My unseen rescuer dragged me by the hand while my body sunk from exhaustion. Without even the energy to shiver. All I could feel was the cold and the pain. The few parts of my body that had not been cut or bruised hurt from just the tension. Even the trauma balloon in my head seemed deflated by how tired and worn I felt.

At some point, I felt myself being pushed onto a stone platform, facing the water.

A glow brightened beneath.

It was a soft, aquamarine color that gradually outlined the shape of a person. The woman was tall and particularly slender. Straight, brown hair cascaded down the front of her face—partially covering her small, bare breasts. Her facial features were narrow and sharp.

Most prominent, however, were the bone-like ridges. One curved over each eye--parallel with and over her spiked eyebrows. An even greater bone crest that rose from her forehead like a crown. Fragile-looking fins went from below her earlobe to the base of her neck. The glow came from patterns on her skin, horizontal rings of textureless light.

I half-expected to look down at the water and see a fish-tail. Instead, however, the bottom half of her body dangled with a long, thick appendage that seemed to wrap around some rocks beneath us … like a seahorse.

I couldn't feel any kind of excitement.

I tried to whisper my thanks to her, lifelessly. But even my jaw refused to move. Before I could do or say anything, I had lost consciousness.

-O-

I awoke to a hand gently running through my hair.

My head was on a surface that was warm, humid, and smooth. It took me a moment to realize that I was resting on the lap of the woman who had saved me. As I stirred, she darted her attention down at me—seeming a little uneasy.

I didn’t know if she expected me to scream or flea or even fight. But, fortunately or unfortunately, I still had vivid memories of what had happened.

“Thank you,” I whispered, meaning the words even as they came out clearly weighed by my exhaustion.

“You did most of the work,” she replied, her lips not moving to make the sounds. “I just waited at the weak spot of the current to pull you free.”

I thought about this for a moment, and then shook my head. “I don’t think I could have … by myself.”

The woman bit her lower lip, clearly a little uncomfortable with the credit I was giving her.

I wordlessly continued to rest in her lap, hoping at least that small amount of trust and comfort with her could communicate as much.

“I’m Lilly.”

“I am Zolreya,” she replied. “You are the first creature to have fallen down here who can speak. Most have been simpler creatures, like fish but with legs and fur.”

That reminded me of our original mission … and of Daava who doubtlessly thought I was dead.

I tested my body a bit by moving my leg; doing so felt like fire. I was able to see, even by the dim glow, that my hand was swollen and covered in a black. It was hard to look at. There was no way I would be able to meet back up with the group for a while, much less find whatever screaming animal had been down here.

Though I had not heard the wailing for a while. I asked, “Have you seen an animal like that? My friends and I were sent to find something that sounded lost down here.”

At this, Zolreya faced away from me.

Did that mean …

“Were you the one crying out?” I asked.

Zolreya exhaled heavily; her eyes began to water.

I swallowed and asked, “Why were you crying out like that?”

Still not facing me, Zolreya finally said, “I have been trapped here for … a long time. I was brought in by that current. For land-creatures, it is possible to run past the skeletal creatures that have been amassing in the cave. They would catch me crawling long before I could ever get out of the cave, much less all the way back to the ocean.”

I nodded but remembered something distinct about the calling. It had almost sounded ... pained. “Are you hurt?”

Zolreya gave another heavy exhale and said, “My body has betrayed me. Though I have no mate, something inside me began the process of procreation. I can only assume because of the stress from having nearly died."

My eyes widened.

"Stress-induced procreation has happened to others of my kind," Zolreya continued. "It is also painful when the process begins but does not end. Surgeons can remedy this problem; but without them, my body is trapped midway between the cycle. The pain was why I was … crying out. I’m … so sorry it brought you here.”

“No, that’s not your fault,” I said, adamantly.

I still didn’t understand all this, and I didn’t want to seem rude by asking too many personal questions. So I focused on the most important thing, getting us both out of here.

I tried to think hard ... not exactly my strong suit.

I could focus on calling out to the others and hoping that they would find us. But that would require them to then carry two people … past an army of boners … which would be alerted to our presence by my shouting.

Assuming they could even hear us.

I certainly didn’t hear them anymore … and I doubted any of them to be the types to just leave me behind. If only I had some sort of loudness magic or flying magic. Even a fireball would have been helpful at this point.

But ... I had learned the most basic magic any warrior should know.

Healing.

I reached for my breast, but my hand was too shaky and battered to even grasp the metal cup and pull it aside. Could I even get myself horny enough in this current condition to perform my magic?

A wave of discouragement hit me, and it had a cascading effect. It reminded me of having failed to be of any help during the battle. But … it had taught me something.

Even at my worst mental state, I was capable of floating.

It didn’t mean I wasn’t terrified. Or that my mind wouldn’t later cascade me with flashbacks, hormonal surges, and all the traumatic after-effects of my PTSD. But I had already forced myself to do what I had to survive.

At this, Aamalyn's words on survival in this world echoed in the back of my mind.

No ... I couldn't afford to think about needing anyone else right now. Not for my magic or anything else. If I could teach myself to float while drowning, I had to believe that I could teach myself to feel my arousal … my humanity … my power … even after everything that had happened.

I looked at Zolreya, putting on a face of okayness that I didn’t yet feel, and said, “I’m a sorcerer … well, a sorcery student. First year … first week, actually.”

Zolreya wrinkled her ridged brow and studied me curiously.

I shook my head, trying to break out of my loop of verbal hiccups. “I’ve learned a healing spell. It comes as I … when I'm aroused. If I could manage to use it, then I could get us both out of here.”

Zolreaya narrowed her gaze and stared down at the water, her thoughts seeming to go a mile a minute. “I don’t know about the sensitivities of your people. But … most would be find that impossible in an injured physical state like yours.”

