She hardly moved.
The dress. That lush, emerald velvet. She’d never worn armor, but she guessed it must feel something like this. The heaviness had dragged her down to the depths, and now she would die here.Drowned—in the very sea she’d longed for.
How poetic,crooned the chaotic part of her mind, as the larger portion screamed,SAVE YOURSELF!Her lungs began to harmonize with it.
Her boots brushed sand a second time—she would have wept if it were possible—and with better footing and arms outstretched, Lux shoved upward with all her strength. Her fingers reached the surface. But nothing else belonging to her did.
She was dragged down again.
The taste of brine swept into her mouth; she refused to open her eyes.Please. Don’t let me die like this.
Her body smashed into rock.
Lux clenched her teeth against a cry and grabbed hold. Or attempted to; the edges had been worn smooth. Her fingersslipped against the slick surface, the rest of her at the mercy of waves and the dress’ weight. But then her hand met something else—a cold, limp limb. She didn’t think it through. Perhaps because her consciousness faltered, her lungs the only part of her capable of screaming now. She grabbed it tight.
Using the body as leverage, Lux hauled it down while she rose. Her head broke the surface. She dragged a frantic breath before another wave descended—and pulled her back under.
Lux did not know how to swim. Even if she could, she could never swim dressed as she was. And it was dark and cold, and she was too tired. Not even the small gasp of air had helped. The underwater sounds became a beckoning lullaby.
Her grip on the body loosened.
Then there was nothing.
Herchestburned.Inthe worst sort of way. There was too much pressure, and it came from both inside and out. She tried to gasp a breath, but nothing moved.
Then it all moved at once.
Water ran from her lips. She coughed, and it poured faster. She felt a pressure again, this time at her shoulders, then she was shoved onto her front, her forearms in the rough sand. There, she hacked until she vomited. Seawater poured from her mouth and nose.
It burned so terribly, Lux’s eyes streamed from behind closed lids; she wanted to cry but couldn’t. She couldn’t do anything until it was done.
Her first true breath was agony.
Her second was a sob.
“Saints above!” exclaimed a small voice. “Please, you have to breathe not cry!”
Lux lowered herself to her side where she gasped like a fish, her injured thumb stinging from the salt and her lungs stinging from the same thing.
Her eyes fluttered open. Vague features blurred in her vision, her tears obscuring anything distinct. Lux still felt as if she were underwater. The world remained muffled.
“How”—she coughed and wheezed—“did you save me?”
“I almost couldn’t. You were floating like the other woman, but knocking against the rock. Lord Artemis and Lord Corvin say I’m blessed by the Saints. Maybe you’re not blessed?”
If Lux could have rolled her eyes, she would have. Instead, she pushed upward until she could sit. She coughed again and spat seawater into the sand. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome. The woman is over there. She’s wedged in the rocks.”
Lux’s gaze tracked to where the girl pointed. The moon highlighted a single pale leg. A large wave crashed and receded, dragging the body back into hiding where it caught between a boulder and a cliff ledge. Lux shoved to her feet. She waded into the water, but only up to her knees; she wasn’t about to repeat her near-drowning. When the next wave came, it crashed against the boulder, dousing her, but a torso emerged along with it. She gripped Hildred’s upper arm.
She hadn’t even managed to drag it before the girl’s hand grabbed the woman’s opposite side, urging her release from the rocks. Together, they plucked the body from the water, hauling it onto shore.
It was all Lux could do to simply breathe when it was done. Her chest ached with her efforts. The girl knelt beside the woman and stared down at what they’d held. Lux did the same.
Hildred was bruised beyond belief. Lacerated too. Lux didn’t think there could be any blood left in her body; her skin was translucent. A portion of her hair remained in the topknot Luxhad seen on the cliff, but the rest had been swept free by the wind and waves.
She stared at the attendant’s bloodless face.
