Page 93 of The Song of the Void

Rei stood before the pool of water for a moment before diving in and disappearing, Voidtome in hand.

He’s not going to come back…He’s going to drown trying to save me.

The Water Spirit watched silently, and she somehow stopped my bleeding without even looking at me, but I was far too weak to move much. The water didn’t stir or ripple for hours.

She sent him to his death, and she knows it. She’s just watching him struggle needlessly.

I had no idea the Water Spirit would be so malicious.

“He’s not struggling, not yet,” she said, focused on the pool.

What, did she read my mind?

“I’ve been watching you for a while now…A Siren who, even after years of being trapped on land, was still foolish enough to befriend a Human and fall in love with a Mourner. Honestly, it goes against everything the world taught you.”

I’m tired of stewing in hatred and distrust just because of where someone was born or what they are. Ash, Rei, Calinia, even Shaddan…We all worked together in some ways to get this far.

The Water Spirit actually smiled. “Isn’t that lovely? And just how the Spirits and the god of time always intended our world to be.”

Shaddan and Calinia finally woke up around the fourth hour of waiting. They settled for quietly conversing, leaning against the cave wall to regain some of their energy. I didn't have the strength to look at them, but I was glad they were alive.

The Water Spirit began to sing. Her voice was ancient, ethereal, like meeting the smoothest river in the midst of a silent wood, letting the refreshing coolness run over one’s fingers. It almost sent me drifting away into a blissful darkness, but I forced myself to stay awake. Focusing on the tiny rocks digging into my back helped a bit. Somewhere off in the distance, the song of dripping water melded with the Spirit’s voice to become a comforting balm to my soul, as I willed Reiven to come back to me.

Still, not a single ripple broke the tension of the water’s surface. It had been several hours, around the time when Reiven’s gift would wear off, when the Water Spirit stopped singing. “My my. Isn’t he full of surprises?”

When she had first spoken with Reiven, she came off as cold, almost joyful at our misery. But now…there was a twinge of pride, and a color of gratefulness to her voice.

The fuzziness in my mind slowly cleared, dark spots of confusion fading into clarity. That dull pain in my chest disappeared as if it had never been there. I managed to sit up, bewildered at the sudden lack of a stab wound in my chest.

Did he do it?

If Rei was at the bottom of the ocean, in the depths of the Abyssal Deep, it would only be a matter of time⁠—

“Do all mortals like to play with time, whether that power belongs to you or not?” the Spirit asked coolly.

I ignored her, dragging my pathetically weak body towards the pool. I dipped my hand into the water and murmured his name. If I mustered enough strength to force myself over the edge, then down into the water, maybe I could save him.

But the Spirit motioned for me to wait, watching by my side with a surprisingly pleased look on her face. “Don’t interfere. You trust your lover to make it back to you alive, don’t you?”

Was she mocking me? I trusted Reiven with my whole heart, but it simply wasn’t possible for him to still be trying to return. We waited, and at some point I began to wonder when she was going to admit to me that he was gone. The pain in my heart would rebound with an unbearable vengeance.

“I’m angry at him, you know,” I muttered.

The Spirit tried to look barely interested. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” My eyes burned with tears. “If he wasn’t such a selfish prick, he’d probably already be walking out of this place with the Voidtome. He didn’t even give a damn that I’d rather die so he could live, and he just had to make an unattainable deal with a Spirit to save me.”

“It sounds to me that you both are equal parts selfish.”

Out of nowhere, the pool rippled. I craned my neck to find the source of the disturbance, perhaps a stray droplet of water falling from the ceiling, but the ripples grew and multiplied.

A hand, black as coal, broke the surface and grabbed for dry land. Soon, the rest of him followed, as Reiven dragged himself out of the water, panting like a dog.

I seized his arm and helped him out, pulling him into a suffocating hug, gaping in disbelief that he was there. His chest heaved against mine through the clothing he had been wearing beneath his armor. Water dripped from his hair into his eyes, so I pushed his bangs out of his face and cupped his cheeks. “How?” I whispered, pure relief rushing through me. “How did you make it? My gift should have only lasted a few hours!”

Rei gave me a pained smile and lifted his hand to show me the ring glowing silver around his finger. It shattered in a poof of glittery dust. His voice trembled. “Ash saved us again. He always saves us, even when he’s not here, doesn’t he?”

My emotions couldn’t decide how to absorb what he said, that he had actually made it to the Abyssal Deep and used Ash’s ring to pause time around him to keep my gift from expiring. I flung my arms around him, forgoing all pretense and letting my tears flow freely.