Chapter Thirty

Rhyse

I knifed through the waters with casual ease, legs and wings tucked in tight to my body, my tail the only thing propelling me along. It was heaven.

The sea was my home, my sanctity. Under the blue-green waters was where I was most alive. Nothing could challenge me down there. In the depths, I was the master, and nothing could hinder me. I could exist in peace without judgment of the sea creatures around me.

Thoughts of judgment brought my mind, inevitably, back to Emma.

I tried to forget the way she'd refused to look me in the eye after seeing my deformed wing. Pushing it from my mind was harder than it should have been. It was far from the first time someone had treated me differently after seeing my wing. Over the years, I'd grown hardened to it. Able to shrug it off.

Or so I'd thought.

She was different. I couldn't just push aside the way she looked at me, the thoughts I knew she was having.

Bellowing my rage underwater, I watched as the shoals of fish gathering nearby shot off in a flash, scattering to get away from the enraged sounds.

Why did she have to be different? Why couldn't I just ignore her like everyone else? It would be so much easier that way!

This is why you should never have agreed to it in the first place. You weren't meant to have the life everyone else does. That dream died the same day they took your wing from you.

I had been foolish to let myself hope. Even with a human. I should never have let my guard waver. Those were the actions of a hopeless romantic.

That wasn't me. I knew better. Or so I'd thought.

My anger lent me speed as I zipped past rock outcroppings, ducked under basking whales, and scattered huge globes of fish. I didn't care where I went. As long as it was away .

The farther away I swam, the less it would hurt. That's what I told myself, though deep down, in a locked away part of me, I knew nothing would ever make the pain stop. Rejection was a lingering ache that never truly faded.

In the moment, though, I wasn't ready to acknowledge that fact. For the first time in many years, I'd let someone in. And once more, they'd been repulsed by what they'd seen. By me.

" You should have known better!" I bellowed deep into the water, turning the liquid frothy with bubbles.

Some of my self-loathing vented, I surfaced for air.

The gust of wind surprised me, as did the tumultuous seas. There was no sign of clouds on the horizon, but the way the wind was picking up, I knew they would be forming soon. I bobbed and rolled, the waves big enough to move even my dragon form now.

Taking a breath, I dove once more. A little rough weather was nothing when I could dive down and spend most of my time where it was calm.

As I cruised along, I started to recognize some of the distinct rock formations. I knew this area. I'd been here before and not long ago. Just over the next rise should be a deep crevice.

Sure enough, as I crested the top, the seabed dropped away sharply in an opening perhaps twenty feet wide. On the other side, hidden mostly in sand on its side, was the sunken wooden ship.

The same ship I'd brought Emma down to see.

Of course I would end up here. Glaring up at the surface and the sky beyond it, I had to wonder if someone up there was playing a cruel trick on me. Torturing me with the reminder of what had been so close and then so cruelly ripped away.

Angrily, I swam away with powerful flicks of my tail, putting the treasure ship and its memories behind me where they belonged.

Desperate for something, anything to distract me, I made my way across the seabed to where I knew another ship rested. A much newer one.

Circling the wreck of Vicek's downed vessel, I once again noted the large claw marks on the underside of the hall. There was no doubt that not only had it been dragons that had taken the boat down, but dragons who were somewhat comfortable in the sea. They had attacked from the depths below. That wasn't the course of action most would take. Which definitely narrowed it down.

The sovereign was right. Whoever was doing this, they were coastal dragons. My eyes narrowed in renewed anger. These rogue dragons were inviting danger upon everyone, not just themselves, in the name of gathering more gold to themselves. That was not the type of dragon wanted among the isles. They had to be stopped at all costs before they—

Something dark and shadowy tried to slip away into the sea from behind the ship.

In a flash, I was after it, using slight pulses of my wings to augment my speed. It was a tricky maneuver to do, especially with a less than responsive left wing, but I'd spent so long below water that I had long since mastered it.

Whoever was trying to sneak off into the depths had not.

The moment I'd seen movement, it had been clear it was too large to be a shark or an orca, and the big blue whales would never be that close to the bottom.

No, it had to be a dragon.

The other dragon wasn't immediately aware of my pursuit, allowing me to close the gap rapidly. I was less than a hundred feet behind when the red dragon suddenly accelerated, shooting forward, aware now of my presence.

