Saltbound and Bloodsworn (by Allison Franklin) novel Chapter 91

Chapter 91 Chapter Ninety-One

Sweat dripped from Isla’s forehead as she fought to concentrate on keeping the immense weight of the ocean from coming further into the cave. They had been working for hours to stop its inevitable encroachment while simultaneously trying to find a way out. First, Isla tested her ability to swim to the exit while channeling the energy of the water around her. There was no way of knowing the depth to which she’d succeeded, but she knew it hadn’t been close enough before being thrown back toward the chamber of the cave where Sylvan waited.

Next, Isla tried to force the water out by planting her feet and shoving the energy back, but, after only a few minutes, her muscles weakened and gave out entirely. She even tried to channel the water upward toward the few cracks in the cave’s ceiling, but all that had done was allow more water into the small

prison they found themselves in.

Sylvan didn’t sit around uselessly, either. He, too, tried to swim back toward the mouth of the cave, yet, due to the force of the water, couldn’t make it through the small opening that led to the main corridor. He then searched the area of the chamber submerged in water for a secondary way out until his lungs screamed in protest. As Isla meditated, using her mind and the limited practice she’d obtained keeping the tide at bay, he scaled the walls, trying to break open the cracks of the ceiling so they could escape that way. Yet the rocks, interwoven together by thick tree roots, were impenetrable even when faced with his wolf’s impressive claws.

Isla let out a groan of pain as the tide reached its high point and the water threatened to pound in on them. She opened her eyes to glare at the water that quaked with her defiance. There was a large wave of it, prepared to crash down on them if her concentration was to break, if her will was to dissolve, if, for even a moment, she were to have doubt. The massive wall of water pressing into their island of safety could not fall, for if it did…

“You cannot take this much longer, Isla,” Sylvan said behind her.

Isla shut her eyes hard, imagining herself digging her heels into the solid rock beneath her and screaming into the massive pressure. She gasped as she felt

the water give slightly.

Sylvan sat down beside her. “If you continue like this, it will kill you.”

“If… I… stop…” she said between haggard breaths. “It will kill you.”

“Maybe… but maybe what your mom said was wrong,” Sylvan argued, brushing his fingers over her shaking shoulder to push back her sweat-drenched hair. “I can feel you, Isla. All of you. Your human side. Your wolf. Your fae. They are a part of me. Just as my wolf will protect you, each side of…”

“She said it wouldn’t,” Isla argued, not willing to debate the matter of his life as if it was worth nothing more than a coin toss. “I won’t risk it.”

“And I won’t risk your life either. You cannot suppress this amount of…”

“I can,” she hissed.

“You can’t. That’s why she’s put us in this situation. Just like with the tide, your mother is trying to teach you something. Let go,” he urged, his fingers

brushing her cheek.

She could feel him settle down in front of her, putting himself between her and the water. Isla shook her head as the energy of the water seemed to coalesce and pulse, as if it had been waiting for her resolve to waver. She brought in a shaky breath as the muscles of her mind started to give way.

“Let go,” Sylan urged.

“Sylvan,” she whimpered the moment before she lost her connection.

Sylvan’s arms wrapped around her as the wall of water roared to life. Isla took a deep breath and clung to his shirt. Rather than crash down, the wave surged forward. Sylvan grunted as the water careened into them. The couple was thrown back. Isla hit the wall of the cave, and air rushed from her lungs just

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Chapter 91 Chapter Ninety-One

hafors the water swallowed them whole. Her head cracked against the rock and her world went black. She was only in the darkness for a few moments. When her eyes opened again, she was still underwater, but light broke through the black.

Breathe, Isla, breathe! Sylvan called rough her mind as he pushed her upward.

With full trust in her mate, she opened her mouth and inhaled. To her surprise, air flowed into her lungs deep enough to choke her. The water had flooded to the ceiling, and Sylvan had pulled them to the top so they could use the cracks as air pockets. One shove at her back told her to stay where she was She took another deep breath and turned her head below the surface of the water. Sylyan shifted into his wolf and started to desperately claw at the small openings, trying to break through.

