To move.
Tobreathe.
Issac’s voice reverberated through her mind, but she couldn’t hear him over the rush of water in her ears. She clamped her jaw shut, not wanting to inhale.
But she couldn’t mist.
She couldn’tmove.
The magic held her captive, reminding her of being buried beneath the earth.
Oh God…
She shoved with all her strength, unable to move.
Screams sounded in her head. Maybe her own. Maybe Issac’s. Maybe Hydraians’ from the beach.Maybe Lizzie’s.
Stas gritted her teeth.I am not dying here.I am not being subdued this easily. I do not accept this bullshit!
But the boulder wouldn’t fucking move! It resembled chains now, wrapping around her, holding her beneath the water, ensuring she’d drown… just like her mother… just like the nightmares… just like the fate she’d always truly feared.
Her arms shook.
Her legs ceased to work.
Her lungs burned.
Her eyes stung.
No, no, no!
Think!
There had to be a way out of this. A way to counter the ethereal energy.
The fact that it held her captive meant she wasn’t truly below sea level yet… right? Seraphim couldn’t mist while under the ground.
Except… didn’t Stark draw a rune in Osiris’s dungeon?
Which meant she could draw one, too.Maybe.
She released the boulder of chain-like energy and closed her eyes, focusing on the magic around her, trying to sense a way to counter the enchantment.
Stark had shown her several wards these last few days, most of them defensive in manner. He’d stated there wasn’t time for her to learn offensive runes. She needed to know how to defend herself first and foremost.
Hence the lessons on catching and throwing magical balls around.
But she couldn’t catch this one.
It’d already hit her.
Now what?Stark’s voice echoed in her head, reminding her of when he’d trapped her on a sparring mat during her Sentinel training.
She’d been furious. He’d been such an ass. But now that lesson possessed new meaning.
Move the obstacle. Move me,he’d said.
She’d flipped him off her then.