I bared my teeth. Only a guilty party flees.

Despite their added acceleration, it was quickly clear they weren't going to outrun me. The gap was still closing, only at a slower pace. And underwater, I dared anyone to out-stamina me. I had as much time down here as many did in the skies. More, probably.

They were mine .

Pulling alongside the other dragon, I motioned upward with my head, indicating they needed to surface. My lungs were burning, and I was used to it. I knew they would be in just as bad shape.

Reluctantly, they rose to the surface. I did as well, wary for any move. I knew who they were now, could identify the pattern of scales and horns on the top of their head.

"Reece," I snarled as we broke the surface—into the frothy waves of an ocean squall.

Lightning and thunder broke around us while rain lashed at our scaly exteriors.

The red dragon's only answer was a roar, followed by the muscular twitch of his tail. I easily ducked the telegraphed blow, diving under and taking a chunk out of his hind leg before he could react. It wasn't much, just enough to let him know he should stop playing games.

A fireball was waiting for me when I surfaced again. I turned my head away frantically, howling in pain as the fire splashed over my neck. Scales sizzled and popped, the blackened remains peeling off and disappearing into the dark waters below.

"You did not just do that in the middle of a storm!" I bellowed.

Reece's eyes went wide as he realized his mistake.

Idiot .

Calling out to the energy in the storm, I redirected a fraction of it at Reece.

The world disappeared in a haze of brilliant white. Electricity tingled as it raced through the water and over me, my scales open to it, absorbing it, using it.

My eyes were full of blazing energy when Reece finally recovered enough to see me once more.

"What were you doing down there?" I snarled, feeling the pins and needles effect in my mouth, knowing full well it meant lightning was dancing between my teeth.

"What was I doing? I was looking for the treasure you're keeping for yourself!" he snapped, trying to hide a wince as his tortured left side was forced to flex with the waves to keep him steady.

The dark black scarring where I'd blasted him with lightning looked painful indeed, but I didn't care. Not at that moment. I'd discovered the culprits.

"That's no treasure ship, and you damn well know it!" I spat. "You know full well whose ship that was. What were you doing down there? What were you trying to hide?"

Reece shook his head, flicking water everywhere, while fresh thunder boomed overhead in an unceasing symphony of sound, nearly drowning out our words. "I have no idea whose ship that was. I'm not the one with anything to hide, Rhyse. What were you doing down there?"

"You don't … oh, for all gold in the world!" I looked skyward, summoning another bolt of lightning.

"Hey! Wait!" Reece shouted, panicked. "I swear I didn't do a damn thing to it. I was sent out here to look for the treasure you found!"

I laughed. "You'll never get it. I'm not sharing it with you assholes. Now, you're coming with me. We'll see what the sovereign has to say about me finding you lurking about Vicek's sunken ship."

A dragon couldn't go pale. Blood didn't flow into our scales. But we can react the same. When I said Vicek's name, I expected to see Reece do just that. Instead, he started to smirk.

"What's so funny?"

"Lots of things, you selfish asshole. Including your lack of intelligence."

Lightning flashed in tune with my snarl. Reece looked skyward warily, but otherwise, he didn't change his attitude.

"The treasure is mine," I spat.

"Maybe," Reece chuckled. "Maybe. The shipwreck itself might be safe. But what about the other pieces? You're only one person. You can't be everywhere at once."

I flinched.

Reece laughed. "That's right. I'm just out here all alone. But I'm not the only one alone, am I?"

Emma. He was talking about Emma.

"What have you done, asshole?" I snarled.

"Me? Nothing. I'm right here. You can see that for yourself."

Fear gathered in my stomach, while fury poured fresh through my veins.

"Fuck you," I spat, ducking beneath the surface.

The last thing I saw of Reece was the shocked expression on his face as the sky lit with my red-hot rage before it drilled down into his body.

Energy spread outward from the impact of the lightning bolt, and I took it in, using it to propel me forward at unbelievable speeds. Water poured over my flanks as I raced for home with every last muscle fiber I could summon.

Emma might not want me. She might look upon me with disgust, but I'd learned one important thing just then when Reece had threatened her.

Whatever she thought of me, I still cared about her.

And if anyone touched a hair on her body, I wouldn't hesitate to kill them.