I shuck my furs, tug off my ice-shoes and boots, seized by a sudden need to cast off anything and everything that’s weighing me down. Stripped to shirt and breeches, I hug my knees to my chest, wriggling my bare toes in the soft grass, pressing my heels into the damp, grounding earth.
Finally free.
Dimly, I’m aware it’s not true freedom, only a stolen moment of peace – the deep breath before a scream. But I set the thought aside, along with the furs and boots, something to be taken up again later, because, for now, this is real. And I intend to savour it.
The lightness soars to giddy joy. My insides are effervescing, turning into the rising streams of bubbles in shimmerwine. I raise a hand to my face, my cheeks ache. Is this what it is to smile? I’d almost forgotten. Perhaps I’ve never known true happiness before.
My eyelids and limbs grow heavy as I stroke the drooping petals, marvelling at their spun-sugar texture, at the vivid yellow of their anthers. Soon, all I can think about is sleep. I rest my head on the grass, sinking into its beckoning embrace
I lie back and oblivion greets me. Dark as the depths of the Orbital Sea. Sweet as spritesong.
*
FLAMINGAMBEREYESdrag me awake.
Even here, the Faceless Woman worms into my dreams. I prop myself on my elbows, heart racing, glancing left and right through the blossom-field. The sky is brightening, dawnrise almost upon us, but the others are prone, still wearing glazed expressions as they doze in the meadow. I envy them their peace. Having tasted the delicious weightlessness that comes from drinking from the falls, I crave it again.
Blayze, closest to the waterfall, stirs in his sleep. For a moment, I think he’s about to wake in the grips of another night terror, or worse, a fit, but he rolls over, stills. My gaze strays beyond him to the falls themselves and something pulls in my chest. My throat is dry, burning with need.
I creep towards the pool, the strange draw of its waters thrumming my veins, calling to the Aether flowing inside them. But Reuel’s warning echoes my head too. Don’t drink too much. More than a few sips could harm a mortal. But I’m Starborn, those rules might not apply to me. Surely, a few more sips won’t do lasting damage…
As I kneel again at the water’s edge, I realise I don’t care. Whatever the risk, I’ll weather it if there’s a chance I’ll find that blissful peace again. I stretch forwards, plunge one hand low into the pool. Something splashes into the water. I snatch my hand back, pat down my pockets.
Stars, the button!
I reach again into the pool, dredging it with my fingers, trying to catch the button before it slips to the bottom. I need that evidence – that proof – that Arden exists, that I’m not losing my mind. I need it for later, once we leave this island, and I can finally tell the others everything. I grope blindly, bend lower, scrambling.
Only, this time, I lean too far, and hurtle head first into the water.
I scream once before panic rips the breath from me.
One step. Just one step.
This time, it’s a step too far.
I thrash my arms and legs, try to windmill to the surface of the pool. But no matter how I kick towards the puddle of light overhead, how I strain my fingers, I can’t reach it. I can’t swim. Everything’s a blur. My throat tightens and my lungs burn. My shirt and breeches bloat, dragging me deeper, the surface yawning further and further away. Black spots swarm before my eyes; there’s a buzzing in my ears. Darkness closes in. And I can’t fight anymore.
I shut my eyes. Suck water into my screaming lungs.
SECRETS AND LIES
LEILANI
HANDSCIRCLEMYchest, crushing my ribs as they yank upwards. My head breaks through the surface of the water.
‘I’ve got you. I’ve got you.’
I’d recognise that gruff rasp anywhere.
I vomit. Spluttering water and bile till my lungs and throat are raw. I’m not cold, but my body shakes, regardless. Arms cradle me – Blayze’s arms. And I’m too tired to care, too shocked to try and struggle out of them. For a third time, I let him hold me.
‘What were you thinking?’ Blayze’s eyes flash as he peers down at me. Water drips from his hair, down his face, landing on mine. He’s bent close to me, but I can only just hear him over the thundering of the waterfall. ‘What if I hadn’t heard you? What if I’d still been under the influence of the damned waters, like the others?’ His face crumples.
‘I…’ I place a hand to my throat. It hurts to talk.
‘It doesn’t matter. You’re safe now.’ Blayze gathers me closer. His shirt is plastered to his skin; I can feel the heave of his chest and the skit of his heart against my cheek. A cheek that warms as I realise my own waterlogged clothes are clinging to me, revealing every line of my body, too. I duck my head, but calloused fingers tip my chin, forcing me to look up.
Blayze searches my face. ‘Tell me the truth, this time. Did you mean what you said? Was it really a mistake?’
