Page 110 of Love & Heart Braking

The unicorn studied the map and squinted at the other side. Directly opposite was the route we had to take? I scanned the cavern. If we hugged the weed-covered walls, it’d take us forever to get all the way around.

We didn’t have that kind of time.

Devereaux held up his hands, gaze cautioning our group.

He swam out into the cavern.

In this setting, my berserker was the prey. A sizeable man, he looked small against the barrenness of the dark cavern. My heart thundered at the thought of a kraken surging upward, beak wide and razor-sharp teeth gleaming to swallow him whole.

He made it to the other side.

Bain gestured me and Gug forward, and I set off with the goblin.

Devereaux waited in the next hall ahead, and I kicked his way, trying to keep the motion of my flippers smooth. I wanted to burst into frantic flailing to get there.

I reached for Devereaux’s hand when we got across, squeezing it hard. We watched Bain’s crossing, and there was a mutual exchange of relief between the three of us when he made it over.

Bain frowned over my shoulder, and I turned, eyes rounding. Gug was peering into the weeds, and her jaw had unhinged. It got wider and wider apart until, with vicious speed, she burst forward and clamped down.

The goblin ripped away, and we watched her chew. A burst of green surrounded her throat, her jaw shrank to normal proportions, then she swallowed.

Glancing back at us, she jerked her head.

Looked like I’d just seen magic eating in person.

We continued.

I sure hoped Bain was keeping track because I had no idea where we were. The map he was following was old. Who knew if the Dethnels had made changes. Regardless, the map was all we had to go on. Even using my ribbons to find the way would take too long.

We made it to another cavern. Gug, Bain, and Devereaux floated just inside as he checked the coast was clear.

Devereaux stilled and lifted his hand, beckoning us back.

Shit!

Following Gug’s lead, I pressed into the long weeds lining the hallway. Peeking between the weeds, I nearly choked as the bulbous top of a kraken’s head appeared from the depths. The creature rose in the cavern, silent to my ears, and I couldn’t see the others at all to check if they were out of sight. The kraken drifted higher. Blood roared in my ears at its glowing, red eyes, and vicious beak.

Could the beast smell my terror? Could he hear my fear?

Of course, out of all the damn halls spilling into the cavern, the descendant came our way. Was it Imosae or Develin? I couldn’t tell, and I didn’t dare move to count his tentacles.

He stretched out two arms and hooked the hallway mouth, then pulled himself through far more gracefully than he’d ever appeared on land. Only a small margin remained around his body and surrounding tentacles in the hall, and I pressed into the green weeds. He bunched the tip of one arm around the weeds over my head, and I froze.

He glided on.

The water pulled into his slipstream as he passed, and I gripped onto the weed, straining to remain inside my cover with all my strength.

The kraken paused.

Fuck.

I didn’t dare breathe through the mouthpiece. Why hadn’t I kept going into the cavern with the others?

The kraken backtracked and extended a tentacle my way.

Mars alive.

He’d felt me somehow. Shit. I couldn’t fight on land, let alone underwater. Should I make a break for it? That seemed doomed to fail too.

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