Chapter 11
DRAYA
Itried to hold her steady in the turbulent sea, keeping her head above the surface until she stopped choking.
Part of me wanted to kiss her, and the other part of me wanted to crush her.
How could she be so foolish? Jumping off the jetty into the open water, conjuring a storm that could drown her! What was she thinking?
After a moment of confusion, she turned to face me, and I assumed she’d settled. I thought maybe I’d be able to explain things, but I was very, very wrong.
The inclement weather swirling around us weakened, allowing me mere seconds to readjust before she began thrashing and shrieking as if she were being attacked by a wild animal.
“Hazel, please!” I pleaded, trying to make my voice as calm as possible.
“Let me go!” She rasped, clawing and kicking at me. “Just let me go!”
I released my hold on her waist, not wanting her to feel restrained, but she was thrashing so hard she couldn’t tread the water. Maintaining the pocket of air around her face was becoming increasingly difficult as she wouldn’t stop moving.
In a last-ditch attempt to calm her, I started to hum.
Reminiscent of our time on that desolate rock, reverberations from deep in my chest permeated the air and water around us, soothing her wounded soul.
Gently, I grabbed her by the hips and pulled her against my chest, not caring that she was still scratching against my skin and gills.
“Please,” she choked out, her voice no more than a whisper, her head shaking back and forth. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Her movements slowed, and instead of thrashing, she resorted to clinging onto me so tightly I thought she might draw blood. She kept muttering the same words over and over, I can’t do this anymore, but I didn’t understand what she meant.
“What’s wrong, Hazel?” I asked, trying to get her to focus on me. “Tell me what I can do. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She went quiet, her body slumped against mine. I trailed my hand up and down her back, urging her to breathe.
“I waited for you,” she cried, her voice cracking on the final word. “For years, I’ve waited. I dreamed of you.”
She paused for a moment, shaking her head and looking up to meet my gaze. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and her cheeks were so hollow I worried she hadn’t eaten at all since I’d left her on that horrible island.
But I noticed the cuts on her cheek had disappeared. Interesting.
“They were right,” she whispered. “I’ve truly gone mad.”
I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that, but hearing her so dejected made me angrier than I’d like to admit.
“Hazel, please,” my voice was firm. I was tired of this battle. She should have been thanking me for saving her from drowning, yet again.
“This isn’t real. You aren’t real!” She choked out, squirming in my arms.
“What are you talking about?!” I exclaimed, much louder than I intended. She jumped, eyes wide with terror as she seemed to process what was happening.
She started crying again, mumbling nonsense about dreams and hallucinations in between sobs, and after a moment I decided I’d had enough. Clearly, I wouldn’t be able to calm her down in the middle of the fucking ocean, so I resumed my humming and secured her against my chest.
Only a few minutes passed before she was asleep, her head resting against my shoulder, arms hanging limp in the water.
I adjusted her body so we could travel underwater, and used my magic to once again create an air pocket surrounding her head.
My decision was made out of desperation, and for a moment I wondered if I was making a horrible mistake, but the thought dissipated as quickly as it appeared.
As much as I tried to convince myself that I should leave her behind, I couldn’t.
Reluctantly, I was forced to acknowledge that I cared for this girl, and I needed to get her far away from this island of torture.