Page 124 of Of the Stars and Sea

Grayson swims toward me and I weep, my tears lost to the sea.

He swims. And swims. And swims.

I reach up through the net, waiting for him to claim me.

To pull me from the darkness.

But I am lost to his distant shadow.

Black creeps along the edges of my vision until there is nothing left but the cold that surrounds me.

I have always hoped it would be the roaring mouth of the sea that claimed me. For the thought of being lost to the stroke of a sword or the heat of fire sends a shiver down my spine. I much prefer the peaceful quiet of my head submerged beneath the waves as a subtle lull of the currents pulls me under.

The sea is where I have always belonged. I am made of water and salt. It has been bred into my bones, etched into my soul.

One day it shall claim me.

Today is that day.