Page 43 of Queen of Whispers and Mist

Blinking open his eyes, Ronan slowly sat up. A low moan fell from his lips, the vibration from the sounds making him wince. His throat and lungs burned as if someone had reached inside him and clawed them both to ribbons. Almost worse was the sand. He was covered in it, the gritty black motes itchy and unbearable.

What in the Mother’s name?

Slapping it off his arms and chest, he tried to piece together how he’d ended up here. The answer arrived in a series of terrifying images.

Cannon fire.

Tentacles.

Lusca.

He looked immediately to the horizon, searching for theRevenge,but it was empty save a few pillowy clouds and one hungry gull. Next he turned to the obsidian sands of the beach. Interested only in Shadow’s motionless figure no more than an arm’s length away from him, his frantic gaze barely took in anything of the turquoise waters, tropical trees, or distant cliffs. The long strands of her pale hair were strewn across her face, her hand outstretched as if reaching for him.

Nothing about her sleep seemed natural or peaceful. He couldn't even determine whether she was breathing—which should have been easy given the way her still damp clothes molded to her body.

Ronan scrambled to her side, sand flying as he clawed his way across the short distance. Grasping her shoulders, he shook her and cried out her name in a panicked rush. “Shadow. Come on, sweetheart, you have to wake up for me. Shadow... Shadow, please!”

He continued to shake her, drawing up one of her hands and pressing his fingertips to the inside of her wrist, barely breathing until he detected the faintest tattoo against his fingers. Instead of relief, all he tasted was fear.

If she was truly well, she’d be alert, wouldn’t she? What if she hit her head? What if she’d inhaled too much sea water?Or maybe it was poison... who knew what that creature was capable of?

Only one of those scenarios involved a solution he could actually provide. If water remained in her lungs, he could help flush it out. Driven only by the need to do something, he didn’t stop to think it through. Instead, he moved them both into position, tipping back her chin, linking his fingers together and pressing the heel of his palm against her sternum.

“One, two, three, four,” he counted under his breath as he began a series of compressions.

There was a very strong possibility he was overreacting, but Ronan couldn’t get the sight of that monstrous tentacle swooping toward her out of his mind. Until her gaze was on his and one of her silky insults had been aimed his way, he wouldn’t be satisfied she was out of harm’s reach. So if there was anything he could do to ensure it, even if there was only a slim chance it would work, he had to try.

Finished with the compressions, he plugged her nose with one hand and leaned down to expel the air from his lungs into hers. At first there was no reaction, not that he’d expected one. He’d seen this method used before, and oftentimes it took several rounds before the person reacted. But before Ronan could resume compressions, the body beneath him shifted, stiffening and then almost immediately relaxing. Her lips beneath his were no longer lax but trembling slightly before firmly applying their own pressure. Then her fingers threaded through his hair, not pushing him away but pulling him closer, as she let out the sweetest sigh of surrender.

He was so stunned by the change he didn’t even register Shadow was kissing him—until she wasn’t.

She jerked her face away, chest rising and falling in shallow pants. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Uhh...” Mind still filled with the taste of her, it took him a moment to process the question. “Saving you.”

Her voice was hoarser than usual as she shoved him off her and sat up. “There you go again, insisting I require saving.”

“But... you were unconscious.”

Her green eyes flicked to his, their combination of jade, amber, and moss so brilliant he nearly lost himself in them. “I hate to break it to you, Ronan. But you didn’t save me. I saved you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Well, what else would you call me diving in to find your sinking body and dragging it back to shore with my last breath? Having a bit of fun?” She scoffed, shaking her head in disgust. “I don’t know why I bothered. I must have suffered from a momentary lapse of sanity. Glad to see I’m now fully recovered.”

He was still hung up on the part where she’d just admitted to coming after him.Willingly.

“You really did that? For me?”

She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Buttercup helped.”

“Buttercup?”

“Jagger’s bird. If not for his protector, we would have still been trapped in the ocean.”

He had trouble picturing the little finch being at all useful with a sea rescue, let alone offering assistance, but Shadow distracted him when she pressed a hand to her head and grimaced.

Before he could ask if she was all right, she muttered, “There was something off about it.”

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