Xander kept swimming, but it never seemed like enough.
There was a very real chance I would not make it out of this river in one piece. Hysterical laughter bubbled up inside of me at the thought.
Imagine that. I left the king’s clutches, refusing to be his pet any longer, only to drown in a river.
Fitting.
Itwouldbe a fitting way to go. The girl who was locked in a tower her whole life was killed by something as innocuous as water.
I wonder if it will be a quick death?
A frisson of fear ran through me at the thought. The water sucked me underneath once more.
And I knew this was the end.
I couldn’t survive much longer. Already, my body was drained. My limbs felt heavy. So heavy.
I could hear Xander yelling, but his words were muffled by the water. Exhaustion plagued me as my body became weaker by the moment.
From the conversations I’d overheard, I knew that most children in Ithenmyr received swimming lessons when they were young. Most people bathed in creeks, for Kydona’s sake. But not me. Tepid bath water had been lugged up the many steps of my tower twice a week by the king’s servants.
Swimming was one of the many things I never learned. Why would I need to swim when the only reason I existed was to be bred?
The irony of the entire situation was laughable. Or it would have been if my eyes weren’t filling with black spots as my skirts finally succeeded in their mission to drag me to the silty bottom of the river. My lungs burned as every single muscle within my body protested the water weighing me down. I struggled against the pull of my garments, to no avail.
This was it.
At least I will die free.
With that final thought, my eyes fluttered closed as I gave in to the cry of my lungs for air. My limbs were heavy, my body no longer belonging to me as I opened my mouth.
Cold water rushed into my lungs, a momentary relief to the burning desire for air. The river claimed me. Blackness drew me downwards.
And I was finally going to be at peace.
The Feeling was Mutual
“Wake up, dammit,” a gruff voice said.
A pair of warm hands pushed on my chest as my entire body protested the rough treatment. The voice kept going, muttering to themselves as they continued the assault on my rib cage, “I won’t lose my gods-damned mate to some fluke drowning accident. Not after everything else I’ve been through.”
My lungs burned, and every single part of my body felt heavier than normal. I tried to open my eyes, but it was as though they were glued shut. My tongue felt thick and was stuck to the roof of my mouth.
Everything was dark and heavy andnot right.
“Come on, Aileana. Wake up,” they commanded. Panic was beginning to edge into their tone, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out who the voice belonged to. “Yell at me. For the goddess’ sake, I’d even be okay with you stabbing me right about now.”
Another push against my chest, and this time, something shifted within me. I coughed as my lungs seized. A burst of pain was followed by sudden relief as water and goddess knew what else rushed out of me.
Turning my head, I gasped as precious air rushed back into my body. My lungs breathed in deeply as my heart began to beat once more.
A gruff exhale came from above me and I realized I knew that voice. It was Xander. He groaned, “Thank Kydona, you’re awake.”
This time, my eyes obeyed my commands to open. I blinked rapidly at the onslaught of light. Xander’s face was hovering above mine, his mouth pinched in a straight line as he stared at me.
“Hi,” I said dumbly. I reached out a hand, touching damp grass and twigs. The water rushed nearby, and I instinctively tried to roll away from the river. My eyes searched Xander’s as I tried to comprehend what had just happened. I wasn’t dead, nor was I sinking to a watery grave.
He had saved me. Why? I thought he hated me.