Paxton swam, his arms on fire, his brother and Lief at his side. He never took his eyes from the beast swimming ahead of them, nearing the shore. As they chased the creature, faint splashing sounded from behind them. Paxton gave a quick glance backward and could not believe what he saw. A petite form with slick, strawberry hair was cutting through the water at rapid speed. His heart bobbed in his throat with a great bang. What the curses was she thinking?
“Aerity, go back!” he shouted.
“Why is she following?” Tiern muttered, his breathing labored.
“No bloody clue.” Paxton kept swimming, determined not to lose the beast this time. He would kill the thing this very day. He had to.
The sight of the mutilated guard resounded in his mind. He couldn’t fathom what had happened in that warehouse room, but he’d felt the static charge of Lashed power even before he’d seen the beautiful woman crouched on the floor, menace in her eyes.
“I mean it, go back!” he shouted loudly. This only made her swim faster.
The closer she got, the more he panicked. He didn’t want her anywhere near the beast.
Paxton cursed and moved ahead of his brother and Lief as the beast waded onto the rocky shore. It stopped in the gritty surf and shook its body, beads of water flying wide around it. The creature turned and sniffed the air with a snuffled grunt. It snorted loudly, stamping the ground with one front paw. It made no move to flee, only watched them, waiting.
They were on the far side of the tip of the bay, a good ways around the curve of the land where they’d originally set out. From here, they could not see the bay or the marina on the other side. If this is where the beast set out to feed each night, it was the perfect spot, too rocky and rough for boats or swimming.
Paxton slowed and let his lower body sink, finding his feet could touch bottom now. Slick seaweed tangled with his toes.
“Exactly how in Eurona do we plan to stop this thing?” Tiern asked, breathing hard as he stopped behind his brother. Worry filled his voice.
Lord Alvi also halted, weaving his hands back and forth through the ebb and flow of the moving water as he stared at the beast. “You and I will have to hinder it somehow, Tiern. Distract it. Your brother was smart enough to bring his daggers; he should go for the kill.” Lief eyed Paxton, whose pounding heart sent vibrations through him. He locked eyes with the Ascomannian lord. Was Lief simply going to give Paxton the kill? The urgent understanding in his gaze gave him the answer he needed. Paxton nodded just as the beast let out a raging snarl, stomping in the surf.
Tiern gave a nervous laugh. “Hinder it. All right, then. Will do. Somehow . . .”
Small, even splashes came from behind them, reminding Paxton that the princess was hot on their trail. He gritted his teeth as she neared.
Lord Alvi grinned tightly. “What brings you out on this fine day, Princess?”
She managed to speak through heavy breaths as she swam. “I . . . can help.”
Paxton shook his head in disbelief. If the beast wanted, it could charge into the water now and devour them. He couldn’t believe Aerity would take such a foolish risk. She finally reached them and tried to stand, but the water was over her head. She went under and pushed back up with a gasp, batting her hair and water from her eyes. Paxton grabbed her around the waist to lift her.
“Go back,” he whispered with urgency. “I’m begging you.”
She put her hands on his shoulders to raise herself to his eye level. Her voice shook from the strain, from the cold water chilling her skin. She spoke urgently. “It won’t attack women.”
The men stared at her and then glanced at the beast that merely stood ashore, watching intently.
“The woman, its maker, she told us. It was created to hunt and kill and feed on men. She’s trained it.” Aerity gasped for breath. “It was completely harmless toward us in the warehouse. Gentle, even.”
Deep seas . . . Paxton looked at Tiern and Lief, whose minds seemed to reel with this information as quickly as his did.
“I’ll go ashore and calm it—” Aerity began.
“No, you won’t.” Paxton shook his head, remembering how the beast could slash a body open with a single swipe of its paw. He couldn’t stand to think of Aerity that close to the beast, no matter what she said. “Be reasonable.”
“You be reasonable,” she shot back. “The beast has never attacked a woman or child. Think about it!”
“It killed one of the Zandalee, didn’t it?” Lief asked.
Paxton’s jaw set with a tangle of emotion as he realized what Aerity said was true. “The beast swatted the Zandalee when she shot him. I saw it. He went after the man behind her instead.”
“By the tides,” Tiern whispered. “All those times in the towns . . . it only killed the men!”