Page 122 of Volatile Waters

Whitney had bewitched me, crawled under my skin as Americans would say, and had me caring for her survival. This was something very unfamiliar to me—to my ways—to how I had been trained—to how I had lived my first twenty-nine years of life.

I would forever be grateful.

The storm that brewed inside me, and the volatile waters I was made of, now had a chance to simmer, to calm. Like Whitney, I now had a chance of having a fresh start.

There may have been no beauty in the tragic time we shared together, but a beauty came of it. That is a truth that cannot be denied.

As Whitney and Link dove into the blue water to swim to each other, a hand slipped into my palm. Wolf leaned his head to mine. “You saved her, Jorien.”

Before, when my cellphone had finally rung, I was like Link, not trusting my eyes. My hand had trembled when I brought the device to my ear, and my soul sighed when I heard Wolf’s voice.

I wasn’t alone anymore.

Squeezing Wolf’s hand, I swallowed, overwhelmed with how good it felt to be on the right side of karma. Karma… Answering Wolf, I exhaled. “No… Crash saved her.”

Crash made all this possible.

I kissed Wolf’s head. “Now, it is up to Link to see her through.”

In the center of the lake, two souls reunited…

Yes, there was a beauty… that rose from the darkness.

Beauty… that can’t be denied.