sliced into her all the same, numbing her fingers, making each stroke more difficult.

Her pulse pounded in her ears, hammering faster than her thoughts.

But she pushed through, teeth clamped, gaze focused.

She wasn’t going to drown now. Not after everything.

The closer she got, the more defined it became. Anarrow beach. Sand scattered with rock. Behind it, adark silhouette of trees. Jungle. Or something close. Her arms burned with effort. Her legs cramped. But the idea of stopping, of giving up now wasn’t an option.

Her hands hit solid ground.

Maya dragged herself forward, half-crawling, half-staggering onto the sand.

The waves lapped at her heels like they meant to drag her back, but she didn’t let them.

She collapsed onto her side, breath sawing in and out of her lungs in ragged bursts.

Every muscle in her body screamed. Her skin stung from salt and sand and the bitterness of cold air against wet clothes.

She rolled onto her back, eyes on the sky above—clear and bright, the sun hot on her face despite the cold water clinging to her skin.

Her heart hammered against her ribs. It was Earth.

She knew it from the slant of the sun, the pull of gravity, the taste of the salt air.

But where on Earth, she had no idea. That part didn’t matter right now. She was alive.

Alive and alone.

A sound broke the quiet.

Her neck prickled. That familiar buzz—not nerves. Not fear. Awareness.

Maya pushed up onto her elbows, scanning the water.

And then she saw him—Riv’En—appear out of thin air.

One second the space above the waves was empty, the next his form materialized midair, sharp and sudden, dropping like dead weight.

He hit the surface with a splash that echoed across the quiet, then disappeared beneath the waves.

He reappeared, half-submerged, his head dipping below the surface and rising again in jerky, uneven bursts. Arms flailing once, twice.

Her stomach flipped. For a second, she thought he was fine—just floundering a little, getting his bearings.

His head dipped under, came back up. One arm swung wide, too wide, like he was reaching for something that wasn’t there.

Another second passed. Then another. And she saw it: no rhythm to his movements.

No purpose. Just blind, uncoordinated thrashing. He wasn’tfine.

In fact, he couldn’tswim.

“Damn it,” she rasped, forcing her aching body into motion. Her feet slid in the wet sand as she scrambled back to the waterline and kicked off her shoes, stripped away her blouse and jeans. Then, without thinking, without hesitating, shedove.

The cold hit her again like a slap, but she ignored it, muscles burning as she powered through the waves.

Her arms cut through the water in long, sharp strokes, legs kicking hard, driving her toward where she had last seen him.

Her lungs burned already, but it didn’t matter.

Her mind locked on a single focus: get tohim.

She spotted him again, barely a flicker beneath the surface, adark shape sinking, arms drifting out uselessly. Her heart hammered, but she didn’t slow. Maya sucked in a deep breath and dove under, eyes stinging from salt as she kicked down, deeper, forcing herself towardhim.

The water closed around her like a fist. Her pulse roared in her ears, faster and louder than the churn of the waves. She reached out, fingers brushing empty water once, twice...

And then she caught hold ofhim.

Her hand closed around his arm. Solid muscle beneath her grip, cool to the touch, heavier than she expected.

She kicked hard, both arms wrapping around his torso now, dragging him up, fighting the weight of him and the drag of his armor.

Her chest ached, lungs screaming for air, but she didn’t letgo.

They broke the surface together in a sharp burst, Maya gasping for breath, blinking against the glare of the sun.

Riv’En’s head lolled back against her shoulder, his skin pale, long, dark hair slicked against his face and in a flowing circle around his head.

His eyes were closed. No breath moved through his chest.

“No,” she rasped. Her legs kicked hard, dragging them both toward shore. Each stroke came harder and slower. But the sand wasn’t far. Just a littlemore.

Her feet hit bottom and she staggered, hauling him with her in a desperate, stumbling crawl until they collapsed onto the sand. Maya shoved herself up on her knees beside him, hands already moving.

“Come on. Don’t you dare,” she hissed, fingers pressing against his throat, searching for a pulse. It was there. Faint. But he wasn’t breathing.

She tipped his head back, swept his mouth with her fingers, then locked her mouth over his, forcing air into his lungs.

Her lip caught against something sharp—his gold-tipped canines.

Pain bloomed, aquick sting, but she didn’t stop.

Again. And again. Her blood mixed with the salt on his lips. It didn’t matter.

Her hands pressed down hard against his chest in sharp, measured bursts. One. Two. Three. Breath. Again. Again.

“Come on, Riven. Breathe, damn you.”

Her voice cracked on the last word, raw and furious. But she didn’t stop. She couldn’t.

Her arms trembled with the effort, chest pounding with each breath she forced into him.

The sun poured down hot against her back, sweat mixing with seawater and blood, the air vibrating with the pounding rhythm of her pulse.

Her eyes burned, blurring with salt and something sharper.

Panic edged closer, clawing at the back of her throat, but she shoved itdown.

She wasn’t going to lose him. Not after everything else. Not after the ship. Not after the bond flickering between them that she couldn’t name, couldn’t admit she’d experienced. Not after all of it. This wasn’t how it ended.

“Come on,” she whispered, voice breaking. “You don’t get to die. Not after everything. Not after dragging me off Earth. Not after making me feel—”

Her breath caught, words tangling behind her teeth.

Feel what? Angry? Alive? That pull in her chest she hadn’t been able to name?

The heat that stirred every time he got too close?

It didn’t matter. She couldn’t lose him.

Not now. Not with all the questions she still didn’t have answers for.

Not with everything between them unfinished.

Her hands pressed down again, hard enough that her own ribs ached in sympathy. Riv’En’s chest rose beneath her palms, but there was no answering movement. No cough. No breath. Just stillness.

“Please,” she rasped, her forehead dropping against his, skin to skin, salt and sun and blood all tangled between them. “Come back. Iswear to God, Riven...”

Her voice cracked. Atremor rolled through her, sharp and involuntary, her whole body shaking with it.

Tears stung her eyes now, hot and blinding.

Don’t die . Not here. Not like this. Not when she finally understood what he meant to her.

Not when it tore at her chest—the acrid, hollow ache she hadn’t let herself admit until now.

The thought pounded through her chest as hard as her pulse.

She pressed her forehead to his again, breath catching on a sob she refused to let loose.

It all seemed too wretched, too hopeless, but she didn’t care.

She couldn’t. If he died here, if she lost him now, she didn’t know what she’d do.

And she hated herself for feeling it but he mattered.

Her hands lifted again, fingers trembling, ready to start compressions all over, and then—

He jerked.

A single sharp movement. His body arched under her, chest heaving as water spluttered from his mouth in a violent, choking rush. His eyes snapped open, dark and wild, zeroed in on her with a clarity that hit like a punch.

Maya gasped, stumbling back a step, her hand flying to her mouth.

Riv’En coughed again, sucking in air like it hurt, like every breath was a fight, but he was breathing. He was alive.

Relief hit her so hard it made her knees buckle.

Her breath caught in her throat, half a sob, half a laugh she couldn’t prevent.

But even as that wave broke over her, another slid in underneath it—hot and sharp and unrelenting.

Apulse that didn’t belong to logic or relief. It lived deeper than that. Bone-deep.

Run .