Page 73 of Of the Stars and Sea

“Don’t be,” I whisper, grasping onto his forearm as a wave of nausea rolls over me. “You saved my life.” If he had not pushed me out of the way, my corpse would be smoking on the beach.

Looking up at him under the cover of his hand, I see him glance over his shoulder then back up to the sky. Lightning crashes all around us and it’s only a matter of time before another strike gets close.

“We need to get to the boat.” The urgency in his voice makes my heart thud against my chest. I was lucky once already and I don’t think luck will be on my side twice if we don’t get out of this storm and onto the shelter of his ship.

“Let me try to stand.”

“Not a chance.” There’s no room for negotiating with him. “Keep the pressure on your forehead.”

I do as I’m told and cringe as the pain lashes out behind my eyes, but it starts to ebb a little when I press harder. I watch Grayson from the corner of my eye reach for my discarded coat in the sand and place it over my shoulders. As he stands, he grabs the pack I was carrying and slings it over his shoulder.

“Ready?” he asks, a deep furrow creasing the center between his brows.

“Yes.”

Leaning down, he slips his arms beneath my back and legs and lifts me with stunning ease, but the movement ignites a fire in my shoulder and I cry out. Grayson brings me close to his chest and I feel the wet touch of his lips against my ear. “I know, Little Pearl. I know it hurts. Just hang on a little while longer.”

I cling to his words like they’re life itself and try to drown out the hurt as I focus on the sound of raindrops hitting the shoulders of his leather coat when he starts moving back toward the water.

The pain in my head slowly starts to ease as the roar of crashing waves grows louder than the rain.

“What happened to her?” someone asks and I peel my eyes open. I find Zaos knee deep in the water, the longboat and three other members of Grayson’s crew keeping it from washing ashore.

“A lightning strike nearly took her and when I pushed her out of the way, she fell hard on the sand. She’s concussed.”

“I’m fine,” I croak and Grayson peers down at me.

“You most certainly arenotfine.”

“We need to get back to the ship,” Zaos says. “These wind patterns are the perfect breeding ground for waterspouts.”

A chill runs down my spine despite Grayson’s warm body pressed against mine. He may be strong and fast, but there is nothing he could do to protect me against a damned waterspout.

“Let’s go,” Grayson says to Zaos as he starts moving further into the water.

“I can walk,” I tell him.

“I know you can.” He looks down at me with a smile that caresses my heart. “But that doesn’t mean you should.”

“Overprotective bastard.”

“Yes, I think we’ve established that already. No reason to rehash it now.”

“Your men are going to think I’m weak if you don’t let me walk on my own.”

“They will think no such thing.”

I huff in protest.

A wave splashes against Grayson’s strong legs, but he doesn’t waver. Not even an inch. Rain keeps pouring down on us and Isquint up toward the sky where streams of lightning flash across it. The brightness makes my head pound again, but not quite as bad as before. Though my shoulder feels like it’s being ripped from the socket with every step Grayson takes.

Violent waves run in various directions from the undercurrent the storm’s winds have wound up. Grayson is right—I would have made it to the longboat, but with the pain in my head and shoulder, and the height of the waves, it would have taken me forever, threatening not only my life, but his and his men’s too.

“Thank you,” I mutter shakily, the cold of the rain sinking to my bones.

He whips his head to the side, dispelling some water from his eyes. “For what?”

“Saving my life.” I clamp my lips together to keep my teeth from chattering.