RISING (#2, of Crows and Thorns)

Chapter 101

"You said that this was akin to beachwear!" I squawked, clamping both hands flat across my breasts.

"I'm joking, Miss Catt," he shot back quickly, lifting a hand in surrender. "I see nothing."

But I wasn't so sure he was telling me the truth.

He stepped closer, looming over me with his great height. Once more he offered me his hand and mine looked delicate when I slid it into his. I delighted in the feel of our work-roughened hands folding around one another's, the heart-stuttering zap at the initial touch. He took charge, leading me into the brook and toward the cavern, both of us ducking beneath the draping foliage of ferns hanging over its mouth to get inside.

Waves of frigid water splashed up over my ankles. He kept me steady when my footing stumbled on stones greasy with algae and I almost went down with a yelp. I shivered violently at the chilly air and bitterly cold water. "The water's freaking freezing," I protested weakly because the idea of slipping and sliding down a tunnel was still appealing. He draped one of his big arms around me, enveloping me with his warmth. The contact of his bare body brushing against my skin caused my entire body to clench.

"Trust me, Miss Catt, what's down there will be well worth the shock of cold," he shouted above the raucous, churning water. "We just need to do one more thing!"

He crouched low, encouraging me to do the same thing beside him, and I braced myself against the sudden flood of bone-biting water that surged around my body. We raised the car mat and used our bodies to block the rushing stream. Water built up quickly with the dam, rising higher and higher in icy waves that shoved hard against my drenched body. Despite how miserable the cold water was, the excited anticipation of what was to come had my heart beating faster. It was just like the time my aunt took me to a waterpark years ago. Climbing up the wet spongy steps, mats rolled up in our hands, excitement building with the rowdy shrieks and bellows the closer we got to the top of the tower. Then we watched the mortal kids block the tunnel where water was pumped up from below to wash the riders down, eager to do the same thing too.

Varen had the biggest grin on his face I'd ever seen. He looked so boyish as he practically bounced on the balls of his feet with exhilaration. "Ready?!"

Before I'd even finished nodding he'd grabbed hold of me in a whirl of speed and twisted us both around to seat us on the car mat. My back was to his front and I relished his body heat as his arms and legs caged me in. With the release of pressure, the water crashed down like a tidal wave and we were off.

The furious current pushed us along at a great speed. We whooshed down the shadowy, twisting tunnel. Water sprayed everywhere. It splashed against my face and my hair whipped behind me in a saturated tail.

We jolted and bumped along. Slid sideways. Rotated a full-whizzing-circle as the swift and churning water shunted us around with savage force. A shriek tore from my throat as we flew up the side to round a sharp corner, and Varen let out a whoop of joy.

Our raucous laughter chased us down the tunnel as we zoomed along the bends and dips, squinting against the freezing water shredding across our faces.

All of a sudden the darkness lifted and we burst from the waterslide and skimmed across the surface of a pool. White-tipped water sprayed in a furious arc. And as we slowed down we sank below the surface, plunging into its murky depth.

Beneath, it was pitch black and the awful underwater silence was deafening. My hair drifted in the inkiness, and with my silvery limbs, it gave off a spectral illusion. My chest tightened with a terrified spike of fear from not knowing where I was and how far down I'd sunk. Panicked air bubbles floated upward like a popped champagne bottle as oxygen escaped my lungs.