Free Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) by Chrissy Peebles Page A

his piercing
yellow eyes narrowed. He snorted and the rush of warm water blew
her hair straight behind her.
    Terror shot through her, she snapped
her fin, pushing her body backwards against the water. Bubbles
engulfed her, blinding her to the monster.
    She snapped her tailfin again, faster,
propelling herself backwards. Desperately, she flipped to race
forward.
    There was nowhere nearby for her to
hide. He was gaining distance on her. She had no choice but to swim
to the trench. In the back of her mind she could hear Atargatis’s
warning.
    Feverishly, she swam until she reached
its edge. She looked over her shoulder. He was closer than she
thought. She closed her eyes tightly, slipped over the edge, and
blindly plunged down into the dark abyss.
    She wildly searched for a hiding
place, surprised to find that she had near perfect vision in the
darkness. She assumed if she was able to see in the darkness so
could he.
    “ Hide! I’m on my
way.”
    Naia jolted as she heard Atargatis’s
voice in her head again.
    “ Naia, it’s me. You’re not
imagining this.”
    Gods , she was relieved to hear his
voice, even if it was in her mind. She dove deeper as she felt the vibrations of the
dragon’s roar.
    “ Oh please! Atty,
help!”
    “ Wedge yourself inside a
crevice. Wait for me. Don’t leave until I come for you.”
    With a flick of her tailfin, she
picked up speed and swerved around the tall rock pillars that
littered the trench. She heard the dragon bellow as it crushed into
one of the pillars behind her.
    Ahead she spotted a narrow crack that
ran down the side of the canyon wall. Even though it was thin, it
looked wide enough for her to fit into.
    She glanced behind her once again. He
was nearly on top of her. She was exhausted but a rush of
adrenaline kicked in. She sped up.
    Almost there.
    She entered her safe haven at full
speed, slamming into the rocks. They scraped against her shoulders,
arms and along the sides of her tailfin. The water around her
swirled red with blood.
    The sea monster smashed against the
opening, rattling her against the rocks.
    He reared back and circled around,
bashing into the opening once more. Boulders rained down the trench
walls.
    Naia was paralyzed with fear. The
metallic scent of her blood lingered in the red, cloudy
water.
    Just as the creature was about to
hurtle itself into the rocks again she saw a disturbance in the
water. A blurred wave came from the left side of the dragon,
forcing him off his path of destruction and into some nearby rock
pillars. It stilled, as if dazed. Then it shuddered, regained its
strength, and charged where the bizarre wave had come
from.
    Out of sheer curiosity, Naia slowly
edged her way to the opening to see what was happening
outside.
    She couldn’t believe her
eyes.
    Atargatis had arrived.
    She watched in awe as the dragon
streaked through the water heading straight towards him. As the
creature did so, she saw Atargatis’s eyes close. He crossed his
arms over his chest, as if gathering his strength. Then his arms
flew out and his chest emitted an enormous sonar wave.
    The blurry wave burst outward through
the water at an immense rate of speed. It struck the dragon with a
force unlike anything Naia had ever seen, driving him into the
trench wall, crushing him.
    As if time slowed down, she watched as
the lifeless body of the dragon slid down the wall until it reached
its final resting place on the jagged bottom.
    Still wedged inside the safety of the
crevice, she stayed there frozen, staring at the destroyed
animal.
    “ Naia? It’s okay for you to
come out now.”
    Slowly turning her head, she looked at
Atargatis. He could see the clear crystals falling from the corners
of her eyes. She was crying.
    “ Naia?” he reached for her,
his brow furrowed with concern.
    Releasing herself from the crevice,
she rushed straight into his arms.

Chapter Five

    Wrapping his arms tightly around Naia,
Atargatis stroked her hair, calming her. Even though the last