Page 60 of Light and Shadow
Cupping my ass, he presses his thick cock between my denim-covered legs.
The boat rocks hard to the left, throwing us off-balance and onto the soft mattress.
Aaran breaks the kiss and lands on his forearms in time to ensure his weight doesn’t crush me. Smiling down at me, he cups my cheek. “As much as I want you”—he grinds his hips forward—“and I’m sure you can feel how much I do, there are over a hundred people above and below decks.”
Of course, he’s right. The timing is not good for a morning tryst. Still, it’s hard to release him. With a long breath, I let go. “You’re right. Maybe someday, we won’t have a world to save.” My heart breaks a little. Without a world needing us, will we even be together?
My hands glow rainbow colors. “Aaran?”
Aaran grips my hands, and his loving expression is replaced by a frown. He rises, then helps me to stand, and we rush to the deck.
Beran’s voice rises above the sounds of the sea. “On the port side!”
On deck, we run to the left side of the ship. The rocking of the ocean has increased since we set sail. It’s all I can do to keep my feet and move with the rocking to reach the railing.
Several elves are at the rail, and others hold the children away from danger.
Beran points to the water a few hundred yards away.
Something long and large with scales slips through the waves. It reminds me of all those fake photos of the Loch Ness Monster. “What is that?”
Jax looks a bit green, but nocks an arrow and waits for the thing to rise up again. “Sea dragon. More slug than lizard. They shouldn’t be this far south. The witch queen is gaining her strength back, and she knows we’ve freed her disciples.”
“You don’t know that,” Nainsi argues.
Jax lowers his bow and his jaw ticks. “There have never been sea dragons this far south. You don’t think that fancy rainbow light magic went unnoticed by Venora, do you? Don’t be a fool. It was a kindness to free them, but it gave her our location.” He turns a vicious frown on me, and his eyes burn with accusation.
Dorian takes a bow from a soldier and nocks an arrow, his eyes focused on the water. “It’s not as if there were that many options for her to choose from. Stop blaming Harper for everything you think has gone wrong.”
While I appreciate the solidarity, I can’t help but agree with Jax. I don’t know what I’m doing with my magic. I’m reckless with it and have yet to think through the consequences of my actions.
At the moment, the sea monster churning up the ocean seems like a more immediate issue than how we got here or whose fault it is. “What do they do besides make the ocean rough?”
“Some say they can sink a ship, and some say they can seduce the crew into jumping off the deck.” Nainsi shrugs.
A triangular head rises from the deep, and the sea dragon roars, showing three rows of sharp teeth. Its roar is like a combination of a lion and a gorilla. I have watched too many nature documentaries.
In the distance, another hump cuts through the waves.
I point. “Is that another one, or is it that big?” I’m not sure which would be worse.
“Another, I think.” Aaran stares out at the horizon. “I think more are coming.”
The ocean looks like river rapids, and the bubbling is getting closer.
The sea dragon leaps from the water and shoots its body across the bow, tearing the rigging holding the forward sail. Eight feet long, with spines along its underbelly and scales, it’s a monster out of a nightmare. Glowing red eyes are deeply set into its triangular head. It looks like a snake, and it glares right at me.
It shatters a piece of railing as it crashes against the ship and falls back into the sea.
More are coming fast.
Bert shouts, “Lower the sails!”
Beran replies, “We can’t outrun them without the sails.”
Aaran’s arrow lodges in the head of the monster before it hits the water. “Turn south. Hopefully, they can’t bear the warmer water.”
Jax and the other soldiers shoot arrows at every scale that breaches the surface as our ship turns left and cuts through the waves. Water crashes over the sides as we spear the next towering wave and then another.
