Chapter 43

43

Every single place on Arya’s body hurt. She tried to keep her head up as the group talked about getting out of the fort, but eventually, she had to rest her head on Jai’s shoulder. Her eyes grew heavy, and her body longed for rest. She fought against it as best she could. There would be time enough to sleep and recover later. She would likely have to swim to freedom, and she had to be awake to do that.

“ There’s a ship out there,” Arya told them. “ I don’t know how many crew members are on board, but they were supposed to set sail soon.”

Jai grinned. “ Get me to the ship. I can sail us away.”

“ Anything in the water we need to be concerned about?” Yasmin asked.

Dain grunted. “ Probably .”

“ I’m ready to find out if it means leaving this place,” Ravi said.

Jai looked from the door they had come through to the water. “ I knew the fort was big, but not this size. To extend not just within the mesa, but far below it. And here. Where no one thought to look. Connecting to the Above by a single tunnel to bodies of water most elves have never seen.”

“ I’m more concerned with how many of these tunnels they have,” Dain said.

Yasmin shook her head. “ Those are things to sort out for another day.”

“ But they will have to be sorted,” Jai said.

Arya looked at Priya’s body. She thought about all the slaves they were leaving behind and the fact that the fort was still operational. But they were alive, which was more than she had thought possible a short time ago. They would come back for the others. She would make sure of it.

Jai was the first to walk into the water. Light glimmered in the distance. She lifted her head from his shoulder as he moved deeper into the waves. Arya hissed in a quick breath at the cold chill of the sea. She looked behind her to see Ravi motioning for Yasmin to go before him while Dain brought up the rear.

“ I can swim,” Arya told Jai when the water reached their necks.

He shot her a curious look. “ We don’t know how far away the ship is.”

“ If I get tired, I’ll tell you.”

Jai reluctantly released her. She moved onto her stomach and lengthened her legs behind her. It became obvious almost immediately that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with everyone. Her wounds were too grave. Jai said nothing as he came up alongside her and patted his shoulder. She gripped it and let him pull her along with him while managing to move her legs a little in an effort to help.

He glided smoothly through the water as if he had been born to it like a Sea Elf . The weightlessness of being held by the water actually relieved some of her aches. She found it easier to float on her back while still holding on to Jai . They stayed to the middle of the wide cave as they traversed the water. Her eyes searched the walls and ceiling in case something lurked there. It was how she spotted the chains.

Arya tugged on Jai’s shirt. When he looked over, she pointed to the shackles hanging from the ceiling and falling into the sea. Jai stopped and treaded water. Arya forced her legs down and was surprised at how buoyant she was despite barely moving. It wasn’t long before the others reached them and stopped to see what was going on.

No one spoke. Jai indicated the chains. Ravi shrugged, but Dain frowned. Arya knew what that look meant. He wanted to know what was below the surface. Jai gently removed her hand and kissed it. She nodded, letting him know she would be fine. Then he curled in on himself and dove under the water.

A short time later, his head broke the waves closer to the wall. Disbelief had tightened his face when he turned to them. Arya sucked in a deep breath and swam down. Floating had made her forget just how bad her wounds were. Every movement now caused intense pain. She was about to head to the surface when Jai appeared. He took her hands and pulled her to the wall.

The sight of the female Sea Elf locked in the cage was a shock. She looked unwell. Her eyes tracked them, but there was no emotion there. She had given up all hope. Arya got Jai’s attention and motioned to the cage, mimicking opening the door. He swam to the cage with Dain , and, together, they broke through the lock and opened the door. But the Sea Elf didn’t move.

Arya watched as Dain tried to get her to come out. Arya finally had to go to the surface for air. Yasmin was there, waiting. It wasn’t long before the others broke the surface, the Sea Elf in Dain’s arms.

They began swimming again. Arya once more held onto Jai . She looked for more chains but thankfully didn’t find anything else. The light from the ceiling glinting off the water told her they were nearly out of the grotto. The water was becoming choppier, the waves bigger. She had no choice but to turn onto her stomach again.

