Page 36 of Taken By the Crab King of Atlantis

1-2-3-4. Beethoven starts in my head.

I should have played piano more. I should have traveled more. If I had my time again, that’s what I would do.

If I had my time again…

I don’t panic. I don’t think of drowning. I think of the past few years of my life, and how they’ve felt so much like this. Holding my breath while the waters close over.

My eyes fling open.

My lungs are starting to burn, and my limbs flail, desperate for air. I can't swim, but I can kick myself up off the ground. It’s not elegant, but it pushes me to the top of the bubble, where I take one last gasp of air before I fall again.

KARKINOS

I see Marina first, although it’s the bond with Yen that calls to me. The fear in Marina’s voice as she calls Yen’s name wrenches in my chest.

I dive, powerful arms slicing through the water, reaching for my granddaughter. But when I reach her and rip the cable ties that bind her, she pushes me away.

“Yen!” she cries. She points to the flood bubble, and my heart stops.

Yen’s eyes are already closed, her white dress and hair floating freely in the water around her. Her face is serene.

In the deep water beyond the dome, a submarine’s lights flash. Corvin, no doubt, escaping.

He must think he’s brilliant, putting Yen into the safety system that will protect the city from flooding. Forcing me to choose.

If I save Yen, the city I founded and built with Yvette will flood. People will die. Children. The elderly. With the magic fading, the city might never recover.

This is my granddaughter’s home, filled with people who love and trust me. Even if I manage to save both Yen and the city, I will always know I made this choice. I will always have to live with the cost.

The press of duty that has sustained me for these past 200 years weighs on me, and for a moment I’m paralyzed, caught between the past and the future.

But not for long.

I swim forward and punch the glass door of the overflow chamber.

It shakes with a dull shudder and splinters. Water floods out of the smaller dome into the larger one. I punch more glass aside, until I’m able to rip the wheel controlling the locking system out completely, leaving a huge hole.

The water around me is waist high and rising as the flood system shuts down.

She’s limp in my arms.

I shake her gently, calling her name.

She remains still. Despair fills my chest. I regret that I have squandered what little time we had together. "My love," I whisper, closing my eyes.

I am too late. But despite my aching muscles and king’s burdens, I am still a god. All is not lost.

I reach for my power.

I haven't accessed it in a long time, and I’m surprised it’s still there at all. It’s a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach, like a glow. It stirs sluggishly, reluctantly, but I push to make it mine. I open my eyes and see it. A tenuous thread of glow reaches out to the woman in my arms. The sacrifice is not complete, but the connection between us is already partly formed.

I breathe out slowly, pushing power through the tenuous bond towards her. I hold nothing back. My own glow subsides as I push the power into Yen.

She stirs, and I push harder.

Her eyes blink open, and relief floods me.

She coughs, lifts her head, and puts her arms around my neck. “Marina?” She looks around, brow creased in worry.