“YOU CAN’T SWIM!”
Syoran.
Clearly, he’d underestimated me because I had no issue?—
As if the ocean awaited my plummet, its jaws opened, consuming me without a moment of hesitation. The slap of my body against its surface and its bone-chilling temperature had my lungs screaming for reprieve, pleading for even the most minuscule breath. Battling against impulse, I kicked my feet, the baggy clothing I wore wrapping around my legs and making the task practically impossible.
Iamgoing to fucking drown.
My adrenaline surged, further urging me to get out of the water as an unexpected splash rippled through it. Erupting through my veins, panic ignited my mind, convinced that one of many horrific sea creatures had determined my position and now circled me with dire hunger. Using the instinctive need to escape, even if it meant landing back on Caspian’s ship, my legs and arms tore through the ocean’s density. The rippling light overhead came into view, and I pushed harder, breaking through the blanketing surface.
I gasped for air, oxygen searing my lungs. Running my hand down my face, I wiped the water from it, gazing up at the massive ship that I’d tumbled from. The rays cutting through the cloud cover overhead made it difficult to make out who manned the gunwale, but the voice that cut through the air with concern was enough confirmation.
“For fuck’s sake, Levitte!” Syoran bellowed, motioning for the men to follow some already spoken order.
“It’s not my fucking fault!” I yelled back, pedaling my feet with a steady rhythm to keep my head above water. “It’s your captain’s?—”
“Mycaptain, who fucking jumped in after you.” Before I could even contemplate the implausibility of Caspian tossing himself overboard for me, Syoran’s following words chilled me to my very core. “Mycaptain, who is recovering from Malrik’s bullshit.Mycaptain, who doesn’t know how to swim!”
What?
Ha! Let him drown. That’s what he gets for treating me as if I were something he could own, an object he could merely pass around.
Every muscle in my body recoiled with the opposing need to dive back underwater and search for him—almost as if something was urging me to. My lungs constricted with the realization, my heart drumming against my chest as the temptation continued to build, becoming nearly too much for me to ignore.
Do not even consider it. He deserves to die.
“Fuck.”
“ROHEN!”
“I heard you the first time!” I snapped, my conflicting emotions battling to reach the forefront.
“So what the hell are you waiting for?!”
For Caspian to sink to the depths? For a fucking sea monster to come and swallow me whole so I could escape my godsforsaken life? For my body to dosomethingother than tread water?
Bubbling from the depths of my subconscious, a voice came, so soft, so faint, that I nearly missed it.“Save the boy, for those above tied your fates as one.”
There was something celestial about the utterance, something otherworldly. It was the same presence that’d lingered within me since before I could recall, coaxing me through every harsh slap, each hour of abuse, and shoving me from death before it could reach for me. And now, it spoke with an urgency that suggested that my captor and I were somehow…bound?
“LEVITTE!”
Syoran’s screams from overhead muffled into white noise, my vision tunneling with the sudden, sinking realization. Drumming incessantly with my desire to oblige the mental command, the beat of my heart consumed me, drowning out any further distractions to ensure my attention remained fixated on only one thing.
Him.
I ran my fingers through my hair, combing it out of the way before wiping the remaining droplets from my face. As my cleared gaze lifted, Iwatched as another wave formed, rolling forward with increasing speed. Its rapids curled inward as its height quickly devoured the sun, promising to suffocate anything that didn’t belong in its chilling embrace. As if it were lifelike and attempting to frighten its victims, it grew to a size and strength similar to the one that’d knocked me from the ship. I merely smirked at its mockery, planning to leverage the current it had wrought to my advantage.
Sucking in a mouthful of air, I kicked with every ounce of energy I had as the tower of water began its descent. It swooped down, its maw opening. To avoid its beating, I plunged beneath the frigid surface. Allowing its forceful wrath to propel me downward, I swam into the abyss to do the one thing I never believed I would do again.
Rescue the man who fucking spited me whenever he got the chance.
Caspian fucking Vayne.
CHAPTER 20
Unwanted Remembrance
