Chapter 80: Depths of Devotion
"Alright, ladies. No one’s going anywhere without this," Diana announced, holding up a thick coil of rope like it was the hottest new toy in heaven.
Grace stared at it, then at Diana’s dead-serious face.
"Um, what?"
"Safety measures." Diana started cutting the rope into sections. "Each of us ties one end around our waist. We stay connected."
Petriel nodded, still looking like hell after yesterday’s almost-drowning. Her wings twitched nervously as she took her piece of rope from Diana.
Meridian raised an eyebrow.
"Is this truly necessary?"
"Look, Blue," Diana said, "I don’t know about you, but I’m not in the mood to chase after any of you when you get water-zombie brain and decide to waltz into the ocean. Put the damn thing on."
Meridian opened her mouth to argue, then closed it.
"Fine."
They stood on the shoreline, getting ready to check out the coast. The sky above was heavy with gray clouds, and the water looked darker than normal—almost black in some spots. Grace’s medallion felt cold as hell against her skin, clearly having a reaction to The Tide’s presence.