34. Rhaek
RHAEK
I broke the surface slowly.
One hand on the shelf. Then the other. The weight of the crossing in every muscle. The seam, the current, the sea monsters, all of it accumulated and sitting in my body like ballast.
I got my feet under me. Legs shaking, I managed to stand. The cold air hit the water on my skin and made me shiver.
One breath. Two. Water running off me in rivers, pooling on the shelf, finding the gaps in the rock and running back into the sea.
My left shoulder was burning from the crossing. Too long flat against the seam, the current working against me the entire way, the constant tension of not moving too fast and not moving too slow and managing the sharks one inch at a time.
I was not at my best. But at least I had the element of surprise on my side now.
I took a step toward the spire's base. Then another .
She was up there. Helsa. Waiting for me to ? —
A shimmer of light on the water’s surface was all the heads up I got.
And then the water erupted.