“Yes.” Her voice was small and broken, hoarse from shrieking.
“There’s a tunnel,” he explained, if only to keep them both alert. “We’re going to swim it, and then someone will pull us up from the other end.”
“Someone?” she croaked.
Someone I trust. Someone I—
He had no choice but to trust Nes. When he said he trusted her the other day, the answer had spewed from his mouth before he knew what he was saying. And then she’d found the symbol on his neck, and he’d forgotten what they’d been talking about. And now…he did trust her.
He gritted his teeth. “Nes is waiting.”
He kicked his feet and swept his free arm out, pushing and pulling them toward the deep dark of the tunnel. Even in the fading light, he could see how Genna’s eyes had begun to close again. They wouldn’t make it if she didn’t stay awake.
“Genna!” Never had he said someone’s first name so many times in such a short period. “Talk to me. Tell me how you got accused. Why did they think you were the Witch?”
“He didn’t.”
“Who didn’t? Fell?”
“I was betrayed,” she whispered, slurring.
“Be-betrayed? By who?” He gave a hard kick, propelling them forward.
“Wehadadeal.” Her words, slow and soft, blended as if being folded over and hidden beneath a layer of snow.
Another kick. He was breathing hard. She was barely breathing.
“What?”
“Hmm…”
“Genna! What was the deal?”
“I…fell…”
Her head drooped, face falling into the ice water.No. He stopped swimming long enough to adjust his grip, hoisting her higher above the waterline.
“Come on, Genna. We’ve got to make it. We’ve got…”
He shouldn’t have stopped moving. His mind screamed at his legs, but his limbs responded slowly, sluggishly. He banged his ankle against the side of the tunnel; pain—brief and hot—shot up his leg. He couldn’t feel his toes. Or his fingers.
Keep going.
For the girl slouched beside him. For the girl waiting above.
He felt as if he were swimming through rocks. His muscles were on the verge of locking. Stiffness rose inside him like a disease. It squeezed his lungs. He took several short breaths and kicked again.
He was close. Just a bit farther. He demanded his legs move. No response.
No.
It was. Right there. The edge. Genna. The. Well.
There was something…something he was supposed to do. He blinked.
Something bobbed on top of the water in front of him. Something long and thick. The rope. Their signals.
His hand fumbled for the end. Water sloshed around him. It splashed up, slicing the skin on his cheeks and further chilling the air. Something scratched his arm. He barely felt it. His hand had gone numb. He couldn’t tell if he held the rope or not. He lifted his arm. He had to try again. Get…his arm…under…
