One Soul To Share Read Online Free

the tiny hall by the
cabin’s door kept him from slamming into the wood.
    He could, he realized, stay here, become
bruised and perhaps waterlogged, or go out and hazard the sun.
    Water or flames?
    He chose flames.
    o0o
    As the boat continued to tilt side to side,
Nolan struggled his way through the bedroom door and into the
kitchen and living part of the cabin.
    Sarina was nowhere to be seen, which meant
the mermaid was above deck facing whatever threatened them alone,
or she had already left—swam off to safety.
    Grim but determined, Nolan flung open the
main cabin door. Sun blasted into the room, hitting him in the eyes
like a giant laser. Wincing, he stepped back, out of the light.
    His eyes burning, he groped around the room,
looking for the small desk and a pair of sunglasses he’d seen
tucked into a basket.
    Glasses in place, he opened the door
again.
    o0o
    Sarina clung to the boat’s railing and stared
up, resigned to the nightmare that had descended upon them.
    A sea wyrm, the sea hag’s pet.
    Steam rolled from the water dragon’s nose,
and its tongue danced over her face, smelling her. She held still,
knowing any movement on her part would only anger the creature.
    It snorted, spewing hot water over her. She
shook her head, freeing the droplets from her hair, and held up
both hands, revealing she held no weapon. “I’m here by Melusine’s
invitation.”
    It was the right thing to say, although most
likely unnecessary. If the dragon had thought the yacht and its
occupants were trespassing, it would have sunk the boat long before
this. Still, though, the wyrm’s job was to guard the outer
perimeter of Melusine’s territory, and it apparently took its job
seriously.
    The dragon’s wormlike body curved up on both
sides of the ship.
    The yacht was trapped now, sandwiched.
    “If you are going to sink us, get on with
it.” To show the creature his threat was wasted on her, Sarina
lifted her head to meet his gaze and allowed her body to shift. In
seconds, her human legs were replaced by her tail, and only the
strength of her arms holding on to the railing kept her
upright.
    The dragon moved its body again, sending the
boat popping upward and out of the water before landing back down
with a bone-jarring jolt.
    Sarina lost her grip on the railing and went
flying. With a roar, the dragon moved in and caught her on the
bridge of its wide nose.
    Stranded like a beached animal, she could do
nothing but stare into the creature’s oversize amber eyes.
    Holding her gaze, it pulled its tail from the
water and slapped it hard against the surface of the water.
    A wave washed over the yacht and the dragon,
sending the boat and Sarina airborne. She closed her eyes and
prepared to hit the water, but the welcome feel of the ocean
embracing her never came. Instead, she was grabbed again, this time
by the dragon’s tail.
    With a roar, he held her overhead, like a
human dangling a mouse by its tail.
    o0o
    On deck, Nolan blinked—not from the sun, but
what was blocking it.
    A huge gold-and-green dragon with fins
jutting from the sides of its face and a tongue that danced out of
its mouth like an excited snake’s rose from the sea next to the
yacht.
    At Nolan’s arrival, it opened its lips and
roared. Hot steam coated Nolan, clouding his glasses.
    He had wanted fire. It appeared the dragon
might soon give him his wish.
    He glanced over the deck, searching for
Sarina, but the mermaid was nowhere in sight.
    Free, then.
Swum away, leaving Nolan
to face this beast on his own. Not that Nolan could blame her. He
couldn’t imagine a mermaid had much defense against a creature this
large—no more than a lone vampire might.
    But then Nolan couldn’t swim, at least not
like the mermaid.
    Which left him with one choice—fight.
    While he thought, the dragon turned the boat,
using a part of its body submerged beneath the water, Nolan
guessed.
    Nolan stood still as it analyzed him and his
apparently hopeless situation.
    “If you are