Page 46

46

Xeraphine

W hen my brain sparks to life, I try to suck in air to my lungs that have been without breath for who knows how long.

Except, there is no oxygen around me, and when I open my mouth, the only thing that fills me is water. The salty sting of the sea floods down my throat, and I immediately try to fight to breathe.

My eyes open, a blurry world around me that is dark and unfamiliar greets me. The stinging and burning in them as I fight to focus makes me scream, causing bubbles to mar my vision further. This discomfort in them makes me blink, attempting to flush out the irritation caused by the grittiness of the salt.

It doesn’t even matter because I’m slowly dying with no air.

I reach my hand up toward the surface, which I can’t even see. The bars of my cage are big enough to see that I’m floating a few feet above the seafloor.

I’m acutely aware my ankle is tethered, chained to something.

I am slowly losing every ounce of consciousness. With the strength I barely have, I move down to try and unlatch myself .

I scream so fucking loud that I can hear the muted echoes of my anguish reverberate off the coral and rocks around me.

“Kai!!!”

My efforts on the chain around my ankle come to an end as I swim to the top of my cage and pull at my leg.

“Kai! Sydni!”

The pain in my lungs is brutal, and feeling them shrivel to survive makes my body begin to vibrate and soon, I’m beginning to spasm.

“Kai… Please…”

Kai… I’m down here… down here… please don’t forget me…