Saltbound and Bloodsworn (by Allison Franklin) novel Chapter 93

Chapter 93 Chaper Ninety-Three

The sound of her true name on his lips seemed to elicit an inescapable response to give in to his every want. She moaned as his lips

tráiled over her skin at the same time as his cock slid easily inside her heat. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders

while his hand gripped the edge of the tidal pool.

“You’re so beautiful when you’re like this,” he spoke against her skin.

Isla opened her eyes to see that her tattoos were glowing, whether from being in the pool or from the solidification of their bond.

she had no room to wonder, as the pleasure racking up her spine from what he was doing was enough to make her become

completely lost.

“Do you feel that? Our souls finally becoming one?” he asked, his voice gruff as he started to move faster as if he had to chase the

binding or it would be lost. The ripples they created were luminescent, creating a visual spectacle as they fanned outward and broke

against the rock. “I knew from the moment I felt you beneath me that I’d never let you go. Your scent…” He inhaled deeply. “Like

the ocean after a terrible squall, it pulled me in like a current. I knew, before I’d even opened my eyes… Look at me, Isadora,”

Isla did as he said and found the silver of his eyes reflecting the glow of hers. His hand lifted to cup her cheek, and she realized the

mark she’d imprinted on his wrist was glowing the same as the marks along her body. They did not break eye contact as they reached higher and higher for their peaks. Isla’s mouth parted, her breath coming in shorter, shallower gasps until her eyes could no

longer stay open from the building pleasure.

Her head fell back as she cried out her release. A moment later, Sylvan joined her with a guttural growl. Isla felt a cold drop of water hit her shoulder. Her head settled against the hard rock at her back. More water droplets fell onto her face, chest, and

shoulders as she regained her breath. Sylvan’s deep chuckle rumbled through his chest and into her as he trailed kisses down her neck. She opened her eyes to see what was so funny when she noticed a small cloud hovering on the ceiling of the chamber. Isla

realized the water she was feeling was rain falling from within the cave, rain that she’d unknowingly created.

“If we go again,” Sylvan said against her ear. “Do you think we could produce some lightning?”

Isla laughed and shook her head. “I think we need to use our time more wisely.”

“I can be very efficient,” he promised, already growing hard again between her thighs.

“You can be insatiable,” Isla giggled as the coarse hair of his chin tickled her skin. She pushed against hinr, and he relented with a

devilish grin. “Help me out so I can get to work saving our lives.”

Isla turned, and he hoisted her up by her waist, but not before sinking his teeth into the flesh of one ass cheek. She yelped and

swatted back at him as he laughed. Isla walked toward the edge of the water, slowly filling the chamber again. His departure from

the tidal pool was far louder than hers. His arms wound around her waist, and he placed his chin on her shoulder as she leaned back

and sighed.

“Do you feel any different?” he asked.

Isla closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She stepped out of his embrace and held her hands up. She did feel different. As she

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concentrated and focused on the parts of herself newly emerged, she could feel the energy of the water in everything: running/down the rocks, flowing into the chamber, settling in the tidal pool, working through the roots of the trees above them, even the moisture

in the air. It came as easily to her as breathing, as if she’d held this power in her palms for her entire existence and only needed to

put a name to it in order to understand it. The energy pulsed, everything connected through a single element. She could feel each

molecule at her fingertips, vibrating up through her arm and into her chest. It filled the air, turning the moisture around her into

static that caused the hair on her arms to stand on end.

“Isla…” Sylvan’s voice sounded out of breath with his disbelief.

Isla opened her eyes and then gasped. Water droplets hung suspended in the air all around them. The tide pool was empty, the foor

of the cave was dry, the roots above her head were slowly withering. She reached a tentative hand out and touched a singular

droplet. The heat from her finger caused the droplet to suddenly evaporate into the air. Simultaneously, all the rest of the water

followed suit. The room turned into a humid, dense fog that threatened to steal the air from their lungs. Sylvan coughed behind her.

She turned to see him spinning around in awe at what she was doing.

“How are you doing that?” he asked, his eyes wide with reverence.

“I… I…”

“Do it again,” he said eagerly, stepping closer in case the next thing she did was create a tidal wave.

