“No, Collin! Not that way!” Aries roared, voice cracking. “Justdo it!”
“Listen to me!” the stranger yelled again, already moving with Niall. “It’s a rip current—you have to swim sideways to get out!”
Collin heard the words. He just couldn’t hold on to them. Everything was scrambled—his mind, his limbs, even the rhythm of his breath. He kicked half-heartedly, but nothing worked.Fine.Let Aries drag him. Let someone else figure it out. He just had to keep his head above water.
Then, strangely—miraculously—the pull lessened.
The water stopped clawing at him like a starving beast. The waves still crashed, but they weren’t dragging him out anymore.
He blinked, dazed.Was that really all it took?
He tried to swim on his own again, but his muscles were shot. Aries hauled him awkwardly through the last stretch of water, grunting with effort. Collin could barely lift his arms, but he let himself be dragged. He followed, because he had no other choice.
And then—his feet touched earth.
He stumbled forward, half-carried by the waves, and dropped to his knees. Sand shifted beneath his hands. He clutched it like it was holy. His lungs convulsed, and he hacked up seawater, salt and bile scorching his throat.
Clive’s canoe skidded to a halt nearby. He leapt over the side and splashed through the ankle-deep tide. “Niall!”
“He’s not breathing,” Collin rasped, voice raw around a mouthful of salt. His limbs were lead. His knees gave out, and he crumpled to the sand. Coughs racked his chest—saltwater, air, more salt. The sand stuck to his skin like a second chance.
I’m alive. The words pulsed in his skull like a heartbeat.I’m alive.
Aries grabbed him by the arms, yanking him upright. Together they staggered over to where Niall lay, still and pale, his soaked curls plastered to his forehead. The stranger knelt beside him, sleeves soaked, jaw set.
Clive dropped hard into the sand, shaking. Collin collapsed next to him, dazed and aching.
They needed help—butthey were too far from anyone, too deep in the wilderness.
Except—this man.
Without hesitation, the stranger placed both palms on Niall’s chest, one over the other, and began compressions. He counted out loud—low, even, focused. After ten, he tilted Niall’s head, pinched his nose, and breathed air into his mouth. Then back to the compressions. Again and again. His pace steady. His expression unwavering.
Time unraveled beneath the shadow of the Singing Cove.
The roar of the ocean faded, dulled by collective fear. The only sound was the stranger’s voice, counting. The only movement, his hands pressing rhythm into Niall’s still chest. The only breath, his own, refusing to let Niall slip away.
Collin counted along in his head. He breathed when the stranger breathed. He couldn’t look away.
And then—after what felt like hours or maybe forever—Niall’s chest lurched violently. He gagged, coughed, hacked. The sound tore through the silence like sunlight splitting storm clouds.
The stranger pulled him upright. Niall doubled over, retching saltwater from his lungs.
Clive burst into sobs—uncontrolled, helpless, grateful. His hands trembled as he reached for his brother, half-laughing, half-crying.
Collin let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and pushed the dripping hair out of his eyes. Relief floodedhim—butreliefdidn’t cover it. It was something enormous, something electric. Everything was alright. Niall was alright.
Beside them, the stranger gave Niall a firm pat on the back. “Breathe deep,” he said, gentle but firm. “Slow and steady. That’s it.”
Clive blinked up at him, wide-eyed. And then—without warning—he threw his arms around the man in a soaking-wet embrace. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you—for saving my brother!”
The stranger gave Clive an awkward pat on the back, his soaked yellow hair still dripping onto his shoulders. Water ran in thin lines down his cheeks, and when he looked at Collin and Aries, his grin was bashful beneath the wet curtain of hair.
Aries, still catching his breath, broke the silence with a hoarse edge. “Alright, Clive”—he nudged him gently—“let him go so we can figure out who he actually is.”
Collin cleared his throat. Sand still clung to the back of his tongue. “What’s your name?”
The young man straightened and offered a sheepish smile. “Logan.”
