Page 55 of Song of the Abyss

“Shit,” she whispered, shoving the chair away from the consoles. She barely even felt the movement at her back until someone suddenly reached in front of her and plucked Bitsy off her head.

Her droid!

“Hey!” Anya scolded, before she realized Daios was holding the droid in front of his own eye. From what she could see on the other side of the glass, Bitsy automatically changed the language that was presented. The language of the undines, apparently, had written word.

She couldn’t have guessed that.

“Be careful with her.” Anya squeezed herself a little tighter before bending to snag the blanket off the ground. It was soaking wet now, no help against the cold. “She’s my only way of understanding people.”

He nodded, before returning his attention to reading what flicked in front of his eyes. Then he handed the droid back to her. Anya could see how carefully he pinched the delicate robot in his massive hand, barely even holding onto it as she took Bitsy and deposited the droid back onto her head.

Words flickered to life on the lens as he started talking. “Your droid seems to think this place could come down at any moment.”

“I agree with her.”

“Then we need to move.”

“I can’t get in the water like this.” She waved a hand up and down the suit she still wore, then pointed to the collapsed section of the tunnel. “And my wetsuit was in there. So I’m kind of trapped.”

Her heart started up again. It was thudding and lumping in the wrong way as panic set in. She really was trapped. She wasn’t going to get out of here alive.

“And the...” Words failed her, so she just waved her hand in front of her mouth. Maybe he would understand because she couldn’t focus on making the right sounds for words when she was going to die.

His hand waved in front of her face, but she wasn’t looking until she noticed there was a pattern to his movements. They weren’t... right, exactly. Not really. He wasn’t precise in his sign language, but she could still vaguely understand what he was trying to say.

“Care. Me. You.”

Her breath caught in her throat, ragged and raw, as she tried to say, “What are you saying?”

He pulled himself a little out of the water so he could look her in the eye. “I’m going to take care of you, Anya.”

Everything evened out. She could breathe again as she locked her gaze with his and took in deep, steady breaths as he did. Slowly. In and out. It was easy to put her trust in him, even if it felt a bit like madness to do so.

Finally, she nodded. “Okay. Okay, I trust you.”

“Good.” With his shorter arm, he motioned for her to look to their left. “Watch me while I search for the wetsuit. You are not alone.”

“I’m not alone,” she repeated.

“I will not be far. If this room floods, I will come and get you.”

“I can’t breathe underwater,” she whispered, not sure if he could even hear her words. “I’m not like you.”

“I don’t want you to be like me, kalon.” And for the very first time, he reached for her with that injured arm.

She didn’t hesitate. She just walked into him, even knowing that he was wet and cold and that she was already freezing. He pulled her into him, his short arm hesitating only a moment before he used it to pull her into him.

It still felt like a hug. He was so much larger than her, and she didn’t care if he didn’t have a hand or an elbow on that side of his body. All she wanted was to be tucked into him like this, where she could feel him taking deep breaths. He was alive. He was strong.

And he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

He released her, although she noticed how reluctant the movement was. He didn’t want to let her go anymore than she wanted him to let her go.

“Be right back,” he said, his voice low and rumbling as he sank into the water and then disappeared.

Anya prided herself on being resilient. That’s what had kept her alive so long under her father’s thumb, and she would not be any different in this circumstance. She was a capable person who had lived through a lot of hardship. This was nothing different.

And yet she still ran to the window and watched him as he moved through the water. Unlike the time he’d tried to startle her, he kept all of his lights as bright as he could. The red glow penetrated through the murk and the darkness. She could see him the entire time. He was right there, within reach.

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