Page 59 of A Promise of Peridot
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arwen
No!” The word punched out of me, and I lurched for the closing exit.
I knew it was Kane who yanked me back by the middle before I could get myself squished trying to escape.
“It’s going to be all right,” he whispered against my hair.
No, no, no, it was too late. We were sealed in.
The path Mari had left—
My light in the darkness—
We’d never find a way out now.
My heart pounded violently in my chest, like the wings of a hummingbird.Out.It was all I could think. I needed outright now.
Out, out,out—
I backed up into stone and slid down, cool rock jagged against my loose blouse. Sucking in air by the gallon, I heaved—
Tears.
There were tears slipping down my face.
Pungent salt on my lips when I sucked in one huge breath after another.
I screwed my palms against my eyes, and when that offered little relief, held them to my stomach as if I could still the nausea or make myselfbreatheor even calm the trembling of my palms, but nothing was working, nothing washelping—
Some part of my hysterical, frenzied mind could hear Griffin and Mari attempting to move the slab of stone. Their bickering and frustrated grunts only intensified my fear.
We were trapped. Preserved in here. Like insects in resin.
No, no, no—
Kane crouched down in front of me and pried my hand from my chest, where I was attempting to physically press my heart into slowing.
He held my palm in his, rubbing it soothingly. “Don’t breathe too deeply. Sip the air, Arwen. Like water.”
Adrenaline as shocking as lightning shot down my legs. I was having a heart attack. I couldn’t sit still, shifting and shuddering and shaking. My throat was constricting—so tight I couldn’t talk.
“What’s wrong with her?” Fedrik asked, hovering over me.
“Nothing’swrongwith her. She’s panicking. She doesn’t like to be confined.”
“You’re fine, Wen,” Fedrik said warmly. “I doubt we’ll be down here for long, and we have plenty of food and water if we are stuck.”
Oh, Stones.
Please, please, please, I begged to no one and nothing.I need to be free, please.
“That’s not helping,” Kane hissed at him. “Leave us before you make it worse.”
Fedrik hesitated, looking down at me. “I’m sorry, Arwen. I—”
“Now, you dolt. Tell the rest of them to keep walking. We’ll catch up.”