Jai spotted the ship first. It was anchored some distance off. Arya wasn’t looking forward to crossing that distance, even if it was under the light of the moons. She wondered if they could go ashore until she saw that it was nothing more than boulders and cliffs. The waves crashing against it were sizable and violent, not to mention the rough currents. They would likely be smashed against the rocks if they ventured too close.

The swim felt endless. Waves crashed over Arya’s head several times. She sucked up water without meaning to and choked. Jai’s strokes remained smooth and even, but she could feel that he was tiring. They all were. She glanced back to see Yasmin faltering. Ravi moved in front of her and had her hold on to his back as he swam. Arya expected to see Dain with the Sea Elf , but she was no longer in his arms. He swam on his own, still in his favorite coat.

Then , finally, they reached the ship. Jai put her hand on the rope mooring the vessel and Yasmin joined her. Jai , Ravi , and Dain then climbed up the ropes and onto the ship. She and Yasmin listened for sounds of combat. It came, but it was over almost as soon as it began. Then , a ladder was released over the side of the ship.

“ Ready ?” Yasmin asked.

Arya could barely hang on to the rope. There was no way she would make it to the ladder. Or up it.

“ You got me to safety once. Let me do that for you now,” Yasmin said.

Arya saw Jai coming down the ladder. She nodded to Yasmin and released the rope. For a moment, the tide pulled them away from the ship, but Yasmin never stopped, and they were soon headed toward the others. Arya reached for the ladder when they came to it, but her hand missed it, and she went under. Yasmin lifted her upper body and gave her a push to the ladder.

The next time she went for a rung, her fingers found it and held on. Jai’s strong hand gripped her wrist. She looked up at him to see him smile.

“ Almost there,” he said. “ I just need you out of the water.”

She had expended all her energy. How would she get up the ladder? That question was answered when Ravi and Dain jumped into the sea. They moved beside her and lifted her up. The moment she was out of the water, Jai’s shadows closed around them. In the next heartbeat, she was on a bed with Jai standing over her.

“ You’re safe now,” he said.

She tried to smile, but she wasn’t sure she succeeded. Her eyes closed. The last thing she remembered was Jai’s lips on her forehead.

Fear choked him, and panic smothered him. Jai couldn’t move fast enough to get Arya out of the wet clothes to see to her injuries. She was weak. Too weak. And she had lost too much blood.

He got her boots off, and her feet were like blocks of ice. He should’ve swum faster or maybe tried getting them to shore. His fingers were numb with cold, making it difficult to grasp things.

“ How is she?” Dain asked as he entered the room.

Jai didn’t turn around while trying to lift her to remove her shirt. “ We need to warm her and stop the bleeding.”

Dain joined him, yet it still felt like it took forever to free Arya of the wet clothing. They covered her with blankets, but their next task—halting the bleeding—became the real problem. Two blankets were already soaked.

“ She can’t lose much more,” Jai said tightly.

Dain , pale and barely standing himself, could only stare at Arya .

Jai put Dain’s hand over a blanket he had bunched against an injury. “ Keep pressure. I’m going to find a healer.”

“ You’ll never make it,” Dain said. “ Your wounds won’t allow it.”

Jai shook his head. “ I have to try.”

“ There’s another way,” Yasmin said from the doorway.

Jai and Dain turned to her. She moved to the side, and the Sea Elf they had saved was there. The female stepped aside as two other Sea Elves entered and headed straight for Arya . Jai watched as they pulled back the blankets and began covering her with mud and huge leaves.

Suddenly , there was a Sea Elf before him. The big male motioned for him to sit. Jai lowered himself to a chair and let them tend to his injuries. He glanced over to find the same was being done to Dain .

Jai looked around the male tending to him to watch Arya . His pain started to diminish the moment the elf slathered the mud onto his wounds. When the large, wet leaves were placed to cover the mud, they seemed to suction to him.

“ Sleep ,” the Sea Elf told him.

Jai was powerless to deny the command.