Page 101 of The Prison Healer

The water was like ice.

Fifteen minutes—it was too long, too deep, too cold.

A hollow echo sounded, and Kiva jolted to a stop, the boulder having finally thudded against the bottom of the quarry, or perhaps some fortunately placed outcropping that kept her from sinking further.

It didn’t matter. She was still too far down, the water around her dark enough that she struggled to see anything but blurry, distorted shapes. No one watching from above would be able to see anything, with tons and tons of water blocking their vision of her.

Cold—she wasso cold.

Kiva released another few bubbles, her lungs already begging for fresh air. She drew her arms in and hugged herself, as if doing so would help retain her body heat, but it was useless. The frozen water was piercing straight into her flesh, into her bones. Her extremities were already beginning to turn numb, all of her blood rushing inward to protect her vital organs, her heart, her brain. Perhaps Mot’s potion was helping her, but it wasn’t enough.

Her body buckled, like she was coughing, but still she didn’t release more than a few bubbles, knowing she couldn’t let more go, with nothing for her to inhale.

Fifteen minutes.

She had no idea how many had already passed. No idea how many she had left.

No idea how she was going to last much longer.

She couldn’t feel her fingers. Couldn’t feel her toes. She felt like she was burning, the cold so biting that her nerves were on fire.

Breathe!her body screamed at her.BREATHE.

She couldn’t.

There was no air.

There was no air.

Kiva buckled again, suffocation beginning to forfeit her control. This time she couldn’t stop the stream of air that fled her lungs, nor her natural reaction to try and inhale more.

No.

No.

She was choking now, water flooding down her windpipe in place of oxygen.

Coughing and choking and coughing and choking, water filling her lungs, filling her stomach as she accidentally swallowed it, all of the air that she’d carefully guarded now gone.

The numbness was spreading, her arms and legs like senseless weights.

And the darkness—it was growing, her vision blackening as her body buckled, buckled,buckled.

Torture, it wastorture.

And then it was over.

The fight left her.

Oblivion took her.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“BREATHE, DAMN IT!”

Kiva bolted upright, water erupting from her mouth as she coughed, choking on air, gasping it down while simultaneously dispelling liquid from her lungs.

“That’s it, get it all out. I’ve got you.”

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