Page 28 of Tashama
After swimming several yards, her lungs screamed for air. Then strands of her hair were yanked forward. Kicking her feet and pulling at the rock with her hands, she finally made it to another shallow airlock. She caught her breath and shook her head. A tear mixed with the water droplets on her cheek. “I cannotdo it.”
Do it…it.
Tiny impish giggles ensued, then silence.
The water lapped against the edge of the rock, and the sweet fragrance, like perfume, touched her upturned nose. “Whatis it?” she whispered.
What is it…it?
She took a deep breath and exhaled again in exasperation. “You can do this, Tashama!”
Do this, Tashama!
“Do it, Tashama!”
Do it, Tashama!”
“They search for you, Tashama,” a tiny voice said, as a spark illuminated her small space.
“Water sprite, how much longer must I endure?”
I endure…endure?
“They come for you.”
Tashama filled her lungs again and dove under. The water swirled before her, its surface shimmering with the flutter oftranslucent blue wings, bubbles dancing with light.I won’t make it.
She closed her eyes and gave up the struggle.I cannot make it.
The prince’s dark brown eyes studied her as his image appeared before her in the blue light. Her slender fingers reached out to touch his lips as they parted slightly for her.
“They come for you, Tashama,” the sprite bubbled in her ear. “You’ll never make it.”
I’ll never make it.
Tiny hands pulled at her gowns and hair, and all at once her face broke the tranquil surface of the water. She gasped for air, and a voice laughed. “You escaped them, buthewon’t let you go.” The water nymph splashed back into the water.
Tashama stared at the lake she recognized as the one she’d encountered when her nightmare had first begun. She crawled onto the sandy beach and eyed the ring of mountains in the distance.How can I make it through the mountains?She shook her head at the thought.I’m not sure I can even make it off the beach.She rested her head on the shore.
Aleron stormedthrough the hallway to the sorcerer’s chambers with one of his royal guard. “She cannot have left the palace grounds! She couldn’t have gotten past the guards!” He glared at two guards who hurriedly bowed to him in the hall as he strode on past them. “Why did Carissian want me at his chambers?”
“Sire,” the guard said they turned down another passageway, “he’s concerned she may have drowned in the underground lake.”
The prince stopped. “You didn’t say this to me before.”
“No, sire. I was afraid you would be angry. We don’t know what to think, really. Carissian found a slip of cloth belonging to her dress at the bottom of the stairs.”
Aleron shook his head and quickened his pace. They turned down another corridor. “Why would I have been angry? If she has…” He rubbed his chin as his brows furrowed. “She would…” The prince shook his head as the notion disturbed him.I should be pleased with the notion. She’s a danger to me, is she not?
What is there about this Karthlander woman that stirs the beast in me so? No other woman has ever made me feel this way…to spawn such longings.He studied the floor, then shook his head.She is more powerful than Carissian has ever been.
His guard waited for him to finish his sentence, and he took a deep breath. “She would no longer be a threat to me.” His words were said in a hurry as if to reassure himself, but his tone of voice hinted at concern with the prisoner’s well-being instead.
“Yes, sire.”
The prince turned onto another path. “I’ve told Carissian he shouldn’t live so far from my wing of the palace!”
After another ten minutes of maneuvering through the maze of passages, the prince walked into Carissian’s chambers. A guard greeted him. “We’re looking for any signs of the woman in the water, as much as we can, sire.”