“Well …" I said, heavily embracing my denial for survival's sake. "I think you may be underestimating how much of a perv I am.”

Zolreya pursed her lips together, “Would you require aid?”

At this, I stammered a bit, not having expected any sort of assistance. Much less any so direct. “O-only if you were comfortable with it. And if I can’t ... I’ll rest, try to sneak past the boners, and then find help to get you out.”

Zolreya tightened her jaw and said, “There's a problem. I’ve told you that my body is in the midst of its reproductive cycle. The cravings I feel after this long … and all the pain … I don’t know what I would do in the moment.”

I still didn’t quite understand what she meant. But in my head, it didn’t matter.

All that mattered was getting us out of this damn mine … cave … whatever it was. So I replied, “If you feel comfortable consenting, then I’m willing to go with you to wherever that leads.”

With her thin build, I could see all the muscles in Zolreya’s body tighten. She continued to stare at the water for a moment. The look on her face grew gradually more intense. Zolreya clenched her fists, and I could see her eyes begin to glow with blue light.

Suddenly, I felt something wrap around one of my legs. I looked down and saw that her sea-horse tail was snaking its way around my thigh … around my knee … down my calf … and finally encircling my foot.

I looked up just in time to see Zolreya cover my mouth with hers. Her tongue was long, exploring my mouth before it went to the back of my throat. Zolreya started carefully pulling my armor off me and tossing it onto the rock.

While I was undeniably feeling something, the pain did vie for my attention. At first, I tried to fight it. I hated pain. That was why I had put it as one of my limits in the school paperwork. The more I tried to fight it, however, the less the arousal of being touched became.

Again, Aamalyn's words played in my head. "Find someone who gives you the basics of what you need ... and give in to them completely." I still wasn't sure that this was amazing life advice. But ... it hadn't been life advice. No, it had been survival advice ... the kind with a cost that Aamalyn herself had had to pay.

And now ... in this cave ... maybe it was the only thing that would keep me alive. The thought made something in my chest tighten. Like ... I was somehow betraying the gentle love Daava had spent the last week teaching me.

But ... in this moment ... I needed to survive. To surrender. Or at least... I needed to convince myself that I could. I had to let go and allow Zolreya's movements—however gentle—to hurt me anyway.

So I did.

I whispered in my thoughts that I was at Zolreya's mercy.

Inner voices tried to fight back.

A stray doubt tried to tell me that this wasn’t going to work. A stray fear that even if I healed myself, there was no way I could figure this mess out afterward.

I didn’t try to fight them; I just gave in.

I let myself feel doubtful, scared, insecure. And I pressed my body into hers more tightly to feel reassured. I couldn’t stop feeling small … but I could use it to my advantage.

I broke away from the kiss—gently licking Zolreya’s cheek, her neck, her shoulder, her ribs. Hiding that I was barely managing to keep from crying out at the pain.

The last thing I wanted was For Zolreya to feel shame for the fact that I had chosen to survive.

I felt her tail reach up … exploring my sex … tendrilling around my girlstick. Finally, it found its way to my entrance. I gasped and pulled my head back—letting out a moan of pleasure.

Zolreya stared at me for a moment … and leaned both of us over the water. Then we dropped within. The waters engulfing me once again. Immediately, Zolreya's body emitted more heat, and the glow of her skin brightened.

For just a moment, the pain was dull enough for me to appreciate the beauty of this sight. Then her mouth was again pressed to mine, blowing streams of hot air down my throat as she carried us deeper and deeper under the water.

A chill of fear went down my body.

Not only was my pain in her hands, but so was my life. I was entirely at her mercy. I thought this should have triggered a horrific episode of anxiety, especially having returned to the waters I had nearly died in.

But, in my surrender, my terror had turned to excitement ... with which my healing magic slowly began to take effect.

Zolreya guided us like a dance of weightlessly swirls through the water. Our tongues played and breath was exchanged between us. Then I felt her take my hand and guide it down under her abdomen. There, I felt something soft and previously unknown to me.

I glanced down and saw genitalia I had never seen before. There was a round opening, more circular and protruding than a human vagina—if roughly the same size. Beneath this was a narrow and featureless tube that floated and glowed.

Before I knew what was happening, the circular organ enveloped my girlstick. A warm pulsation traveled from the base of me—up past the tip. The motion continued, as if trying to pull me deeper inside.

Then it released me, and I felt it probing my backside while her tail begin to wrap around both my legs. I looked down to see that her extremely elastic member was between my thighs.

Almost as an afterthought did it occur to me that seahorses did not have traditional roles when it came to reproduction.

As it entered deeper and pulsated once again, the arousal in me surged higher and higher. My entire body seized, and I squealed helplessly into Zolreya’s mouth.

I hadn’t realized that I had closed my eyes again until I opened them and could see the light of Zolreya’s body burning bright. Streams of white released through the water. At first, I thought this was from her.

However, I glanced down and saw they were rising from my breasts. A familiar but much stronger feeling of icy-hotness tingled on my skin. While the pain in my body didn’t vanish entirely, it seemed to freeze in place.

This only strengthened my desires, and I dug my fingers into the skin of Zolreya’s back as yet a second orgasm caused me to shake and moan.

This time, however, I wasn’t alone.

Zolreya let out a note that was like the more subdued version of the screams I had heard earlier. This time, however, it was in my head.

And it did not sound pained.

It sounded relieved—guttural but also musical its way.

The appendage inside me begin to pulse so that it was stretching me from the inside. I felt warmth being pushed into me … more and more.

Then I felt us rise to the surface of the water … going up faster until we went up with a wave that settled us back on the rocks.

There we sat and panted there for several minutes—Zolreya’s body still inside and wrapped around mine.