Page 55 of Broken Hearted
Adrien’s body stayed tense, and behind Marlin shadows started to gather.
Adrien’s power.
The accumulating shadows meant it was time to put an end to this. I didn’t think Adrien would truly attack Marlin, but I also wasn’t sure.
“Adrien,” I said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. His muscles were tight and bunched under my touch. “Marlin saved my life yesterday. I’d prefer it if you didn’t obliterate him with your magic. If we want to get to the belly of the sea, he needs to help me breathe underwater.”
Adrien looked over at me, his eyes swirling with what looked to me like conflicting emotions. Several seconds ticked by before he finally pressed his lips together into a straight line and nodded. The action looked like it took effort for him.
Grudgingly, Adrien moved to the side and let Marlin get close enough to put his hands on either side of my face.
It only took a couple seconds for Marlin’s magic to work on me, and then I convinced Adrien to let him do the same for him. After that, we dove under the waves and were able to breathe and speak like before.
When Kira returned, she told me to take hold of her and I hooked a hand onto her fin. She took off, swimming at twice the speed that I would have been able to, dragging me down and through the ocean.
Adrien held onto Marlin’s fin and together we swam out of the cove and into the darkest water I’d ever been in. It was slightly terrifying. Not even the early morning light shone under here. Only the glow from the merfolk’s spears lit our way.
“How much further?” I asked, still amazed that I could talk underwater.
“Up ahead. See that glowing cave?” Kira spoke back to me and the sound reached my ears perfectly.
I peered ahead and gasped when I saw the blue glow less than fifty feet ahead of us.
The belly of the sea. It was a cave.
“Attack formation,” Kira suddenly snapped to her warriors and they aligned in a diamond shape all around Adrien and me. We were completely protected by them on all sides.
As we neared the cave I saw something slither in the dark waters.
“Three o’clock,” Kira shouted, and then the glowing spear one of her mermen held was tossed in the direction that I’d seen movement.
A shrill rent the waters and I clasped my hands over my ears, but then it was cut off by a garbled wail as the glowing spear sank into the gut of a siren. With one flick of his wrists, the merwarrior called back his glowing staff, and it pulled itself from the dead siren and drew back to his palm.
Kira turned to face me. “You have maybe ten minutes. Then every siren in the area will be upon us.”
My eyes bugged at the short timeline, but Adrien wasted not even a second.
“Thank you,” he said and grabbed my hand, swimming with me toward the blue glowing underwater cave.
As we neared, I had to squint. There was a glowing wall that shimmered as we approached. I grew an ice spear in my left hand, prepared to stab whatever might be on the other side as we swam through. But the second we crossed the barrier … we fell.
A shriek flew from both Adrien and me as we tumbled downward and I landed on top of him. It took me a second to realize we were in some magical underwater cave that was filled with air. I peered behind me at the blue glowing wall of water in amazement. Then I looked down at the teal eyes boring into mine.
I was straddling his mid-section, and both of my palms were flat against his chest. I should have moved off him by now, but I hadn’t. I was frozen, and the feel of his body beneath mine felt so right.
Adrien’s eyes went half-lidded. “As much as I would love to lay under you all day long, we have nine minutes.”
Embarrassment flushed my cheeks and I swallowed hard, letting out a nervous peal of laughter as I slid off him. “Right.” We had a task to do.
There was a tunnel up ahead with crystals embedded into the walls that glowed and cast an azure hue over everything.
“Get behind me,” Adrien commanded, and I did as he said. It was a narrow tunnel and we’d have to walk single file.
I kept my ice spear out and ready to stab anyone who came through as I followed Adrien. As the tunnel widened, Adrien stopped and I almost ran into him.
“Oh, no,” he muttered.
Panic sliced through me. “What is it?”
