Page 92 of Balance

“Good…” His chest rumbled under my cheek, and his attention returned from the shore. His eyes, instead of their normal chocolate-brown color, were now a light caramel-honey. The water still pulled at us, and I could feel Miles’s grip slipping as we continued to move closer and closer to the edge of our refuge, but—unless it was my imagination—it seemed to have let up—only just slightly.

And then Miles spoke, breaking through my brief reprieve. He sounded afraid. “Hold on tight. I’m going to try to swim to shore.”

“What?” My muscles locked and my fingers tightened behind his neck. I held him so tightly I thought my joints might pop. “Don’t do it if you’re not sure! Maybe the others will be by soon.”

“We can’t just sit here waiting…” He swallowed. His gaze was still on the shore. “I can do it. Just hold on to me.”

I didn’t believe him.

“Miles, don’t—” I started, but it was too late—we’d already pushed from the safety of our little rock fort.

Miles did most of the swimming. There was no way for me to fight this current, even though it had seemed to settle slightly. All I could do was obey Miles’s order to simplyhold on.

My heart lightened and the sun seemed brighter. For a second, I thought we might actually make it. He was making steady progress and the bank seemed to grow closer. I closed my eyes, curling in on myself. If I stayed out of his way, it might help Miles.

We might actually make it.

Or we could have.

Something shifted in the air—something that broke Miles’s concentration.

An unearthly howl caused a slip in his concentration, as well as mine, and our steady progress washed away. Miles’s assured strokes faltered. Before either of us could regain our focus, the rushing water had already overwhelmed us.

“Bianca.” Miles’s breath washed over my face, prodding me back into awareness as unrelenting pressure assaulted my face and neck. “Come on, wake up.”

My chest ached as my breath escaped in a choking gasp. I rolled to my side, desperate to release the pressure threatening to suffocate me.

“Come on,” Miles repeated, his hand rubbing circles over my back. My nose was running, and I was certain I was crying. It must have been a terrible sight.

But Miles didn’t seem to care. As soon as I was able to breathe normally once again, he sighed, holding me tightly to his chest as his body shook against me.

“Oh thank God,” he was saying, hands pressing warmly against my arms and head, and he rocked back and forth on his knees. “I’m so sorry.”

“Wh—” I began, but my question ended in another coughing fit tearing at my raw throat. Miles continued his self-deprecating monologue as I struggled to catch my breath and finally ask. “What happened?” My voice broke at the end.

“Well…” Miles began, movements halting. “We kind of got washed downstream and might have gone down a waterfall—or something like that.”

I curled my fingers in my lap, still too worn to be surprised. “Something like that?”

I felt him nod against me. “And then we were washed downstream for a while. Once I’d dragged us out of the water, I kind of passed out. I’m so sorry.”

“Is it almost night?” I asked, blinking up at the sky. It wasn’t entirely dark yet, but unless this was from the dots still passing over my vision, it was close to sunset. “H-how long has it been?”

I wasn’t sure how far we’d gone, but my clothes were still damp and cold against my skin; with the lowering temperatures, we were sure to freeze. I shivered.

“A few hours, I think.” Miles resumed the motion of his hand over my arm. “I’m so sorry—”

“Why now?” I croaked, slowly coming more back into myself yet still hovering on the border of consciousness.

“Because I failed.” He sounded so lost that my heart constricted. By this time, too, our surroundings were coming into focus.

Any waterfall we’d fallen off of was already far in the distance. I could see or hear no trace of one. We were on an embankment, the river slower here. Our surroundings were peaceful and still outside of the gentle lapping of the water and stirring creatures of the night.

“We shouldn’t be without light for too long,” Miles was saying, still holding me against him. “We’re three days from the full moon, and moonrise is soon after dark. But we need to find someplace to stay.”

“Stay…” This pulled at my attention, and I set my hand over his chest, pushing back until I was able to meet his eyes.

He looked terrible—although his hair still seemed to be in that controlled messy style he normally wore, and I was beginning to suspect that the entire look was au natural. But it was his eyes and his face that got to me.