In the Shadows~zayn au~Completed ✅EDITING

~Chapter 63: The Sea, A Capricious Lover~

She was roused from slumber as the ship gave a great lurch and she fell from the bed, landing painfully on her side. A dozen swear words crossed her lips and when she tried to stand she fell heavily against the door as the ship lurched again. What the hell were they doing, hitting reefs with this big stupid ship?

With great effort she wrenched the door open and stepped into the hold. Things tumbled around her as the ship heaved and she felt a wave of water rush over her feet. Something was very wrong.

Quite a bit more time was taken to reach the ladder, but she did. It didn't even matter how dark it was. She was stumbling so much from the violent movements of the ship that her path wasn't straight anyway. She climbed up the ladder and used all her might to open the hatch.

The sound of crashing waves and a torrent of rain struck her. A storm? What was going on? As she looked around she could barely make out the men as they moved frantically, tugging lines and releasing others. A wave of sea water washed over her and knocked her down the ladder.

She shook herself and stood as quickly as possible before climbing again.

"Zayn!" she screamed, clutching the ladder. "Louis! Where are you? What's going on? Mahir!"

"Princess!" Mahir was the only one that answered. He ran to the hatch, hair slicked down from the rain, and stumbling as the ship lurched more. "Get to your cabin, NOW!" He shouted over the noise of the storm and his voice was brooked no argument. But she couldn't leave now.

"Where's Zayn?" she called, frightened. This was a terrible situation, but she couldn't go below without knowing he was safe.

"He's taking care of it! Now, he'll kill us both if he sees you out of your quarters! Get below and stay there!"

She began to descend once more when a wave came, knocking Mahir over and tumbling her down the ladder again. It was impossible to tell where he had gone. Had he been swept overboard? The concept was frightening and despite his warning she climbed up the ladder once more, just to be sure he was still on deck.

The water was bone-chilling, but she persevered. She reached the deck and was barely able to stand. As she looked around, there was no sight of Mahir, but she couldn't see very far around her. She moved toward where she knew the upper deck to be. Maybe Zayn was there.

She was pitched against the mast as the ship moved. The entire thing was terrifying. The rain was beating down so hard she felt she was drowning when she opened her mouth and it kept getting in her eyes, making walking that much more difficult. She grasped the mast for her life, realizing just how foolish she was. If she had any sense in her head, she would go to her quarters, just as Mahir had said. Unfortunately, she didn't, and she was consumed with the need to find Zayn, to make sure he was safe. She had to know before she could sit below.

Finally, she could see the upper deck ahead of her and just as she'd thought, Zayn was there, clutching the steering wheel and roaring orders to the men. At least, she assumed that was what he was doing. She couldn't decipher a word he said above the pounding waves and rain.

She climbed the stairs and clutched the railing.

"Zayn!" she screamed.

He saw her and moved over to her.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he bellowed. "Get to your quarters! I can't keep you safe up here! Go! Now!"

She gripped his arm for a moment and looked at him. The storm terrified her and what scared her more somehow was the idea that she would be somewhat safe below and he would be in the middle of the danger here. And what if something happened to him?

"I'm sorry!" she cried, clasping his arm tightly. "I'm so sorry!"

"Now's not the time, Kalysta, please!" he yelled. "It's okay! Just go!"

He helped her to the stairs and she did her best to return to the lower decks. It was slow going as got off the stairs and even then she continued glancing about, trying to catch a glimpse of Mahir. If he went overboard because he'd been looking after her, then she would never forgive herself.

She was facing the opposite direction when the wave swept over her, drug her past the railing and dropped her into the turbulent waters.

A/N: Yeah, so I would like to see some votes and comments on this. In fact, how many votes can ya'll come up with in the next 24hrs?? I mean, if there are enough then I might update before... next week. Just saying. You got the power.

All the love,

~Kari~