Page 28 of Virelai's Hoard
She couldn’t swim. She was going to drown.
Lurching herself out of the numbness with all she had, Riley thrashed towards the surface, uncoordinated movements fighting against the current tearing at her. Was that even the surface? A flash of light at the corner of her eyes redirected her efforts, orienting her in the endless darkness of the sea. She could make out the silhouette of the Moonshadow. Aiming for that, Riley pushed against the currents, the gasp for air pressingharder and harder against her locked throat until it tore through in a gurgle of suffocating water.
Then, suddenly, she was through. Her hands splashed against the frothing waves. She struggled to stay above, to scream, to spot anything nearby to cling to, but she only managed a pathetic gasp of both air and water before another wave swallowed her. The force of it made her tumble until her head spun, her limbs thrashing wildly against her fate.
It was no use.
The last of her breath wracked her body with a cough, and Riley numbly watched the air bubbles floating down into the deep.Up?Was that up? Her hand reached for them weakly, fingers curling around one as if she could drag it back inside her lungs.
The water got colder, and darker, sapping sight and feeling from her body. She blinked against the darkness, fighting against the sudden heaviness of her eyelids. Another cough, weaker than the last.
What was she fighting for?
Cold, lonely nights. Days spent begging for scraps. People looking at her as if she was a vermin. A knife hacking at her fingers as the metallic taste of betrayal filled her mouth.
The here and now was almost…peaceful.
A slight change in the current made Riley turn her head, blinking at the glimpse of a silhouette darker than the dark blue of the deep sea. With the next blink, the shape became bigger, close enough to touch. Vaguely familiar eyes peered at her. Then a faint warmth pressed against her chest, cradling her against the pull of the current. Protective. Possessive.
Riley rested her cheek against the creature, too weak to fight it. She waited for its teeth to sink into her, to finish what the storm had started. It never came. Would she even feel it? Herwhole body was numb. Cold. Another blink, and the darkness became too oppressive to resist any longer.
She gave in.
***
“You’re thecaptain, you can’t just-”
“I didn’tplanto fall overboard, Sable.”
“You should’ve gone under deck, kept yourself-”
“Safe?” Calla’s voice sliced through Sable’s protests, a dangerous edge to it. “This ismyship,mycrew,myresponsibility. You’d do well to remember that before you imply I should’ve just hidden away.”
The reply that came was more subdued. “It’s notjustyour ship, captain.”
Riley opened her eyes to a bleary night sky, and shadows gathered all around. Her lips parted with a question, but a cough seized her lungs and made her turn sideways, salt water burning its way past her throat and onto the deck.
Someone knelt by her, rubbing soothing circles on her back as she hacked out the last of the water and took in a shuddering breath. “You’re okay.” Nyxen. The voice was Nyxen’s. “Just breathe. Deep and slow.”
Riley closed her eyes, concentrating on his words, on the feel of air filling her lungs.
“There you go. Can you stand?”
At her weak nod, several hands reached to clasp her arms and shoulders and bring her upright, guiding her to lean against the solid mast nearby. A single lantern flickered on deck, keeping the night at bay. The stars shone above their heads, no hint of the violent storm that had threatened to tear the ship apart and drown everyone with it. If it weren’t for her drenched clothesand the algae decorating the deck, Riley would’ve wondered if everything had been one of her bad dreams.
“Is Maren…” She didn’t know what she was asking, really, but the words pressed on her chest, demanding to be let out.
He’d saved her–No. He’dsacrificedhimself for her.
Why?
The silent, bowed heads she got in reply only made the weight press heavier on her chest. The only one who met her eyes was Gadrielle, somber as she shook her head and tilted her chin towards a shape on deck, at the edges of the lantern’s light, wrapped in canvas.
“What happened?” Riley asked, tearing her gaze away from his body.
The captain sat on a mostly intact crate, Thorian’s coat almost swallowing her slight frame as she hugged it to herself, wet black hair spilling over her shoulders. She didn’t look at Riley.
“You and the captain fell overboard,” Sable said, standing with her arms crossed, lips pressing in a thin line. “We found you both clinging to a barrel after the storm’s passed, as sudden as it started. You got lucky.” The twist to her lips told Riley exactly what Sable thought of luck.
