When I gasped another breath, a screech rang out, and the marroweel dove into the water, abandoning the ship. My heart stopped beating. I was in the ocean with a marroweel. This was how I would die. “Gods, save me.” “Swim!” The Guardian appeared at the railing, his focus on me as other men clustered around him, all armed for when the marroweel surfaced again. I scanned the waves, searching for an iridescent fin or a flash of sapphire scales or razor teeth. But I was alone, and the ship was sailing away. “Damn it, Cross.” The Guardian slammed his fists on the railing. “Swim!”