Page 6 of Treasure of the Abyss

She swept her gaze across the rolling waves, searching the shoreline for a safe place to land, but only steep, high cliffs were insight.

“Hold on tight!” Camrin shouted. His wide eyes were full of fear, his face pale and strained in the dimmingtwilight.

Macy followed his gaze away from the land. Ice crystallized in her veins; the sea was cresting, forming a massive wave alongsidethem.

“Camrin!”

“Getdown!”

She dove to the floor and wrapped her arms around the base of the mast. Water swirled around her, and the boom groaned as Camrin battled the wind; he was trying to turn them into the wave to avoid being hitbroadside.

For a fleeting instant, everything was still and silent. Macy dared not open her eyes. Then the ship dropped and rose suddenly, sickeningly, and the crash of the wave overwhelmed all her senses simultaneously. The world spun. The sea tore her away from the mast, and the current carried her into darkness. The water surrounding her muted the cacophony of thestorm.

She kicked, uncertain of which way was up, lungs burning. Finally, she broke the surface. The terrible sound of the storm and the violent waves was deafening. Macy gasped, fighting to keep her headup.

“Camrin!”

It was too dark, too chaotic. The all-encompassing sea, boundless and untamable, dominated hervision.

“Camrin!”

Lightning flashed, lighting up the water, and she saw his dark shape. Toofar.

If he called her name, she didn’t hear — the storm, the waves, and her own thundering heart were tooloud.

More water crashed over her, forcing her under. Once again, she struggled to the surface, sputtering and gasping for air. The waves carried her away from the cliffs, away from Camrin, away from home. She was alone in the darkness. Alone in the opensea.

Just likeSarina.

Macy’s limbs grew weak. She could barely take a breath without water filling hermouth.

Though it only delayed the inevitable, Macyfought.

Wave after wave battered her. Each time she went under, she surfaced a little slower. Each time, more of her strength fled. She remembered that day on the beach, so long ago. Remembered how she’d struggled againstdrowning.

Remembered how long Sarina hadstruggled.

When she was forced underwater again, Macy stoppedfighting.

Her body sank deeper. Her chest was onfire.

What little air had remained in her lungs bubbled from her nose and mouth, and she closed her eyes as awareness slippedaway.

The last thing she felt before blackness fell over her was a pair of arms wrapping around hertorso.

Chapter 2

Macy woke with a groan.Her entire body ached, and her head was on the verge of splitting in two. She pressed a hand to her temple. She hadn’t felt this terriblesince…

Camrin!

She opened her eyes. Bright sunlight blinded her; she squeezed her eyes shut again and turnedaway.

The ground beneath her was hard, and running water was splashing into a pool somewhere nearby. She flattened her hand on the coarse rock beneath her and slowly opened her eyes to slits. Sunlight filled her vision, poured over her, heating her skin and the stone she layupon.

Where amI?

Lifting her head as her eyes adjusted, she glanced to the right and frowned. She was on a small island. All around her were storage containers — wooden barrels, a metal lockers and crates, and several chests — some clearly from the time of the colonization. They were brimming with an eclectic collection of items — clothing, fishing rods, hand tools, buoys, bowls, jars, torn strips of canvas from a sail, even a few children’stoys.

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