Which she did, with vigor. Even as her vision spotted and her lungs begged for air, Ellina twisted and thrashed, fighting for the surface, which appeared and vanished and appeared again in dizzying flashes of blue and white. Her eyes—open under the water—burned. Her chest convulsed. She fought the urge to inhale.
And fought her mounting dread. Ellina was sick with the sudden certainty that she had made a terrible mistake, that she had grossly miscalculated. What had she been thinking, when she stood on those planks and stared calmly into the water below, as if it held all her answers? Ellina could not swim. No elves could—their fear of water prevented them from ever learning. She had thought, before…but of course one distracted swimming lesson in a calm everpool could not have prepared her forthis.
Panic punched into her. It felt suddenly as if her heart, and not her eyes, was burning. Ellina saw her future clearly, as stark and cold as this water. Blue and black and white. The colors of her death.
No, said a small voice inside her. Firm. Not her own.
You must remember.
Ellina continued to struggle. Her mind was closing over. Her ears roared, and that too sounded like death.
No, said that voice again, stronger now.This is important, Ellina.
Whatever you do.
You must remember not to panic.
Ellina recognized that voice at the same time the memory broke open, revealing itself more fully. Calm water. A wide sky, winter eyes. And those words, the steady instructions.That’s first, Ellina. No matter what else happens, it’s important to stay calm.
Venick. It was Venick’s voice in her mind, his words in her memory. He had said that to her in the everpool when he had tried to teach her how to swim.
Ellina might have laughed, had she the air for it. The memory did nothing to help her now. As the river pulled her along, she silently raged at herself and at him. How could he tell her to stay calm, when her chest felt like daggers and her hands were huge and fumbling and her mind was begging her todo something.
But:Don’t panic.
But:This is important, Ellina.
Whatever you do. Don’t just swim with your arms. Use your legs. Kick hard.
Ellina did: a single, desperate kick.
Her feet met the river’s bottom. There was a quick surge of movement, darkness, then bright light. And it was enough, it was somehow just enough, as if the moment had been planned, as if guided by the hands of gods she did not believe in.
She broke the surface with a gasp.
A flood of color and sound. Elves were shouting. They had spotted her, they were running along the riverbank. For a half-moment Ellina could hear their dismay. Then her head went under again.
She was smarter this time. She spun once, righted herself, and kicked again. Her feet met the river’s steep bank. She was propelled sideways. She crashed into something soft and yielding. It tangled her limbs, pinning her arms to her body, and for a terrifying moment Ellina was trapped. Then her head broke the surface once more. One arm came free. She reached for that soft something and realized what she held: a black and red banner. It had been tossed into the water by the elves on the riverbank. Ellina gripped hard, using the banner as an anchor. She pulled herself to the river’s edge as hands came down to haul her out.
She was immediately sick all over the rocky riverbank. She heaved water. The elves who had saved her backed out of range. They were silent as it continued.
Ellina spat, wiped her mouth, and looked up.
It was unclear if the elves knew, before, who they had been pulling from the river. But they knew now. Their faces showed varying degrees of shock.
“Cessena?” Princess?
Ellina coughed again, a wet, hacking sound. Every breath was a knife to her ribs. She brought a palm to her lips and drew it away, expecting blood.
“Did you fall?”
“Were you pushed?”
“What happened?”
Once the questions started they did not stop. Elves pushed forward, offering their hands, crowding her with queries and concerns. But Ellina’s time was ticking now. The river would slow Youvan down, but it would not stop him for good. He would know where she had gone. And he would be coming.
She shoved herself up and broke into a run.
