As he stretched his body open to reach for the weapon, she turned toward him and head butted him directly in the solar plexus, pushing him back.
They grappled and kicked, his punches more forceful, his reach longer. But she was quicker despite the drag of her wounds. Her aim was true.
She jabbed and stabbed with her pointed fingers at the most vulnerable places on his body. Neck. Throat. Temple. Nose. Eyes.
She didn’t let up. This had to end.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she tracked the movements of the other swimmers. Two of them had already gotten to shore.
She was sure that Wolfe was among the winners. There were only two places left in the afternoon round. She had to be one of them.
But a third contestant swam past them, as they tangled beneath the lake, locked in a deadly struggle. She could see the swimmer’s body moving close to the surface, his strokes weary.
She kicked forcefully once more, her heel landing directly on her attacker’s throat. A large bubble of air burst out of him at the jolting contact, and he sank further into the lake as she gained leverage, plowing toward the surface.
Gods! She was weakening.
Despite her affinity with water, her lungs burned from lack of oxygen. She was human, after all, with human frailties. She needed air. Her limbs weren’t obeying her any more.
Rui fought her way to the surface, used every last ounce of strength.
It seemed so far away. It seemed unreachable.
Her lips opened involuntarily in a gasp for air.
No!
She couldn’t lose. She was a water dragon. This was her element.
She couldn’t fail!
And then, just when the last of her strength bled out, strong arms reached into the water and gripped her beneath her pits. With a mighty heave, she was wrenched out of the lake.
As she struggled to breathe, coughing and sputtering violently, those same arms dragged her forcibly toward the shore.
When she was finally on land, on her knees heaving with coughs, the shadow of a goliath stood over her.
But Rui wasn’t afraid. She didn’t look up to see who it was; she simply knew.
Wolfe had saved her.
With a glance behind her, she saw the third contestant who’d overtaken her earlier finally make his way to shore. She arrived before he did. He was the final of the first four swimmers to finish the race.
She’d made it!
There was no sign of her attacker. Not in the lake, and not on shore. She had an ominous feeling this would not be the last she saw of him.
But Rui was too depleted to care. Her quivering limbs finally gave out, and she fell to her stomach on the grassy bank, face down.
Time for a nap.
As long as Wolfe watched over her, she knew she was safe.