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The sensation grows stronger. It's not quite a voice, not quite a presence, but something that whispers through the movements themselves. My left foot slides forward just as some instinct tells me it should, just as Jackson does the exact same thing. It's as though the dance is revealing itself to us through a voice that only we can hear, and with each beat, I feel something stirring below. We rock steadily back and forth with one foot solidly planted into the ground, like fishermen hauling in a full net, and the presence grows stronger. It's taken our invitation.

A soft gurgling sound rises from the well's opening, like water churning in a wash basin. I know Jackson hears it too, but we are too deep into the frenzy of the dance to even exchange a look. We're striding across a knife's edge with no space for error orlapse in concentration. A single mistake, and the elemental will completely disappear from this place.

We swing our hands and clasp them together, and with a final pull, the surface of the well begins to shimmer with captured starlight. The water reaches the edge, but doesn't spill over as I expect—instead, it flows upward into the night air, gathering itself into a sphere the size of a man's head that hovers just above the well's opening. It pulses with soft, silvery light, its surface rippling like liquid silver. Its aura is ancient and surprisingly gentle after the corrupted elementals we encountered in the valley.

The dance ends with a stomp. Jackson's heart pounds so hard I can feel the pulse through his palm where our fingers are interlocked. It's the only thing keeping us upright after such an exertion, and we're so in need of water that not even a bead of sweat manages to form on our parched skin.

The elemental floats closer, bubbling and rippling. I sense no hostility. It feels like a curious young creature, wanting to get a closer look at the two strangers who have woken it.

"It's kinda cute," Jackson remarks.

Without any warning, the elemental suddenly bursts forward and expands several times greater than its original size. Before we can react, it surrounds both of our heads. I can't move. It has me gripped tightly within its liquid body. Even through the blur I can see the shock in Jackson's eyes. He lets go of my hand and grabs the front of my robe. He's trying to break us both out.

Breathe.

The command comes not as a word or a voice, but a feeling. In my state of panic, it goes unheeded, and it isn't until it comes again that I realize what it is. Convincing my body to ignore its most primal survival instincts is not a simple task. It takes all of my willpower to allow my lungs to relax and release. The first breath comes like a gulp, and I nearly choke on what fills me.

Air. Or at least, that's how it feels. Pure air, though there are no bubbles as I exhale.

Can Jackson hear what it's telling us?

No. He's fighting too hard. He's thrashing to push the elemental off, but his hands plunge right through it. I grab him by the shoulders and shake him, trying to get him to look at me, but he's not paying attention. He thinks I'm struggling too.

How do I get him to pay attention? He's going to lose consciousness if he doesn't stop.

A solution comes to my mind. It's a stupid solution, but I know it's one that will work. I don't have time to come up with anything else.

Don't kill me for doing this.

I move in to press my lips to his.

Jackson

I'd read once that to stop a dog attack, the best thing you can do is startle the shit out of the dog by jamming your thumb up its asshole. That's exactly what I feel like right now—a dog with a thumb jammed up its ass. Except, instead of a thumb, it's Airos's face coming at me through the water like a goddamn great white shark, lips all puckered and honing in on mine. What the hell?!

My automatic reaction is to recoil away, and with a startled gasp I suck down a lungful of water.

Oh, fuck! I'm going to die here. I'm going to die a virgin!

But after a second, I realize that I'm fine. There's no suffocating, no choking, no burning sensation, and it takes a moment for my brain to comprehend this bizarre feeling. I'm underwater, and I'm not drowning? Am I already dead?

Another wave of panic and adrenaline hits me. I'm frozen in place like a deer in the headlights. I can't fight, I can't run, so all I can do is freeze. I'm holding my breath.

Airos gently grasps my shoulders. I tense, thinking he's going to come in to try and kiss me again.

Why not just kiss him?You're gonna die anyway.

The thought flashes through my mind and vanishes as something else takes its place: a feeling of something telling me to breathe normally. It's just like what I felt during the dance—something guiding me from outside of my body.

Now that I'm calm, I see that Airos is too. He's already way ahead of me with this.

I force myself to take a breath, and it comes easily.

I try to say, "What the hell was that?" about the kiss, but nothing comes out of my mouth, not even a bubble. Even though it feels like I'm breathing air, my lungs are filled with the Elemental's liquid.

A little disturbing to think about.

And then, another thought gets stamped onto my brain, a greeting from this creature wrapped around my dome like a floating fish bowl. It's what Niah and the others call a Shimat, and what Airos calls a water elemental, and in an instant, it seems to collect everything it needs to know from us and give us what we need to know in return.