The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us #1)(37)

“Hey, boss. Just caught Code trying to kill our pup. Had the serum and everything. I’m bringing him up to you in a minute.”

“Is he subdued?” Santa Elena asks, and I can’t miss the pleased note that echoes in her voice.

“Yeah, I’ve got him.”

“Bitch,” Code spits.

“I sincerely hope that wasn’t aimed at me,” the captain says. “Bring him on up. We’ll have a little chat.” The channel clicks off, and Code slumps. He’s finished.

Swift yanks him off the wall and shoves him toward the trainer deck door. I wait until she’s slammed the hatch behind her before sinking down onto the floor, the strength evaporating from my legs.

I should have seen this coming. I’ve let myself get so comfortable aboard the Minnow that I nearly got myself killed twice in one day. If Santa Elena hadn’t been quite as forgiving, if I’d walked onto the trainer deck without noticing something was amiss, I’d be just another corpse floating in the ship’s wake.

If it hadn’t been for Swift, that definitely would have happened.

I find myself wishing the captain hadn’t muddled the waters by tying Swift’s life to mine. I have no idea who Swift’s saving at this point. Obviously her own skin is her top priority, but when she charged onto the trainer deck to catch Code in the act, she thought he’d already done away with me.

And she was going to kill him for it. Of course, if I’m dead then she’s dead anyway. She fought like she had nothing left to lose, and she bled for it. But the way she asked about me, the venom in her voice when she thought Code might have killed me—it makes me reconsider what I know about her.

The facts are these. Swift has saved our lives on several occasions. The only thing I’ve done for our lives so far is not get eaten, shanked, or shot.

I’m still not sure if I’m in debt or not.

The engines beneath me fade to nothing as the boat slows. Santa Elena’s probably decided to stop while she sorts out Code. I don’t want to think about what that entails.

Bao bellows from the far end of the trainer deck. I get on my knees, crawl over to the LED beacon, and snap it off. He presses his beak against the still-warm lights, and I feel the deck shudder just a bit underneath me. At half the boat’s size, he’s easily powerful enough to push us around. If he were in a proper training environment, he’d be deemed ready to start escorting his imprint ship.

He’s probably big enough to take down the Minnow.

I peer into the water, watching as the trunks of his forelegs sway back and forth in his shadow. They’re huge against his body, now that he’s grown into his adult proportions. The sun is setting on the other side of the boat, and the long shade of her guns stretches out into the sea like ragged claws. My heart still thunders in my chest, and Bao watches me with eyes the size of dinner platters.

I don’t care that I’m not in my wetsuit, that I don’t have my respirator around my neck. I jump into the water headfirst. Bao shies away from me, the suction in his wake almost pulling me beneath the waves, but I fight against it, keeping my head over the water. Once he settles, I swim forward and grab onto his plating. I’m here, I will him to understand. Don’t forget.

I move down his side, checking for any signs of damage from the hull. Every time he draws a breath, his flanks swell out several feet, pushing me away before drawing me back in again. If I close my eyes, I can pretend that it’s Durga. I can pretend nothing’s changed. I can pretend I’m safe at home. It’s the same ocean, after all.

There are no wounds in Bao’s hide and no sign of bruising. I circle him twice, just to be sure. By the time I settle back by his head, clinging to a plate on his jowls, the sun has sunk below the horizon and my heart has stopped thundering. I haul myself up until I can stare directly into his eye. “Hey, little shit,” I mutter, and Bao pulls his head up, lifting me halfway out of the water, just like Durga used to. A bitter smile twists my lips. “Saved your ass today, and what do I get for it?”

Bao only blinks.

I shake my head and haul myself higher, slotting my bare feet into the gaps in his armor until I can clamber out on top of his skull. He’s used to my weight there. He keeps absolutely still, waiting for me to make my next move. There’s still a glow on the horizon that lights the sky afire, and I turn my face toward it, wincing as Bao releases a rancid breath from his blowholes.

They can try to kill me all they want, but I’m the girl who stands on the backs of the beasts of the NeoPacific. The Minnow blazes from within, promising life and warmth and villainy, but out here I’m mighty.

Or at least Bao’s mighty, and I’m with him.

I stretch my arms up toward the sky, where the first faint lights of the stars are starting to peek through the hazy cloud layer that’s settled over us, and remind myself of what’s important. I have to survive. Bao has to survive. And, after what happened today, I think it’d be kind of nice if Swift survived this mess too.

My clothes are drenched, and the chill of the night is settling in. I leap off Bao’s head and plunge back into the water, swimming to the trainer deck in a few quick strokes. The Reckoner turns tail as soon as I’m clear and submerges, his dark form plunging deeper and deeper below us. If he were still a pup, I’d be worried, but Bao’s fully bonded now, and he always comes when I call. I haul myself up onto the trainer deck and drag the LED beacon back to its usual resting place.