Page 147 of The Hunted

“Eryx!”

That was not her voice in the wind. It wasn’t her call echoing in his heart. It was her.

She was there.

He was up from the ground in the next breath and then he moved to the line of the trees where he could easily scan the bay and the rocky ledge surrounding it like a high tower meant to protect whatever was waiting behind it.

And there she is.

He found her at the top—right in the center. Atop a horse that she jumped down from when she called his name again. In the whipping winds, and with the black backdrop of a stormy sky, the white dress she wore seemed like it haloed around her. This time, he answered her call back.

“Arelle!”

He sensed the moment she found where he stood at the bottom of the bay, directly on the other side of her. She had cliffs to climb down and an entire body of water to cross before he had her again. The relief wasn’t there like he thought it would be, but he knew why.

Eryx needed to touch her.

Look in her eyes.

Be one.

He swore he saw her raise a hand—was she waving? He did the same.

Then, before he even understood what happened, Arelle darted forward. The skirt of the flowy dress blew out behind her and he took one step forward as his chest tightened with the realization of what she was going to do.

She jumped from the cliff.

No hesitation.

No fear.

Just … jumped.

His first instinct was to follow her. At least, he had mind enough to shed the cloak on his shoulders, and the rest of his sopping, ruined clothes before he headed for the shore of the bay. He couldn’t see her in the water; the darkness had started to bleed together, but that didn’t matter. She was close enough for him to feel.

That was all he needed.

Eryx walked naked into the water, the chill barely an annoyance to him now. It was as though he’d become so used to being cold and wet that it wasn’t even a discomfort anymore. He kept walking forward, hands skimming the surface of the water, until he was up to his throat and he only had a few more steps before he’d be in over his head.

For the most part, the water was calm. Small waves, despite the storms. Still as black as the sky, but he was no longer afraid of what waited under the water for him.

Arelle broke the surface only a few feet away from him. Her hair slicked back from the water; rivulets ran lines down her face. For a second, time stopped when their eyes met. The world remained still as he took her in, and she did the same.

“How?” she asked.

“Luck,” he decided. “A lot of luck.”

Her laughter echoed. His gaze fell to her throat—the collar was gone. Behind her, her fin and tail twisted in the water, making little ripples all around them. He noticed how the shimmering green-blue scales that matched the spattering at her temples covered her entire lower half as she inched closer in the water.

How had he never admired her like this?

Well, he knew.

He’d been too busy catching her.

“Come closer,” he demanded.

She did.