Chapter 30

30

I wake to the sound of gently crashing tides outside the tent. Jace sleeps soundly beside me—his mouth parted slightly. Wondering how late it is, I carefully extricate myself from his arms and pull back the flap of the tent.

It's dark. No stars.

A small movement draws my attention. A shadowed female form rests atop a jagged boulder about ten feet from the shore. A rush of fear cinches me as my eyes adjust to the darkness, and I get a better look.

Naked from the waist up, her skin glows a pale blue in the moonlight, her lips black. Pin-straight raven hair that extends well beyond her hips blows softly in the breeze like a silken flag. From the hips down, her legs are fused together through the thigh and calf, webbed, like some dark, perverted variation of a mermaid. Behind her bare back, short wings that look like stretched black gossamer beat gently. The waves crash against her perch every few seconds, spraying her with ocean mist.

Her eyes, wholly black, shift to me as her full lips pull back to reveal a row of razor-sharp teeth. A soft, slow hiss makes its way up her throat. I hold my breath, afraid to move, afraid that she will climb ashore with those bony arms and drag me back into the sea with her, despite what Jace said about being safe on land.

He stirs behind me, sitting up sleepily. I beckon him, nodding toward the strangely entrancing sea creature.

"Look," I whisper as he comes to stand beside me, pulling back the flap further to peer out.

"Naiads," he whispers back, watching as she pushes off the rock and slides back into the black sea. "It's rare for them to come this close to shore," he says, his brow furrowing.

It's then that I notice the dampness coating the tent floor.

"Why is the tent wet?" I ask. Jace follows my gaze down to the material, quickly darkening where it is touched by seawater. Before he can answer, a thin pool of water edged with sea foam rolls in, kissing our boots before retreating back toward the ocean.

Jace and I exchange a look.

We step out onto the dampened stones and stare up at the starless sky. The moon hangs large and bright, so much closer than I've ever seen on Earth, closer than I've seen in Aegar.

Large and bright and…full.

"Jace, the moon." I gape at the massive orb as another stronger pool of water laps up against our feet, forcing the tent back a few inches. I turn to him, horror frozen on my face as I breathe, "It's high tide."

"Fuck," he curses.

He ducks into the tent and emerges a second later, our two bags slung over his chest. He urges me forward, pressing his hand against the small of my back.

"We have to go. Now. "

We jog up the beach as the waves roll toward us, catching up to us with unnatural speed. It's as if the nearness of the moon has accelerated the rising tide. Within moments, we are sloshing through knee-deep water, slowed by the powerful tide despite our supernatural speed. I dare a look back. Our tent is a blip in the dark water. Distantly adrift.

That's when I see it.

The horde of Naiads streamlining toward us.

Their approach is nightmarish, cutting through the waves with alarming speed. They drift on their bellies, their dark, webbed legs zigzagging so fast the movement blurs. Long black hair jets out behind them like spilled ink. Their faces are only visible from the eyes up—those predatory, soulless eyes that send chills down my spine. Above the water, their black opalescent wings perform like sails, slicing the wind to propel them forward.

"Oh my god," I breathe, gripping Jace's arm. He turns, his eyes full of dread.

There are so many of them. We can't move fast enough.

Jace thrusts both hands out before him. A heavy gust of wind bursts from them, forcing the tide back along with most of the Naiads. But two are faster. Their dark heads disappear beneath the water. Panic rises as I scan for them frantically. The water stills around us, growing eerily silent.

I suck in a sharp breath as one of the Naiads crashes through the surface, snapping its filed teeth at me. Jace hurls himself in front of me, dagger drawn. Its teeth sink into his arm, piercing through his leathers as blood cascades into the dark water. He grunts as he drives the dagger into its rib cage. It releases him with a shrill bleat. He whirls, waving me away frantically.

"Get back! Go!" he bellows over the crashing waves .

The Naiad violently leaps for him again, and he slits its throat mid-air. It gives a loud gurgle before being swallowed up by the moon-kissed waves.

I tow Jace away by his good arm, my thighs aching against the thick waves as we push on. It's like moving in quicksand.

That's when the other Naiad tears through the water to wrap its spindly arms around Jace's neck. I scream as she tackles him below the surface.

"No!" I shout, my heart plummeting. Before I can think of what to do, his head explodes through the surface with a loud gasp.

