The current was vicious. It wasn't water so much as an angry force, dragging and tearing.
Val had never been in the open sea. Not like this. The sky he knew. Caves he understood.
But the sea was wild, alien, deafening.
The moment he hit the water, it tore the breath from his lungs. Cold slammed into him like a wall of fists, stealing warmth, slowing thought. Pressure clamped over his skull, crushing his ears as darkness closed in.
It spun him like driftwood, pulling his limbs in different directions. His dragon instincts fought to take control—panic flaring.
His body convulsed in protest.
This isn't your world.
Instincts screamed inside him. His dragon, desperate to take control. Panic! it yelled. Fight! The creature within him roared, clawing against the helplessness of his human form.
He thrashed, his body convulsing in protest, fighting to keep himself above the water. His heart hammered in his chest.
He wasn't meant for this. His fire couldn't burn here.
Then—
Her.
