LITMIR.BIZ

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splash at his feet. The echo of churning waves filled her ears. “Don’t do this. Please, don’t do this.”

      “I told you I would never hurt you. This is the only way to my home. Once there, I’ll beg for your forgiveness for any hardships you endure. I’ll gift you with more jewels and gold than you can imagine. I’ll—”

      “I don’t want jewels and gold, you brute! I want my freedom.”

      Waves lapped at his knees...his thighs...his midsection. Cool, salty droplets sprayed over her face and burned her eyes. Though he slowed his pace, he continued on, sinking deeper and deeper into the water.

      She swallowed a mouthful of the stuff—and choked. He stopped, patting her butt in a vain effort to help her catch her breath. Then he resumed his slow, torturous journey. The other women still followed merrily, each wearing a giddy smile, as if frolicking to their deaths was perfectly acceptable. Even fun.

      Wait. No, not every woman followed merrily. The one with dark curls, a petite beauty, looked ready to vomit.

      Shaye’s heart pounded in her chest, an erratic drumbeat. A war beat. “Don’t do this. You’re going to kill us all, you—umph.”

      Butt smack. “Hold your breath, moonbeam.”

      The next thing she knew, she was completely submerged. The salt stung her eyes. Her throat constricted. Hair floated around her face like strands of ivory ribbon.

      The idiot man kept his strong arms locked around her, one at the bend of her knees, one at the small of her back. His palms were hot, so hot, a startling contrast against the chilly liquid.

      Colorful fish swam past her. She wanted to scream, but every time she opened her mouth, she swallowed more water.

      He tilted forward and began using his powerful legs to swim even deeper....deeper still. Her lungs shrieked for air. She desperately needed to breathe. Now. Now!

      Can’t...

      Terror devoured her.

      I’m going to die, she realized. My life will be over before I ever truly lived.

      A thousand regrets surfaced, along with all the lies she’d told herself. She didn’t like herself. She wasn’t happy. She should have forgiven those who’d wronged her. Clinging to hurt instead of embracing love seemed so silly now. Like wasted time. Every moment counted, and hurt only ever, well, hurt. Love healed, always. She should have written a book instead of simply talking about it. Her characters could have had the happy ending she’d secretly craved for herself.

      She should have gotten a second tattoo. A rose in full bloom, or a cross, or a butterfly. Basically the opposite of the skull and crossbones she had on her lower back—an image she’d gotten to make her parents notice her.

      Her mom had definitely noticed and still mailed her articles about new methods of tattoo-removal every few weeks.

      Her mind suddenly blanked, becoming as dark as the water, wiping her thoughts clean.

      Have to breathe, she mentally shouted.

      Between one heartbeat and the next, the murky water cleared, so glassy she could see as perfectly as if she were on land. Even the salt dissipated, soothing her irritated eyes.

      Valerian tugged her forward so that they were eye to eye. She tried to push away from him—her tormentor—but he held tight.

      Breathe, she mouthed. Please.

      With a hand on her nape, he drew her close and pressed his mouth to hers; he used his tongue to open her lips...and then he exhaled, gifting her with the last breath he’d taken.

      The burn inside her cooled, the vise-grip easing from her throat and lungs.

      Lifting his head, he motioned with a tilt of his chin, and she squelched her panic long enough to turn and look. Her eyes widened when she spotted the swirling, gelatinous whirlpool that loomed ahead.

      What was that? And why was Valerian swimming straight for it?

      She fought to paddle in the opposition direction, but an undeniable suction pulled her closer...until she shot through the whirlpool and into dark nothingness.

      She began to spin, faster and faster, left and right, tumbling toward the unknown. Nausea churned in her stomach, and needles jabbed at her pores, the pain nearly too much to bear.

      She didn’t understand what was happening; she only knew the water had disappeared, leaving the spiraling black abyss that seemed to stretch for eternity.

      Zipping lights whizzed past her, firefly flickers extinguished all too soon. A bevy of screams assaulted her ears, and a sharp ache began to hammer at her temples. Her blood flash-froze in her veins even as sweat beaded over her skin.

      As a little girl, her favorite fairy tale had been Alice in Wonderland. Alice had fallen down a rabbit hole, and Shaye had envied her. A whole new world! Adventure!

      Suddenly she pitied Alice.

      Brighter streams of light appeared. Gusts of wind erupted, blustering around her.

      Where was Valerian? She shouted his name.

      Dizziness invaded her mind as she continued to twirl, twirl, twirl, alone, frightened...finally crash-landing inside a new world, just like Alice.

       CHAPTER FIVE

      “I’VE GOT YOU, MOON.”

      Strong arms lifted Shaye, and she gratefully buried her face in the hollow of Valerian’s neck. In that moment, she no longer cared what the warrior was doing to her; she was just happy he was with her. She even wound her legs around his hips to prevent any kind of separation.

      I’m safe?

      “Don’t you dare let me go,” she cried.

      His hold tightened. “I will never let you go.”

      The vehement tone should have frightened her, but oddly enough she felt comforted instead.

      Maybe because he clung to her as if she were a treasure. As if she were someone special. As if he’d waited his whole life to meet her and now couldn’t imagine living without her.

      A deception, she knew. But that was okay. For now, that was okay.

      “Take a moment to breathe.” He petted his fingers down her spine. “Breathe for me. I don’t feel your chest moving.”

      Right. In, out. Air filled and exited her lungs. In, out. Surprisingly, she did calm. The scent of salt and Valerian’s particular brand of black magic teased her nostrils. His heart beat against hers. His hard strength welcomed her soft femininity.

      Valerian set her on her feet and framed her jaw with his big, callused hands. “You are pale,” he said, a hint of concern in his voice.

      “I’m always pale,” she muttered.

      She forced her gaze to abandon the stunning beauty of his chiseled features in favor of studying her new surroundings.

      They’d somehow entered a cave. The walls were rough and rocky, silver stones painted with streaks of crimson. Blood?

      She swallowed the barbed lump growing in her throat. A metallic tang layered the cold, cold air, and that cold, cold air continued to stroke her nearly bare body, chasing away Valerian’s delicious warmth, making her shiver.

      A shuffle of footsteps sounded behind her.

      Gasping, she looked over her shoulder. Tendrils of mist curled toward a domed ceiling as, one by one, warriors walked from a clear, jellylike whirlpool identical to the one she’d seen under water. The women still followed, but they were no longer smiling.

      “Where are we?” she asked Valerian.

      A pause. “Look at me, Moon. Please.”

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