slip through the pink waters of Nevertide, desperate to get as far away from the Hermessi as possible.
“Keep moving!” Lumi said. “The spell will wear off, and I’m not sure the pink waters will close before they come after us!”
Fueled by the desperate need to survive, we swam upward like maniacs, arms and legs swaying and pushing through the primordial liquid, until we passed the infant crystal eggs and our heads pierced through the surface.
“Holy crap, that was close!” Eva yelped.
Looking down, we all saw the white light of the natural portal dimming. No sign of the Hermessi. We’d left them in the void, between worlds, dazed and confused and likely wondering where we’d gone.
“Where the heck are we?” Raphael asked me. He knew I’d been the one to change direction, judging by the look in his green-and-blue eyes.
“Nevertide,” I said.
That had been a narrow escape, and our journey to find Thieron hadn’t even properly begun yet. The Hermessi had gone to extreme lengths to reach us—fortunately, the pink waters and the great void between worlds had worked in our favor, but I knew we wouldn’t always be able to rely on them.
Fallon was barely coming to his senses. I worried about him. This wasn’t the first time that a Hermessi had taken him over. His fae side was still dominant, unlike Taeral, whose jinni nature seemed to have prevented the elementals from toying with him directly.
I understood then what Death had meant when she’d said it would only get harder. The Hermessi’s power was growing, as was their ability to come after us, Devil’s Weed on or not. We were in for a world of trouble, and still, after having gotten to know someone like Raphael, I couldn’t bring myself to surrender to any form of despair.
Raphael laughed, taking his breathing mask off, and breathed a sigh of relief, beaming at me with the joy of someone who’d found the will to live, once more. Without caring about anything else around us, he took my breathing mask off, swiftly put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me into a kiss. His lips crashed against mine. Fire and ice danced around in the pit of my stomach, and I showed no resistance to this endeavor.
I welcomed him completely. He tasted like the ocean breeze, his masculine essence permanently embedded in the delicate skin of my lips.
“I won’t apologize for this,” he said, his voice low and husky. My hands had settled on his broad chest as we floated closer to the edge of the pool.
“Not looking for an apology, anyway,” I whispered, my tongue still tingling.
I had every intention of surviving this, because Raphael and I clearly had something going on between us, and, just like my mother had once said, there was nothing more powerful than love to pull us out of the darkness. I had a feeling that Raphael was going to be the one who would keep me going, in light of what lay ahead.
And, as he climbed over the edge of the pink water pool and helped me out, I had to admit… I was perfectly okay with that.
Varga
I held Eva close once our feet touched the hard ground of the pink water cave. Fallon was back and loaded with newfound energy, though he’d yet to shake that startled look off his face. Acantha and Nethissis flanked him, caring for him and checking his vitals and making sure everything was okay, while the rest of the crew made their way out, laughing and cheering, thankful to have survived a most harrowing encounter with the Hermessi.
Our relief would be short-lived, and we knew it. But we’d earned the right to enjoy this little snippet of time. We’d fought hard for it.
“Is everyone okay?” Lumi asked, squeezing pink water from the edges of her sleeves.
“Yeah, I think so,” I said, one arm wrapped around Eva’s waspy waist. I’d caught a glimpse of Raphael and Amelia kissing, but, much like everyone else, I’d kept my mouth shut about it. They deserved that moment. Frankly, I’d thought it would take Raphael longer to crack the shy nut that was Amelia, but she’d really come into her own during these missions. Fighting the Hermessi had brought out a side of her she probably hadn’t even known she had. “Fallon, buddy, how are you?”
“All things considered? Just glad to be alive.” He sighed and gave Acantha and Nethissis a faint smile. “Thank you both.”
“Boy, you are lucky Brendel