Chapter 32 To The Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea
Calla
Calla stared at the empty spot on deck where Riley had just been, her lips still tingling from how Riley had kissed her breathless.
The dread hit her like an undertow.
Was Riley trying to drown herself again?
No. No. The sea could not have her. Riley belonged to her.
Without even a last glance at her ship, Calla jumped overboard.
Water closed in above her head, swallowing all sound but the drum of her panicked heartbeat against her skull. A gentle current tugged at her limbs, her clothes, ushering her deeper, but Calla twirled against it, searching frantically with her gaze until–
A flash of skin. A ripple.
She stilled. She blinked.
Riley floated just under the surface. Grinning at her.
Calla reached to grab her shirt and pull her back up to the surface, but Riley escaped the touch with a knock of her wrists. She grabbed Calla’s arms instead, firmly, holding her in place as she looked intently into her eyes, as if trying to tell her something.
Under Calla’s careful gaze, Riley breathed. Once. Twice. Three times. Deep, slow breaths. Like Calla was taking.
How? Calla asked, staring in wonder.
Riley startled, then she relaxed, her hands slipping from Calla’s arms to her shoulders as she drifted closer, only a sliver of current between them. She licked her lips, then glanced meaningfully at Calla’s, the corner of her mouth pulling into a smirk.
Slowly, her hands settled on Riley’s hips. The wild rhythm of her heart settled. The kiss?
Riley nodded.
Calla let out the breath she was holding. The tension in her shoulders eased, though the rest of her body did not. She glanced between Riley and the surface, where the sunlight penetrated the water in slanted rays. Below their feet, everything was silent, and dark, and cold.
Can you talk back to me? Calla asked at last.
Riley seemed to try. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Then her shoulders slumped with a defeated sigh, and she shook her head.
I’m not going to talk you into waiting back on the ship, am I?
Riley’s scowl back was all the answer Calla needed.
Her lips twitched as she pulled back, and she held out her hand. Let’s go then. Don’t let go of my hand.
Riley’s hand slipped into hers, and Calla propelled them downward.
They swam for a long time. Water thickened into night.
Calla’s fingers went numb against Riley’s, though she never let go.
The light from above faded to a memory, with only faint silver trails of plankton drifting past to keep them company.
Calla had dove in the sea before, but never like this.
Never deep enough to realize how small she was, compared to the sheer vastness of the sea. How inconsequential.
But they were not invisible.
The light current from before still tugged at her, beckoning, and Calla, not knowing what else to do, followed it. It led down. Deeper and deeper and deeper until her ears popped and the pressure of blood around her bones felt like a crushing force.
That was when Calla heard it. A low, vibrating hum, just at the edge of her hearing.
For a moment, she stilled and peered into the darkness, Riley’s questioning gaze burning into the side of her face.
She’d been tense ever since she’d first made contact with the water, waiting for one of the rumored leviathans to sense them, come hunting for them, and she wondered if this sound was that.
But no. It came from all around. It hummed through Calla’s ribs, ancient and mournful, and wrapped around her bones like a half-forgotten lullaby.
It… soothed her. Cautiously, Calla pulled Riley along once more.
The deeper they went, the more pervasive the hum became, until it pulsed into her ears and her heartbeat reacted to it, adjusting. Beating in rhythm.
A burst of blinding light froze Calla’s descent, and she shoved Riley behind her with a warning flash of her teeth.
Heart thundering against her ribcage, she searched wildly for escape, every muscle tense.
Her eyesight adjusted too slowly. It was Riley rubbing soothing circles against her back that finally allowed Calla to pause for long enough to bring the source into focus.
Coral, just below their feet. As Calla and Riley kicked against the water, the coral answered in bright sparks, and Calla studied the ring of light around them.
More colors than she could name. The coral stretched beyond sight, carpeting the seafloor like a field of ghostly blooms. For a moment, Calla itched to drift past them, let her fingers trail their edges and alight the entire sea floor to life with no other intent but to marvel upon the sight.
Then she remembered why they were here.
Was this the bottom?
