long gasp as Summer’s head appeared. She broke the surface and dragged one long breath into her lungs. She was facing away from us, but I could feel her panic. Before I could call out to her, she was pulled under again.
“Marcus, it’s a yucky thing. You need to kill it. It’s like a horse or something,” I yelled. I didn’t have much time to give him the rundown on what he was up against.
Marcus dove under and in seconds the surface was smooth again.
Quinn knelt down and touched a section of reeds. “Find her. Lead him to her. Help my daughter.”
They peeled off and snaked away, doing the bidding of their master.
“You don’t do that at home.” I was feeling pretty useless, but I got my gun out anyway in case the yucky horse thing attacked on land, too. I was never swimming in lakes again. Oceans were iffy too because sharks are legit.
“The plants at home aren’t native to Faery. They’ve evolved differently. I can manipulate them, but I don’t have the connection I have here or on my home plane.” Quinn stared out at the water, his hands on his hips. “I’m going after her myself.”
“You’ll only make things harder for him. Marcus knows what he’s doing. He didn’t ask you to follow him. He cares about her. Let him handle this.” I knew what it was like when civilians shoved themselves into my battles. It could be chaotic, and every moment would count. Marcus wasn’t fighting in a place he was used to, and Quinn wouldn’t be either. Their senses would be dulled underwater.
Quinn looked like he was going to ignore me when Marcus’s head came up again and he dragged in a breath. He had wrapped one arm around Summer’s body and started to swim to the shore.
“She’s not breathing,” he said.
Now nothing I could say would stop Quinn. He didn’t dive in. He brought the platform to Marcus, who found himself lifted out of the water and brought to shore. I rushed to meet him. I might not have listened to long lectures about faery creatures, but I did know a lot about CPR.
“You need to lay her flat on the ground,” I instructed, getting to my knees.
“I need to give her my blood,” Marcus said, pulling at his sleeve.
I shook my head. It was his go-to move. Vampire blood was our universal curative, but it wouldn’t work here. “It might make her lungs function, but it won’t clear the water. She’ll just drown again. You two get back. Now.”
I could take charge of this. Summer was covered in blood and I wasn’t sure how much of it was hers, but if I could get her breathing again, Marcus could fix anything else that was wrong with her. I leaned over and placed my mouth on hers. Two quick breaths and then I found her xiphoid process and moved up an inch on her sternum.
“Be careful with her,” Quinn said, kneeling next to me.
Marcus was opposite me, Summer’s hand in his.
I started compressions, being careful because I had a whole lot of strength and I wasn’t sure how fragile she was. I found a rhythm in my head and let it take over.
“It’s not working.”
I didn’t need to see Marcus to feel his fear.
I kept on, unwilling to give up on her.
“Kelsey, let Marcus try giving her blood.” Dev was every bit as freaked out as Marcus was.
Again, I didn’t take the time to explain that it wouldn’t work the way they hoped it would. I kept up my steady beat, giving her breaths when the time came.
Her eyes flew open as I leaned over to put my mouth on hers. She knocked me back as she twisted to one side and vomited up all the lake water she’d swallowed.
I breathed a sigh of relief as she dragged air into her lungs, and Dev and Marcus crowded her in a way that would have made me growl.
“Bella, you are all right?” Marcus asked.
“Of course she’s not all right,” Dev complained. “She was attacked. Give her blood, Marcus. Look at what it did to her arm. Did you kill it?”
“He’s talking about the yucky horse thing.” I noted no one was complimenting my CPR skills.
They ignored me entirely.
Summer’s body shook as she cleared her lungs and her gut. Marcus held her hair back, lending her strength. Dev pretty much got in the way, but he thought he was her dad and I would likely be