"Jace!" I struggle through the tide to get to him, the water now up to my thighs. He grapples with the scrappy Naiad, her jaw fully retracted as she snaps at his neck. She's strong. His arms buckle beneath her as she strains to take a chunk out of his flesh. I reach into my belt and pull my own dagger free.

"Hey, bitch!"

I pray to God they don't shift positions in the split second it takes to hurl the knife through the air. I hold my breath as it sinks into the bony ice blue arm. Chilling black eyes slide toward me.

"Come and get me."

The Naiad tosses Jace aside and beelines for me, slithering along the tide like a serpent. I have mere seconds.

Think like a fighter.

Defense or offense. Defense or offense.

Who has the advantage here?

She does. She has the home advantage.

Defense , I decide.

I wait until she's nearly upon me before I call forth my fire. My hands heat in a split second, flames erupting from my palms. Jace fumbles toward me, bloody and horrified. I lock eyes with him and lift my flaming hands .

"Wind," I command.

As if reading my thoughts, he sends a blast of wind toward me. I deflect it, aiming at the Naiad as a wall of wind pushes my fire out in a brilliant explosion of light. She screeches as her wings burst into flame. The fire devours them until all that remains is their bony frame with nothing in the space between.

The distraction allows Jace enough time to reach me. I slam into him and hold fast, summoning my shadows to hurry the fuck up and get us out of here. I feel them materialize beneath the inky water. My heart skitters as I glimpse the onslaught of serpentine bodies once again charging toward us. I squeeze my eyes shut as the shadows reach our necks. The snapping of hungry jaws looms closer and closer. Bony fingers wrap around my ankle a second before the shadows suck us up, and we evaporate into thin air.

The shadows spit us out exactly where I hoped they would. Somewhere safe, on the island. I silently thank their intuition as we fall to our knees, gasping.

"Are you alright?" Jace croaks.

"I'm fine." I crawl toward him. "Your arm."

"It's just a scratch." He winces as he lifts it.

"That is not a scratch, Jace."

He grumbles as I pull his arm toward me to inspect it. The cut is deep. "I'm going to try to heal it."

"Don't," he mutters, wrenching it back heatedly. "You'll probably fuck it up and leave a nasty scar."

"Hey!" I look up at him. "I saved your ass back there. I haven't heard a thank you yet."

"I told you to go. To run." He glares at me, suddenly furious.

"And you thought I would, what, listen ? You think I would leave you to die?"

"It doesn't matter if I die—it's you that's indispensable!"

" You are indispensable, you idiot!" I shout. "I can't lose you. "

"I couldn't live with myself if you died because of my stupid mistake." He clamps a hand against his chest as if quelling a sudden pain there.

"It wasn't your fault. We weren't even supposed to land there, but we did. We weren't supposed to stay until night, but we fell asleep. The Naiads weren't supposed to come ashore, but it was high tide. It was a perfect storm, nobody's fault. And we're both still standing." I run my hand up and down his good arm, and he softens eventually.

Jace relents to being the guinea pig for my healing experiment. I do as he directs me, bracing my hands on his arm and calling forth light from deep within me. I visualize threads weaving together, and as I do, Jace's arm repairs itself until all that's left on his chiseled bicep is a tiny pink line.

I look around for our packs, seeking a drink of water. Then I realize they didn't make it to the island with us. They're lost at sea with a bunch of hangry flesh-eating Naiads.

"Our supplies are gone," I announce, crestfallen. "Our weapons."

"I'm the captain. Do you really think I only travel with one dagger?"

He eyes me cockily, fishing into his boot and spilling a gold-hilted dagger onto the ground. He repeats the action with the other boot, sending another knife clattering to his feet. Then he unfastens his jacket and reaches into his breast pocket, withdrawing a miniature dagger before adding it to the pile.

"That one is my favorite. Plus, we've got one longsword." He pats his hip where his ornately etched silver and onyx blade remains sheathed.

"Just one?" I run my eyes over him, not so discreetly pausing just below his belt. "How sad for you." I offer up a wicked grin. That earns a deep, hearty laugh from him .

"You're despicable," he says, rolling his eyes. "Even with the weapons, we still shouldn't linger."

"I agree." I turn, taking in the unfamiliar land. Even in the moonlight, I can make out the red, striated rock I recognize from the renderings in the history books Zadyn showed me.

The distinct red rock of the Island of Iterre.