No…I blinked, dragging myself back to the present.
I shouldn’t have kissed Sea one last goodbye, just like I shouldn’t have physically fought Miriam to keep her away from Wild. My impulsive actions made it crystal clear why I couldn’t stay here…
Don’t think about the way Sea’s mouth moved over yours, rocking you to your core.
Don’t think about all the Wölfennites you’ll be leaving behind.
Don’t think about Wild’s whispered threats.
Or what it would mean if he caught you.
Would he and Sea really take turns with me? What would that even feel like…?
But I clamped down on that thought, too.
It was madness to hesitate now when I was finally standing on the brink of my only chance to escape.
My chest tightened with memories of my adult life avoiding getting mated in St. Ailbe. No, I couldn't stay here. I had to save myself from getting stuck in this foreign land, find the Scottish Wolves, and get them to help me rescue Sadie.
Sadie. An image of my best friend inside that glass coffin reappeared just in time to erase all hesitation. Wherever she was, she was probably scared out of her mind. How could I even think about not rescuing her?
Tearing my eyes away from Sea, I turned back to the red door and took the few steps necessary for it to slide open.
And as soon as I walked through it, all my guilt disappeared.
Because it was replaced by water.
Lots and lots of freezing cold water.
I had no idea what happened. One moment, I was escaping, and the next, I was completely submerged. Panic ripped through me as dank liquid invaded my nostrils and the mouth I didn't even realize I'd opened to scream.
I looked all around, trying to get my bearings. But there was onlypitch black, a void so complete that even my wolf vision couldn’t pierce it.
Pressure like a vice gripped my chest and lungs, squeezing tighter every passing second. My eardrums clicked dangerously, a sharp pain radiating through my head and sinuses, which felt like they were on the verge of bursting.
The water was in charge now, not me. It rocked my body in its depths, slamming me into something hard and unyielding with a jagged edge. The impact jolted through me with a sharp burst of pain.
But the pain turned out to be a good thing. It snapped me out of my daze. All at once, I understood… what had happened… why this tower's door had been painted red.
I’d been transported to another stone circle — one closer to the village up above, just as I’d figured. But this one was at the bottom of the lake I’d spotted from the other stone circle on top of the cliff.
Breathe! I had to breathe!
The biological urge to release the pent-up air in my lungs burned inside my chest.
But some dimly remembered physics factoid about human buoyancy warned me not to exhale yet. I needed to hold on to every bit of air if I hoped to reach the top of this incredibly cold body of water.
Iwantedto breathe, but Ineededto kick.
With a thrashing flip, I started pushing through the freezing water in a direction I could only hope was up.
The urge to breathe out hit me again, hard. But just as I was aboutto give in, my wolf vision kicked in, revealing a faint light above. I was getting closer to the surface.
But then I blinked at what I saw carved into the lake’s wall.
Three humongous statues stared back at me.
Like gods…
