Free Guardian's Challenge by Bronwyn Green

suddenly to the side, throwing them against the wheelhouse. Breath rushed from Neeve’s body on a rush. Jagged lightning flashed, throwing her features into sharp relief. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he tucked her into the side of his body and pulled her toward where the captain stood shouting orders.
    “How far from shore are we?” Asher demanded.
    “Maybe a league…” he said, pointing in the distance “Maybe half. It’s too stormy to tell.” The man didn’t bother to look at him.
    But the first mate whirled to glare at them. “I told you we shouldn’t have allowed a woman on board.” He lunged at Neeve. “This is your fault!”
    Asher pushed Neeve behind him while Joseph pinned the first mate’s arms behind his back.
    The ship lurched again as it took on more water and tilted violently toward the portside, and everyone on deck slid toward the side of the ship, many sailors crashing through the damaged wooden barrier and into the water below. The lightning illuminated the figures bobbing in the rough waves as they struggled to keep their heads above the surface. Some climbed onto the rocks that had damaged their vessel only to be washed back into the ruthless sea.
    As he and Neeve clung to the side of the ship, Asher scanned the deck for Joseph and something to use to help them stay afloat once they hit the water.
    “Can you swim?” he asked her.
    She nodded tightly, her hands clenched around the carved wooden railing. Glancing around, he still didn’t see Joseph, but he spotted the gangplank. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do.
    Releasing his hold on the railing, he pointed at the hunk of wood. “Stay here, and don’t let go. I’m going to get something to hang onto in the water.”
    She nodded mutely, her face bloodless and her wide, brown eyes full of fear. He pushed down the terror in his chest. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Not now when he’d just found her again.
    Turning away, he scrambled toward the opposite side of the deck, clinging to warped floorboards and whatever he could grab hold of as the ship listed a little further to port. The heavy ropes holding the cannons in place creaked and groaned as gravity tugged the iron backward. The cannons on the portside had already crashed overboard. He needed to get Neeve off the ship before the ropes gave way and one of the weapons careened into her.
    His hand closed around the heavy plank as he pulled it from its place. The sides of the ship groaned loudly, and the unmistakable sounds of rushing water reached him. He turned to Neeve just in time to see a crate of fishing supplies slide across the deck toward her, hitting her in the thighs, pushing her body out into nothingness.
    He dropped the plank and threw himself across the deck at her.
    “Neeve!” From the other side of the ship, Jospeh’s voice sliced through the night air.
    Her hands clung to the railing, fighting to keep hold of the rain-wet wood as Asher tried to grab her wrist. She slipped away before he could get a hold of her, disappearing into the night with his name on her lips and a muted splash.
    * * * *
    Dark, icy water closed over Neeve’s head. She’d barely had time to get a breath before she’d gone under. One of the sailors from the ship clung to her, pushing her under the surface, attempting to keep himself afloat. Kicking and punching, she tried to free herself from his grasp at least long enough to get another breath of air. She refused to give up. Not when Asher was out there somewhere. And Joseph. She had no idea if he could swim or even where he was. She hadn’t seen him since he’d pulled the first mate away from her.
    Her head started to spin, and her lungs burned with the lack of oxygen. She fought the urge to breathe in, but she was growing weaker by the second. The sailor pushed her head down further as his panic heightened, shoving his fingers in her face. Impulsively, she sank her teeth into his wrist, trying not to swallow the sea