Isla reached upward to Sylvan’s forehead and brushed her thumb across his skin, collecting the moisture that had accumulated

there. She blew her hot breath over the droplets of water, which turned to steam that rose up toward the ceiling. Sylvan smiled big

like a child who discovered how flour could be turned into his favorite sweet treat using nothing more than butter, sugar, and milk.

Isla raised her arms up into the air, closed her eyes, and then dropped her hands. The fog turned back to water, which fell like rain

around them. Sylvan stepped forward and gathered her in his arms before dropping his mouth to kiss her. She giggled as he lifted

her up and spun her around before setting her back on her feet. He glanced around the room as the rain continued to fall, coating

the rock at their feet; refilling the tide pool and chamber floor.

“You could do so much, Isla. This power…” Sylvan cupped her cheek and grinned. “You could change the world, and you have barely

scratched the surface of your capability.”

“I won’t be doing much changing if we don’t figure out how to get out of this cave,” Isla sighed, remembering the main task at

hand.

“Turn the water in the cave to fog like you just did,” he suggested.

Isla looked over at the cave and the massive amount of water that stood between them and the ocean beyond. Isla took a deep

breath in. “That’s a lot of fog,” Isla noted.

“What if you just did portions of the cave? One section at a time,” Sylvan suggested.

“That sounds even harder,” Isla said, shaking her head as she looked down at the water slowly rising higher on the chamber floor.

“But… it does give me an idea. Help me down.”

Isla took hold of Sylvan’s hand, and he slowly lowered her to the cavern floor. She waded through the waist-deep water toward the

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entrance of the chamber. A splash told her Sylvan had joined her. The entrance to the chamber was tilted upward, meaning that even though the cave beyond was always filled with water, the space inside the chamber could rise and fall with the tide.

She closed her eyes and focused again on the energy of the water around her. Her brow pinched together as she tried to concentrate on what lay between her and the ocean, her and her mother. She didn’t know what she was meant to do, so she let her instincts; take the lead. Isla took a deep breath, opened her eyes, held her hands out, fingers slightly splayed. She kept her left hand steady in front of her as though the singular appendage could hold back the weight of the ocean while moving her right hand in a circular

motion. In her mind, she visualized what she wanted: the water to churn in a spiral, forcing what could be pushed to the sides of.

the cave to do so while diverting the rest outward toward the ocean or behind them toward the chamber. It would mean she wasn’y

fighting against the entire weight of the contained energy within the tunnel, only a fraction of it.

Sylvan gripped the back of her dress like a toddler preparing to enter a crowded festival ground as Isla took a step forward. A proud

chuckle left his mouth as the chamber entrance was slowly revealed. They both had to duck in order to enter the main cave, a major

feat as Isla needed to remain focused on her task.

For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, Sylvan and Isla started to make progress in achieving their freedom. Though each

step was more difficult as the pressure trying to force her back grew, so did her resolve and confidence. Isla kept her shoulders back

her arms steady and her mind sharp as they walked through the cave system that would surely kill them if the water being held at

bay was suddenly released.

“This is incredible,” Sylvan whispered.

Isla wished she could see his expression. She wished she could turn her head and soak in the pride that shone so clearly in his

voice. Instead, she had to keep pushing forward, toward the opening of the cave, toward salvation. Sweat dripped down her neck, her

shoulders began to feel tight, and the muscles of her back screamed in protest as she fought the weight of the ocean threatening to

push them back.

“Light. I can see sunlight, Isla. We’re almost there,” Sylvan encouraged behind her.

She took in a shaky breath, her strength starting to wane. When she finally managed to break through the opening of the cave and

glimpsed rocks above her head that they could climb to, she nearly dropped her hold of the water surrounding them.

“Can you maintain your focus and climb?” Sylvan asked.

Isla shook her head. They needed to get higher. She couldn’t continue like this, holding her footing on the sea floor. They needed to

get to the surface of the ocean, but to do that she would need to let go of her hold, which would cause them to be sucked into the

cave at their backs.

Sylvan’s hands found her shoulders, and he gripped tightly. His voice came at her ear. “You’ve brought us this far, Isadora,” he

whispered. “Trust me to finish what you’ve begun.”

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