The darkness of the water was even thicker, impenetrable by the moonlight. Dunn could hardly see ahead of him as he swam deeper and deeper, searching for any signs of another person—of a body. He hardly even registered the cold on his skin, though his hands soon went numb from the chill of the water, making his search more difficult the more time he spent looking.
He had begun to despair, his lungs starting to burn with the lack of air, when he finally felt what he had been looking for. It seemed like a body, surrounded by layers and layers of floating fabric in a way that made it resemble a giant jellyfish. A woman, Dunn thought.
Wasting no time, he grabbed her and began to swim back up to the surface. With her in his arms, it was harder to move, the extra weight of her body and her soaked clothes dragging him back down to the lake’s depths. He swam wildly, with every ounce of strength left in his body, and when he finally resurfaced, he did so with a painful, gasping breath.
Dunn pulled the woman to the shore, and only when she was lying on her back on the dirt did he finally realize who it was. His heart stopped, the blood in his veins freezing solid. His hands reached for her, shaking her, his voice cracking with fear when he spoke.
“Elayne… Elayne, wake up!” he cried. One of his hands came up to cradle her cheek, the other hovering over her, not knowing what to do.
She cannae be gone. I cannae lose her.
For the first time since they had met, it dawned on Dunn just how important Elayne had become to him. The thought of not having her by his side was unbearable, worse than anything he had ever felt. It paralyzed him, siphoned all the strength out of his body until there was nothing left of him but the husk of a man and the terror that had gripped him in its clutches.
Without Elayne, there would be no life for him.
“Come, lass,” he said, giving her another shake. “Open yer eyes.”
The two children had huddled above him, staring at him and Elayne quietly. Water clung to Dunn’s skin, to his hair, his lashes, mingling with the tears he couldn’t hold back.
And then Elayne started with a gasp, sitting up as if pulled by strings as she coughed up water.
The relief that washed over Dunn drew a surprised, delighted laugh out of him. Elayne was alive. She was right there, breathing through the coughs, drawing air in her lungs. Dunn was quick to help her, pulling her to the side so she could spit out the water easily, rubbing her back soothingly to calm her as she stopped sputtering and instead began to heave.
“Ye’re alright,” Dunn told her softly, whispering against her temple. He rocked her back and forth slowly, giving her the time, she needed to realize she was safe. “Everythin’ will be alright.”
Elayne clung to him, fingers digging into his clothes and his arms. She held on so tightly that Dunn was certain her hands would leave bruises behind, but he didn’t care.
The two of them stayed like that for a couple of minutes, sitting there in the mud in silence, until Dunn realized that all four of them were shivering. He hadn’t noticed how cold he was, his own body shaking as it tried to bring back some warmth to his limbs, but now he became painfully aware of it, the chill seeping all the way to his bones.
“Come,” he said, as he pushed himself to his feet and helped Elayne up, letting her put most of her weight on his shoulders. “The two o’ ye,” he told the children, “follow me. Be careful.”
The two children only nodded, heads down as they followed Dunn to the healer’s quarters. Though Elayne had said nothing in all that time, she now turned to look at Dunn, eyes pleading.
“I cannae go tae Isobel,” she said. “Me faither, he cannae hear about this.”
“What are ye sayin’?” Dunn asked. Perhaps it was the shock, he thought, confusing her. “We have tae go.”
“Nay,” Elayne insisted firmly, and this time, she pulled back from Dunn, standing on her own two feet. “I’ll explain everythin’ once we’re in me chambers, but me faither cannae find out. Promise me.”
There was such fire in Elayne’s eyes, such certainty, that Dunn could hardly refuse. Perhaps he could get through to Elayne but he couldn’t do it in the middle of the courtyard, when they were all shivering like this. They had to get inside first, get rid of the soaking clothes, and warm up.
He nodded just as Elayne turned to the children, making them promise they would keep her presence a secret, too. She looked over the boy quickly, making sure he was alright, and once she was satisfied, she said, “Go now an’ warm up. If ye dinnae feel well, though, go see Isobel.”
With that, the children rushed off, their feet pattering against the ground. Once Dunn and Elayne were alone, she turned to him and fell into his arms, and Dunn held her tightly as he kissed the top of her head.
“We should go,” he said, and Elayne nodded against his shoulder, pulling back reluctantly. As they walked, Dunn once again supporting her, he couldn’t help but wonder what it was she didn’t want her father to know.
CHAPTER TEN
Elayne had regained some semblance of control once they were in their rooms. It was far from an easy task, keeping herself together and avoiding the complete breakdown that loomed over her, but she knew she owed Dunn an explanation. From the moment she had opened her eyes, she had seen the fear in his. The belief, however momentary, that she had lost her life.
Now, in the warmth of the room, as Dunn stoked the fire, she felt safer. She was far from the water, back on solid ground. It couldn’t hurt her anymore. It couldn’t drag her under.
Once Dunn had finished rekindling the fire, he looked at her expectantly, and Elayne drew in a deep breath, preparing herself. She never spoke about her mother, and now that she had to, the tears that always threatened to fall whenever she thought about her finally spilled, leaving hot tracks on her cheeks.
“Me maither, she drowned in that loch,” Elayne said. She had to force the words out fast, otherwise she would have nevermanaged to speak them. “I was a bairn an’ we were swimmin’, when me leg suddenly started tae hurt an’ I couldnae move it. I couldnae use it at all. I remember the water pullin’ me down. I tried tae scream an’ swim, but I couldnae dae anythin’ at all. When me maither saw me, she jumped in an’ saved me life, but she… she…”
Elayne couldn’t finish her sentence, no matter how much she tried. The words simply refused to move past her lips, choking her as though her throat was coated in honey.