Calla peered past the ring of light, searching the shadows beyond for any hint of life–of Sable. The coral stretched on forever. As far as her eye could see, nothing else disturbed these depths.
Maybe Sable hadn’t made it.
No.
She did. They would find her if it was the last thing they ever did.
Calla paused her searching, thinking, when she became aware of the light current again. Tugging. Insistent. Almost warm against the icy coldness of the deep blue sea. She followed it.
The coral’s light followed them along until, at last, it cut off to darkness once more.
A ridge. Below, the sea ran even deeper.
With a reassuring squeeze of Riley’s hand–whether for Riley’s sake or her own, she did not know–Calla plunged them deeper.
The hum of the sea made her shiver here, and Calla’s skin crawled with the sensation of being watched–of not being alone anymore.
Then she saw them, faded blobs of light floating in the distance, fine tendrils following behind them.
Jellyfish. Calla stuck close to the wall at their side.
Corals still clung to the rock here, but sparsely, their scattered light just enough to guide them.
Once more, their descent had no end in sight.
Her limbs grew heavy and weary the longer she swam.
For one delirious moment, Calla wondered if the sea stretched on forever.
This might be what it felt like to fall into a moonless sky.
Drifting for eternity with only the stars to witness their demise, distant and uncaring.
Coldness wrapped around them like a dark promise, her entire body numb with it now.
Calla’s jaw ached with the effort to keep her teeth from chattering in her mouth.
She had a feeling she might be holding on to Riley’s hand too tightly, but it was the only point of warmth down here, the only thing keeping her tethered. Keeping the doubts from eating at her.
They were getting close. They had to be.
The current tugging at her grew weaker, and Calla nearly cried at the fear of losing it entirely. Of being abandoned. Of losing the last hope tethering her to Sable.
The tightness in her chest threatened to overtake her, until she felt a different sort of tug. Coming from Riley. Calla glanced over her shoulder, eyes widening at the panicked look on her face. She followed where Riley was pointing frantically with her other hand–and saw it.
At first, she thought she’d entirely lost it, because it looked like one of those stars she’d been musing about. It was that bright. But the shape moved, vast and formless, and grew bigger by the moment. It pointed straight at them. Its size–impossible.
Calla did not wait to be made dinner. Gripping Riley’s hand, she dashed. The predator–whatever it was–was quicker. Another impossibility. A startled gasp behind her. Riley. Calla had no time left over for thinking at all.
Pure instinct overtook her.
Or dumb luck.
A break in the wall, small enough to squeeze through, and Calla darted for it, pulling Riley along.
Her skin scraped against the jagged rock, and the hollow was only deep enough for both of them to press out of the way, shoulder to shoulder, and watch helplessly as the creature made for them.
Wait for sharp teeth to sink into their flesh and tear it to shreds.
The light broke against them, fracturing into countless sparks.
Calla blinked.
It wasn’t one creature. It was thousands.
A school of fish, smaller than her little finger.
One of them halted right in front of her nose, studied her curiously, and then twirled on its tail and rejoined its kind.
The fish shone in unison as they regrouped, a pulsing light to match the sea’s hum, and they went to scare off their next plausible predator.
Calla laughed, the sound falling silent from her lips, and looked at Riley. The burst of laughter choked halfway out of her throat. Riley was pale as death, gasping as she pressed against the rock at her back. Her grip on Calla’s hand was crushing.
Riley, Calla said, moving in front of her. Her free hand spread over Riley’s cheek, drawing her gaze. You’re okay. We’re okay. Breathe. Like this. She demonstrated, pressing their foreheads together.
After two long breaths, Riley followed along. The grip on her hand eased. Her shoulders drooped.
Calla closed her eyes. For a few heartbeats, they stayed like that, breathing together, holding each other. Stealing this nook for themselves against the magnitude of the sea.
Eventually, Riley pushed her gently away. Her hazel eyes hardened in determination.
Are you ready to go on? Calla asked. She smiled at Riley’s nod, holding out her hand once more. Then let’s go get Sable.
The current was still tugging. Ever weaker.