Page 9 of Resolve
Then, it stops.
I turn to follow the sound with a burst of speed. Something bobsin the water, and then the next roll of waves pushes it under.
Aiden.
I shuck my clothes off and leave the door hovering in place as I dive into the water. It’s even darker underwater where the moon’s glow is barely visible. It takes a second to find Aiden’s shadow, then I swim as fast as I can to reach him. He sinks at a steady pace, but I’m catching up with every forceful stroke.
I grab his arm, pulling him up and then dragging us back to the surface.
The door hovers in the distance, showing how far we’ve moved already, and I send it to us on a gust of wind and drop it on the water. I climb on first, an awkward endeavor while keeping Aiden above water with one hand, then pull him up and start CPR.
His body jerks after the fifth compression while I feed him air and then I roll him to his side. He chokes, then coughs, and water releases from his mouth.
I drop on my backside, knees up, and throw my head back as relief sweeps through me in a rush while he catches his breath.
I made it, little one.
Aiden returns to his back, panting and eyes closed. His body shivers hard enough that I can feel it through the door. There’s a bullet hole in his shoulder and his side, but I can’t do much for those here other than plugging them with my gift to avoid more blood loss.
Gathering the air around us, I push the water from his body until he’s dry, then do the same for myself. It further depletes the reserves of my gift and means we’ll have to cruise back to shore slower, but I can’t have either of us dying of hypothermia. Aiden’s too exhausted to so much as grumble at me when I dress him in my pants and hoodie to warm him up.
“The others?” His voice is brittle from the seawater, but the tone is just as commanding and in control as always.
A small smile tugs on my lips. I lean on my fist as I watch him lying there, eyes closed, chest moving in normal rhythm.
“Safe.”
He cracks an eye open to look at me. I’m sure he’s noticed we’re still adrift. I haven’t put him on my back and started flying anywhere. “What’s next?”
I look in the direction we need to go. “I don’t have the energy left to fly both of us. I’ll push us on the water, but it’ll be slow.” His eyes are closed again. “Sleep, but don’t die,” I warn him.
He grunts in acknowledgment. Now that his immediate questions have been answered, he’ll rest. Finding him was only the first step. I don’t know what other injuries he sustained besides the bruising on his back, which makes getting us back quickly all the more urgent.
Hopefully, Reid will be waiting with Cassandra by the time we arrive.
With that in mind, I whip the air behind us to start the long cruise to the beach.
“I see them!” Dane shouts as we sail toward the shore. He and Kellan dash into the water waist-deep to meet us. Dane's brow wrinkles, and he shoots me a pained look when he sees how pale and motionless Aiden is.
“He’s alive.” I don’t blame them. I’d continuously checked fora pulse during the long ride because of how still he was. “Where’s Cassandra?”
Kellan presses two fingers to Aiden’s neck anyway as if needing the physical reassurance that he’s still with us. “She’s with Reid, Tinsley, and Raegan.” He frowns, then lifts Aiden.
“Careful of his back,” I warn while standing. I’d rather ride the door to shore than return to the water.
“His pulse is weak. Let’s go.” Kellan wades through the water, keeping Aiden above it in his arms. Once we’re on land, I ditch the door and stroll behind them as they run around the curve of the shoreline to the others.
Cassandra’s head snaps up where she’s sitting against the boulder hiding Raegan. “Aiden!” She scrambles to her hands and knees and pats the sand. “Put him down here.”
Reid steps around the boulder into view. One of his twin blades is in his hand, and he’s scanning the cliff. “We need to leave. We’ve been here too long already.”
“He could be too weak to survive the teleport,” Cassandra snaps. “Give me a second to at least make sure he’ll stay with us until I can do the full healing.”
Kellan stops in front of Cassandra but doesn’t move to put Aiden down. “Check him here and heal what you need to, and then we’ll go.”
Dane moves next to Kell to watch, but I keep walking around them to where I left Raegan. I’ve done my part for Aiden. It’s up to Cassandra from here.
Now, all I want is to see her. To hold her in my arms, even if she burns me, because I almost lost her.
