Bride of the Sea Monster - Eve Langlais Page 0,27

The wording changed. At the end, it now said, And in return, Lucifer will go away.

I signed.

Shax protested. “What are you doing?”

“If I turn kraken, I’ll need something to keep me busy.”

“You didn’t even specify it had to be on Earth,” my uncle sputtered.

“Doesn’t really matter.” I shrugged.

“Oh, the ships we’re going to sink. Such fun, my boy.” Lucifer clapped me on the back. “Welcome aboard.” He disappeared in a poof of smoke.

“Why would you sign that?”

“We hit Atlantis tomorrow. Either we find an answer, or it won’t matter.”

We might have talked longer if we didn’t hear a thump from the room I’d left Sasha in.

I glanced at the wall, as if I could see through it. “I should check on my wife.” I enjoyed using the word and planned to say it as many times as I could before the end came.

“Maybe you’ll get lucky and make her come hard enough that she’ll finally love you.”

“And maybe,” I said, my cheeks hot, “you’ll keep that kind of advice to yourself.”

A muffled yell tensed my body.

“Sasha!” I dashed for the door, spending a stupid second in the hall slapping my hand on the magical door lock for my room, removing it before it could register, and slamming it back on the lock again. It clicked, the door opened, and I stepped in to see my wife being kidnapped.

14

Sasha: I’m being kidnapped.

The Future: Surprise!

Nothing like waking up to a slimy touch and thinking it was your husband.

“Ian.” I mumbled his name, only to realize the cold, wet thing around my wrist wasn’t a tentacle.

Opening my eyes, I yelled at the strange creatures binding my wrists together. “What the fuck!”

I reacted too late. Hands bound, I could only kick in defense, managing to knock one fish-faced dude into the nightstand. Self-defense wasn’t my forte. My seeing usually warned me of danger because it had an interest in keeping me alive.

But it hadn’t warned me this time. Probably sulking because I’d bullied it into obeying the night before.

It didn’t take long before my captors bound my thrashing legs together, the bullies working as a team. Still, despite the direness of the situation, I struggled in earnest, begging my power to show me a way to escape.

Grabbing me by the shoulders and feet, a pair of the fish dudes carried me to the balcony exit just as the door to the room opened.

I had a moment to see Ian’s face, his mouth open as he bellowed, “Drop my wife!”

So hot.

Pity the fish guys didn’t listen.

The pair holding me clambered onto the rail, dangling me precariously while the third covered the rear, his pointed spear keeping Ian at bay.

“Ian!” I yelled his name.

He appeared in the door, his body heaving and humping. His voice guttural as he said, “Give me back my wife.”

Rather than obey, my captors tossed me from the railing.

I am not ashamed to admit that I screamed as I plummeted, the wind whistling in my face, whipping my hair, doing a good job of terrorizing me as I headed for the water. It didn’t help that I couldn’t see what came next. Was this the end? The wall of water that kept haunting me of late?

I hit the ocean like a bomb and sank, the force of my descent pushing me down. Too far down. Panic filled me. I couldn’t breathe. My hands and feet were bound, and despite what I’d done last night to save Ian, I had no magic of my own. No way to protect myself.

I sank a few more feet before my arms were gripped, a captor on each side. I almost sobbed when a bubble helmet covered my face, allowing me to gasp for air. At least I wouldn’t drown. But that was a small reassurance.

We sluiced through the water, biological missiles with no visible motor. A shockwave struck us, sending us tumbling. One of my fish guy captors was torn free, but the other held on and righted us. He used the force to propel us even faster through the ocean.

I knew what that impact meant. Ian was coming after me. My husband would save me. The fish men wouldn’t stand a chance against a kraken. A fierce pride filled me. Odd how my perception changed as I got to know him.

We moved rapidly, the speed with which we travelled through water astonishing, but the kraken kept up. Movement from the corner of my eye had me tilting my head for a peek, but we moved