Page 137 of A Dance of Water

Everything spun, and her limbs splayed out as she came to a screeching halt.

She moaned, disoriented and pained. Her arm was stretched above her head, fingertips grazing something cold.

Water.

Luella ripped her hand away, heart nearly thudding out of her chest. She had stumbled upon the lake…

Curling her knees up to her chest, Luella shook, the rain pelted against her skin, and she wiped her cheek, feeling mud caked on her face. She felt the ground around her, a sharp slope behind her. Slippery and wet, she could never crawl back up it.

"Help," she whispered.

No response, of course.

"Help!" She projected her voice louder. Her pleas were consumed by rain and thunder.

Nestled between her greatest fear—the water—and inescapable terrain, she cried.

She did not know how long she lay there, but her soul screamed down the threads, and eventually, she heard voices.

Trembling, she could do nothing but stay curled into herself. A long, lonesome howl pierced through the thick sheets of rain that soaked her to the bone.

"Over here!" The call was from a distance, but she heard it.

Luella lifted her head and cried out into the darkness that enveloped her: "Help me!"

A rush of sound, and then, hands were against her shoulders, pulling her into a warm chest.

Warmth. She sighed.

She hadn’t realized how cold she had been until the warmth of his chest enveloped her. The hands that held her were wrapped in leather, the chest firm under her cheek.

"Graves?" Her voice broke.

He pressed his lips to her numb ear. "I’m here, sweetheart."

She melted into him. Lightning fell to the earth, so close, so loud, and she was sotired.

45

A FORTNIGHT

LUELLA

Training continued just like that.

Her body was in a perpetual state of soreness, and her fear of water did not abate but only grew stronger. She did not bathe, and she felt like she might never be truly clean again, even after all of her furious wiping with rough cloths soaked with sweet-smelling soaps.

The thought of submerging herself in the bathing pool made her whole body tremble and her head spin. So, she did not go into the water, and when she was chased through the woods, stumbling and blind, she stayed far, far away from the outskirts of the forest, scared to once more find herself trapped.

Tharen had been pleased to find her shaking and despondent on the water bank, mumbling a soft,You should’ve kept your fears better hidden from me.She only stood emotionless in Graves’s arms. Az had been at her side, his chains cold against her skin as he had held her…

They had a fortnight to train her. A fortnight for the Prima to deem her worthy.

And every night she found her head on her pillow, falling into a dreamless sleep as her fists clutched the amulet Tharen had gifted her, she wondered if she’d ever find control over her power.

46

CAN YOU RUN FROM ME?

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