Sons of the Tide (mlm)

Chapter 37: To the Future

Caleb

Caleb felt cold hands grasp him in the water, pulling him and the flailing serpent up untim his head broke the surface. He gasped, barely able to recognize Damara's red hair before the serpent pulled him under again. This time, Damara was pulling and fighting against the thing with him, using her claws to cut into its scales. Blood stained the water around him so deeply he could hardly see, but eventually he was able to get his hand free and slip the knife from his belt.

Damara and he continued to cut into the serpent over and over, faster than it could heal itself, all the while thrashing up and down in the water. Caleb took breaths when he could, but he was getting lightheaded.

Damara was trying to peel the serpent all his legs when he finally managed to get a clean shot to its skull, driving the knife hilt deep in the bone. Thankfully, that seemed to do the trick.

The serpent unraveled, going limp as it sank into the depths. Damara was grabbing his arm, pulling him upwards before he even realized he couldn't swim any longer. His muscles were exhausted and he was struggling for air.

When they finally made it to the surface again, Damara held his head above the water as he coughed and hacked salt water from his lungs. She took him to the boat, where he pulled himself aboard and tried to catch his breath.

He was heaving, but he was alive. The magic necklace his mother gifted him burned a hole into his skin with warmth, like it was charging his energy now that he was resting.

Finally, when he felt like he could breathe, he looked back towards the red wave. He could barely make out the whirling figures of who he guessed were Joseph and Hawke fighting.

When his sister jumped from the ship, everything seemed to speed up. She swam to them, meeting Damara half way, and told Caleb to be ready for Joseph's signal. He could see the fight and feel the water swaying, but it all felt distant compared to how fast his heart was thrumming in his chest.

Joseph had a sigil drawn in Caleb's blood over his heart, with a matching one on Caleb himself—it had been Caleb's idea when he presented the soul coin. To some level, their energies were connected then. The sigils allowed the transfer of energy from one person to the other, which would let Caleb cast protective magic over Joseph to keep him alive when the fire started.

When Caleb saw the flames rising from the deck of the ship, he immediately pressed his hand to the sigil on his chest and started chanting. Coral and Damara were holding hands, staring at the fire.

Caleb could feel Joseph's heartbeat like a drum in his chest, hammering in time to his own. When he finally saw Joseph's figure jump from the boat and into the water. He breathed a sigh of relief so heavy he felt a weight physically lifted from his lungs.

He didn't waste another second diving into the water, swimming as fast as he could towards the ship. Coral shouted after him, but her calls fell on deaf ears. Joseph was a horrid swimmer and Caleb needed to get to him.

Thankfully, the dolphins in the area seemed to sense his need for faster swimming, because two of them tucked themselves under his arms and rocketed him across the water.

His arms found Joseph before his eyes did. He was bloody and panting, being held up by the dolphins around them, and he was sight for sore eyes.

Caleb held him tightly and let the dolphins do all the work keeping them up as he titled Joseph's head up and mashed their lips together. Joseph relaxed in his arms and slid his hands to Caleb's cheeks. When they parted, Joseph looked at him with eyes full of fire despite how exhausted he looked. "He's finally gone."