Page 168 of Faeling
His hand broke the surface of the water, and he clawed his way up to the world above.
Vallek gasped and heaved, pulling air into his lungs. His blood burned for want of it, temples pounding and heart stuttering. Coughing and wheezing, he got an arm around Ravenna and used the last of his strength to swim for an outcropping of rocks.
Digging his nails into a craggy niche, he pulled them into the minimal shelter it provided from the waves.
Ravenna’s head lolled to the side, shooting panic down his spine.
Pinning her between him and the rock, he used his free hand to press on her chest.
“Breathe, damn you!”
His soggy hands were clumsy, taking precious moments, but he finally loosened her cuirass, pulling it off her body and letting it sink below. With the metal out of the way, he pressed her chest again, hand spanning her sternum.
With a start, Ravenna jerked, water sputtering from her mouth. She hacked up more, chest shaking. Vallek held her secure as she fought for breath, expelling the water from her lungs.
As she began sucking in great gulps of air, her body began to quake. Eyes wide and wild, she searched the sea for something, hand scrabbling frantically at his chest.
“I have you, sprite, I have you,” he crooned.
She jerked at the sound of his voice, her white-rimmed eyes finally falling on him. It was as if she saw him for the first time then, a terrible keening sound bursting past her lips.
“No—no—” she cried “—you weren’t supposed to die, too!”
“I’m not dead,” he insisted, “and neither are you. Although you’ve given it your best try.”
“No, I was supposed to fall—I understand now—this was always how it was going to—I had to—”
“You did what you had to, and so did I,” said Vallek. Pushing them further against the rock, he pressed his face into hers, clumsily nuzzling her. “You’re alive, sprite. We both are. And I intend to keep it that way.”
She blinked and blinked, her eyes gone nearly black in thefading light. He ached to see her distress and confusion, and when her hands began to knead against him nervously, he caught them both in his grip, holding on tight.
“But I haven’t seen anything,” she said breathlessly, “nothing like this, nothing past—”
Something plopped into the water beside them and began to fizz, drawing their attention up the rock.
Ravenna screamed at the horrible face staring down at them.
He curled his lip in disgust at the sight—what was left of Amaranthe was impaled upon and spattered across the rocks. Her corpse looked ancient already, its eye sockets empty, the lips and tongue rotted away. The breeze caught desiccated skin and clumps of white hair, and her small bones joined the limpets and bird droppings to litter the rocks.
Pushing off with his quivering legs, he moved them to another rock, positioning Ravenna so she couldn’t see the withered remains. Of course, being the contrary creature she was, Ravenna twisted in his hold, and so together they watched as the Fae Queen broke apart.
A strong wave caught her skeletal arm, dragging the corpse down the rock. It was as though the sea sought a sacrifice, since it couldn’t have him and Ravenna. Rotted flesh and bleached bone fell into the water, fizzing and sizzling before turning to foam.
Ravenna made another sound of distress, one Vallek agreed with. He’d never forget that sight, although he already wished he could.
He turned them away. There was no need to see the seabirds swoop to peck at what remained.
Huddled against the rock, they treaded water together, limbs entangled. The sea churned around them, and Vallek no longerfelt cold—which wasn’t good. Still, he didn’t disrupt the silence, giving his mate the time she needed to compose herself.
When she next met his gaze, Ravenna touched his face gently, tracing his cheekbone up to his ear. “I wasn’t supposed to survive,” she whispered.
Vallek growled at that. “Who says?”
“I’ve never had a vision beyond this.”
“Perhaps your visions led you here. Everything after, though, will be up to you.”
A frown began to form on her brow. “I don’t think that’s how visions work.”
