Page 73 of Essence of the Throne

How do they help someone who drowned? I’ve seen this done…I should know.

“You must force the water from their lungs and push air back in. Push, Macey!”As much as I hate Velora, the image of her scolding a young student for not getting her technique right just might be what saves my prince.

My hands send a wet crack through the thunderous atmosphere when they slap against Caspian’s chest. I push and pull, push and pull, hoping that I’m doing it correctly. How many times do I do this before the air? I count to twenty before leaning down to pinch his nose and latch my mouth around his. Sucking in a deep breath, I blow the air from my lungs as hard as I can into his.

I lean back to scan his face before pressing my ear to his heart. Nothing.

“No, no, no, it was supposed to work. Fuck—please don’t do this!” I scream at his un-moving chest as I struggle to control the trembling in my hands. My eyes drag up to glare through the blinding sun, a mockery of everything happening down here. But it’s not the sun I want. No, my next words are forthe Angel, so it better be listening. “If you take him from me,” I snarl, my voice wavering with a rage that burns hotter than the freezing water around us, “there will be nothing left of me but vengeance. I will hunt you to the ends of both realms, and when I find you, I will tear your name from existence.”

My fingers dig into Caspian’s chest, trembling as I press harder, desperate for any flicker of life. Nothing. Still nothing. My heart clenches, but I refuse to stop. I won’t stop.

“Your entire family, species, whatever the fuck you are,” I spit through gritted teeth, glaring at the derisive sky above, “will cease to exist. I will kill them all, one by one, and use every ounce of essence you cursed me with to tear both realms apart—city by city, stone by stone—until there is nothing left but ashes.”

The words pour from me like a dam breaking, a flood of fury and despair that drowns the sound of crashing waves. My vision blurs as I look back down at Caspian’s still form. My prince. My tether to what little light remains in this wretched world.

“I will make you watch,” I vow, my voice dropping to a venomous whisper. “All of it. And when you and I are the only things left alive…only then will I kill you. Slowly. Torturously. You willbegfor forgiveness and wish you’d never created the realms in the first place.”

My fists pound against his chest, the rhythm a desperate, unyielding plea. The edge of my voice breaks as I whisper, “Please.”

A large wave crashes over the roof, snapping me from my threat to the Angel. I cover Caspian’s face—I don’t need any more fucking water in his lungs—before making a fist with my goodhand and punching his chest. I punch and punch, ignoring each rib I hear cracking as I use all my force to expel the liquid from him. If I had any essence left, I’d use my elemental affinity to drag the water out myself. But I don’t have enough…I used most of the essence inside me to shield us from the initial crash of the ocean.

“Caspian, I swear on everything that I will fucking kill you if you die.” New salty liquid slides over my lips, a more familiar taste than the water surrounding us. “Please, Caspian,” I beg, each word cracking as my bottom lip trembles.

I’ve never been so fucking scared in my life.

Not even when my father was killed. Or when I walked into the guild for the first time.

My fist continues to pound against him—I refuse to let him go. He’s mine, and I will not allow him leave me. “I can’t do this again…I can’t lose you, too.” The longer he remains still, the more erratic my movements. “Don’t you dare leave me, you foolish fucking asshole! I can’t do this without you…please…I’ll stop fighting whatever this is between us. I’ll laugh at all your stupid jokes, and compliment you regularly, because I know how much your ego needs it. I’ll even stop insulting Gavriel every day…well, the guy is a pompous idiot, you cannot expect me—” It’s not until something wraps around my wrist do I realize I’ve been blindly punching the man underneath me, overtaken by my panic.

My eyes shoot open as Caspian rolls to the side as much as my thighs allow to cough, the sound deep but relieving. I slap his back hard on instinct to help, though I’m not sure it does anything;the wet sounds coming from him are plentiful and horrific all the same. My surroundings are blacked out, as every bit of attention I have focuses on the prince. After an eternity, he falls to his back, panting as if he’d just ran through the entire city.

I suppose he did.

I’m frozen. I was so convinced that he was gone that my brain has yet to comprehend he’s alive.

He winces with every breath, but I won’t apologize for his injuries. Beautifully full, silver eyes peer up at me and drag over my body before meeting mine. Caspian attempts to smile, though it looks more like a grimace. “If I knew coming back to life was like this, I’d die more frequently,” he whispers with a hoarse voice, a light chuckle shifting quickly to a deep cough. He watches me with tired features, waiting for a response I don’t have.

Instead, a sob leaves me before I give in to the horrifying feelings I’ve ignored since my ward broke. My body is far from my control as it shakes with the force of my cries. Caspian’s warming arms wrap around me, and I do not hesitate to do the same as I bury my face in his neck. He smells mostly of fish and salt, but there’s stillhimunder all of it. I focus on that and breathe him in, my heart slowing with each intake of his scent—he smells like home.

“Ari, it’s okay,” he says, grasping the back of my head before rocking slightly. “I’m here, angel—I’ve got you.” His steady words soothe the part of my soul that was so close to dying along with him. “Did you think you could rid of me so easily? The Angel itself couldn’t pry me awayfrom you.”

I lean back, pressing my forehead against his. “I thou—” I hiccup, willing my voice to sound even half as strong as his. How the fuck is he so calm right now? “I thought you—” Another sob breaks my sentence. I cannot say it out loud, lest I somehow speak such a fate into existence.

Strange is not a strong enough word to describe the emotions swirling through me. Mere months ago, I was planning on ripping the air from the prince’s lungs so that I could shove his dead body in Thalion’s face. And now I’m desperate to keep his air right where it is.

Maybe strange does explain it.

I sigh into his hold as he presses kisses all over my face, purposefully missing the one place I need his lips. He fists my sopping hair and pulls my head back just far enough to look between my eyes. “I am not going anywhere, Ariella. I’m here, and I’m yours.” The declaration heats my frozen insides. I search his face, memorizing every hair, divot, and tired line. There is nothing I’ve ever needed more than to feel his mouth on mine—to feel thelifeswim between our bodies.

“Shut up.” My voice strains as I reach to squeeze his cheeks together, pursing his lips. “You will kiss me. Then you will apologize for making me feel this way.” Garbled noises barely make it through his mouth, so I release a little to allow him to speak once more.

“Apologize to you? As if I wasn’t the one who just died,” he exclaims. A playfulness flits through his eyes.

Image of Ariella and Caspian kissing.

“No, Caspian.” I lean forward to capture his lips with mine. It’s unbearable to resist any longer, but I find the strength to pull back when I’m breathless. My eyes remain closed as I speak against his mouth. “I want you to apologize for forcing yourself into my life. For making me feel things I never wanted to again, and carving a place for yourself in a heart that died twenty years ago when your father killed mine.” Our lips entangle again, though it is the prince who pulls away this time. The cold of the water is nothing compared to the shivering he forces upon my body as his fingers trail up my spine.

“What else should I apologize for?” he whispers against my jaw, sweeping kiss after kiss down the side of my neck.

---