Shattered by the Sea Lord - Starla Night Page 0,21
“I’ll be right behind you.”
“I’ll inflate the raft.” Val forced the door.
It creaked and then popped away, carried by the force of the waves and current. She stepped to the rim. The plane tilted. She splashed out with a shriek.
The plane abruptly lurched and waves flooded in.
The current swirled over Dannika’s lap as the plane continued to sink.
“Did she make it?” Dannika’s limbs trembled. Maybe from cold, but maybe from shock. Her teeth chattered and her bones vibrated against their sinews. “Did she get free?”
“I cannot concentrate on two humans.” He strained and then gave up, shaking out his limbs and staring at the chair as though trying to see a new problem.
“I know, I know. But, did she?”
Ciran ducked under the water.
Water gurgled and bubbled. Waves slapped her window, engulfing the plane like an aqua snake. The light dimmed and changed to blue. Saltwater sprayed from the cracks.
Water splashed up to Dannika’s chest.
She gasped.
Ciran surfaced again. A dangerous knowing filled his gaze.
Uh oh. “She didn’t make it?”
“Val is on the raft.” Ciran stared at her very hard. “I cannot remove the metal rib.”
“What about the seat?”
He shook his head.
“You got most of the screws. I bet a strong push with the crowbar, you could pop them.”
“Another piece of metal has twisted around the plate securing your chair to the floor. It is as though the plane is holding onto you with metal tentacles.”
Oh.
Wow.
That was…
Huh.
How could she survive a crash and drown when everyone was trying to save her?
With Ciran trying. Desperately. To save her.
“Dannika.” He threaded his fingers through her wet hair. His thumb stroked her cheek. “I am sorry.”
“No.” She swallowed. “You did your best. I mean, you’ll think of something. You always do.”
“I have.” He dove beneath the water again. Subtle waves brushed her ankles. He struggled to free the seat from the twisted wreckage of the plane. She sensed him deep within the water.
Because he was still here, deep calm filled her.
He would figure something out.
He always did.
For a long time after Eliot died, she’d cried so hard she’d thought her heart would stop, but it had always carried on, and she’d believed there must be a reason. And when she’d started matchmaking her friends successfully, watched the bloom of interest flower into full, abiding, selfless love, she’d known. She had a calling, a mission. She’d experienced the greatest love, and others deserved to experience it, too.
She’d fought her unstoppable feelings for Ciran, but at this critical moment, she rested her faith in him.
He was her one.
“Ciran?” Her voice wobbled. The water rose to her neck. She gasped for air. “Ciran!”
He burst to the surface holding a bottle of water.
No, that wasn’t bottled water. That was Sea Opal elixir.
Of course.
See? He always came up with something.
She reached for the bottle.
Ciran held it. “Dannika, you have not pledged to become my mate, but you must—”
“Give it to me.”
His brows lifted. “You know this is—”
“Elixir.” She sucked in another breath. “And after I drink it, you have to activate it. You have to kiss me, Ciran. I’ll become yours.”
His gaze smoldered. The iridescent threads in his eyes glimmered with possession.
He uncapped the bottle and tipped it into her mouth just as the seawater rose to her cheeks and flooded in her ears, carrying with it the usual odd muffling, and extra-loudness that was so unsettled.
She fought the shock reflex. Swallow. The order came from inside. She choked.
Ciran’s steady gaze mesmerized her.
He had total faith.
She was his one.
He was hers.
Swallow.
She gulped.
Seawater splashed over her head.
The bottle pulled out of her mouth as the water closed over her face, leaving her with cold, dark, salt. She coughed. Bubbles erupted in the heavy, viscous blue. Water strangled her, pouring down her throat and into her lungs.
Air.
Spots danced behind her eyes.
Air. Air!
She convulsed.
Trust in me, Dannika. You are transformed. I am your one.
Ciran’s strong fingers cupped her cheeks, calming her, and his lips brushed hers in their first kiss.
Her heart stilled, and then the pressure of the water eased. Her chest swelled with warmth, truth, heat.
He was right.
She had transformed.
The spots in her eyes faded. Blackness turned to light, and the sea opened around her.
Ciran appeared first, floating as a warrior. His iridescent coffee and green tattoos gleamed, and his unearthly two-tone eyes filled her with dangerous desire.
The darkness beyond him fled to show the whole interior of the plane. Detritus floated, chumming the water with metal and chaos.
The plane rotated and the tail cracked. The walls bent, and the metal rib