Isla could feel his strength diminishing as he ran out of oxygen. Shift back, Sylvan! You need to breathe too!

His wolf roared in defiance, and she realized his instincts to save his mate had driven the rational, human part of himself to the back of his mind. Now it was just his beast and the need to escape. Isla rose up again and inhaled, noting that the water was starting to push past the space she could reach. Soon, the water would rise so high it would seep through the ground and remove any means by which she could find air. She felt the moment Sylvan’s wolf ran out of breath. She inhaled as deeply as she could and pushed off the ceiling. She swam for her mate, who shifted to his human form as he sank lifelessly down

into the darkness of the deep water.

Isla grabbed him under the arms and pulled him upward. She positioned her shoulders and head against his back and pressed his body firmly to the opening

of the ceiling.

*Breathe!” she commanded, hoping that her order would work even though he was unconscious. Sylvan remained limp. Breathe!! she commanded again. Sylvan’s body lurched as he hacked up water into the opening and inhaled. His arms spasmed and tightened as he latched himself onto a large tree root and

sucked in more oxygen.

She knew their slim reprieve wouldn’t last long. She knew Sylvan needed more air. She needed more air. Sylvan’s hand reached out behind him, looking for her, but he would not be able to touch her. She slowly sank further into the water as she felt her oxygen dissolve. Her lungs screamed for air. Her muscles twitched, and pain echoed from every cell within her. Her vision began to blur, and her wolf shoved at her mind, trying to break free. Just as the peace began to settle and her body accepted her fate… Her tattoos began to glow. Isla breathed in, and somehow oxygen reentered her bloodstream. Her mind darkened again for a moment. This time, when she came to, she did not have control over her body, though she could see everything as it happened.

Energy crackled. The hair along her arms and the back of her neck rose and power surged. The water churned around her as her arms swept in a circular motion. Her hair spiraled, her teeth clamped together as the pressure rammed against her in opposition to her casting. Her arms continued to move, and then her hands slammed together and were forced downward. Without warning, the water dropped. Isla’s body fell with a speed that rivaled any strike of lightning she’d ever witnessed. Her feet cracked against the rock of the cave floor, but her body continued to cast its magic. Her downward-facing hands flung outward toward the mouth of the cave, and the water surged with the motion until there was none left within the innermost chamber apart from what

dripped down from the ceiling.

Isla’s tattoos faded as did the energy within. Her body swayed, and she dropped the last few feet to the ground. It was several minutes before she was able

to push herself up on her elbows.

“Sylvan?” Isla called. She looked around herself and spotted her mate near the tidepool. He was lying on his side, turned away from her. His legs sat at an

odd angle, and his arm covered his head. He did not appear to be breathing. “Sylvan!”

Isla crawled over to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him so he lay on his back. His face was pale as she pressed her fingers to his throat, looking for pulse: there wasn’t one. Her chest cracked open as a nearly paralyzing pain of realization shot through her.

“No!” Isla screamed down at his inert form. “You do not get to die!”

Isla beat once on his chest, and Sylvan lurched upward. He swiveled and coughed up buckets of water from his lungs. Isla held onto his shoulders as he heaved. When he lay back down, his fist flexed against his chest, fighting the pain that resided there. Even still, he smiled up at her.

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Chapter 91 Chapter Ninety-One

Told you you could… do it,” Sylvan croaked, his voice hoarse after the strenuous ordeal.

Isla flung herself down on him, making him groan in pain, but she didn’t care.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Isla cried into his neck.

“Me? No. I just got a bit out of breath, is all, Sylvan said stroking her wet hair. Sylvan pushed against her so he could sit up. He glanced around and puckered his lips, impressed. “Does this mean you passed?”

Isla chortled. “Doubtful. Knowing my mother.”

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