Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows, #1)

by Devney Perry

“Let’s go!” He slammed another fist on the rail, and for a moment, I wanted to scream back that I was trying. Except he wasn’t talking to me. He was yelling at the men. A crewman appeared with a harpoon in one hand, its rope in the other. The Guardian backed away until he was out of view. Then came the harpoon, flying through the air with the rope streaming behind it, a line of brown against the bright sky. I gasped, certain it was going to sink into my flesh, when the pointed tip disappeared into the water beside my leg. The rope dragged along my arm, and I grabbed it with both hands, holding tight as it pulled me through the water. My chest slammed into the waves, cresting their peaks, as the men on board hauled me faster and faster toward the Cutter. I was going to make it. Twenty yards. Fifteen. Something hard brushed against my leg. Something sharp. “No.” Wet warmth spread between my thighs as my bladder loosened. Never in my life had I felt this kind of fear. It was down there, below my body. I couldn’t see it, but it was coming. It would not let me reach that ship.