was brighter when Rhys held his claw down toward the dark depths. The yearning and desire that filled him could only be explained by the firestorm. That form had to be his destined mate. He returned to the surface, took a deep breath, and dove. He held his claw before himself, following the glow like a beacon.
How could his mate swim so deep?
Rhys swam harder and spotted a silhouette, once more framed in that golden glow. The shape surprised him. Was his mate a seal? How could that be? The light was brightest around the creature. Rhys gave chase, his chest tight. He didn’t dare return to the surface and lose sight of her. He had a strange conviction that if he did, he’d never find his way back again.
The light drove him on, but his mate had no intention of being caught. Rhys swam as quickly as he could, ducking around coral and rocks, swimming deeper and deeper. His chest ached for lack of air, but he forced himself to continue. The water became as dark as midnight, especially in contrast to the golden light of the firestorm. That glow startled eels and fish that never saw such bright light, but didn’t illuminate much else. Just when Rhys thought his lungs would burst, the flame flared to golden brilliance, illuminating the entry to a cave, then winked out.
She must have taken refuge there.
Rhys reached inside, knowing he could manage only one grab before he had to return to the surface. His talons closed around something—or someone. It felt suspiciously like a woman’s waist and the contact sent a fire through his veins that could only be the result of the firestorm. She struggled and squirmed, but she had to be in need of air, too. Rhys knew that people who were drowning often fought their rescuers. He gripped her with resolve and surged toward the surface.
On the way, he changed to his human form, reasoning that he could still hold on to her but would require less air. The water was lit with a blue shimmer during his transformation. He kept one arm around his mate’s waist and used the other to haul them up to salvation. They were surrounded by a golden glow, but Rhys didn’t look at her, not yet. He broke the surface with a gasp and took a greedy gulp of air.
Then he looked.
Rhys held a seal, a creature with large dark eyes that stared back at him fearlessly. He would have thought he’d made a mistake if it hadn’t been for the thousands of little sparks of the firestorm, the tiny blazes that illuminated every point of contact between them.
This was his mate?
She squirmed in his grip and he saw a blue shimmer that was more than familiar. He watched, incredulous, as her shape began to change. He held tightly, uncertain what she would become but having his hopes. She drew back her skin quickly, as if removing a hood. If he had blinked, he would have missed her transformation.
She was a woman, a naked one, with fair skin and long dark hair that hung down her back, slick and wet. Her eyes remained thickly lashed and expressive, just as dark and mysterious as those of the seal. There was no sign of her skin, but Rhys understood about hiding one’s truth. She braced her hands on his shoulders and pushed, flames erupting from the flats of her palms against his skin.
“Let me go!” she said, struggling against him. She spared a glance at the sky. “I have to hide!” She had a Scottish accent and a low sultry voice, but her fear was real.
She didn’t yet know that he would do anything to protect her.
She maybe didn’t realize his capabilities.
Rhys changed shape again, soaring high with her captive in his embrace. It felt good to carry his mate in his dragon form, to feel the wind beneath his wings and the power in his body. If anything, the firestorm was stronger and hotter, driving all other thoughts from his mind. He wanted to kiss her, to seduce her, to pleasure her—but she seemed to have the opposite reaction to his presence.
“Please, release me! You’re being a shifter just means she’ll get two for the price of one.” She fought him hard, but without success. “If you want to be captured, leave me out of it.”
“Captured by who?”
She gave him a look, as if he was an idiot. “The Dark Queen, of course. I