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“Then whether or not you accomplish whatever ridiculous feat you are attempting, I will drag you from that water and carry you home. No exceptions.”

Thicket nodded. If she failed, she wasn’t even sure she would be in a state to complain. The thought sent nerves tumbling down her spine for the first time since she had the idea.

“Pick something to focus on,” Lotta said. “When you start to panic, cling to that thing. Let it calm your mind and relax your body. Just like falling asleep.”

Thicket nodded, more to reassure herself, and stepped closer to the water. She looked back over her shoulder, taking in the presence of her friends. Lotta’s smile was small but warm. Marcellus’ glower remained, his fingers drumming impatiently against his bicep, but he didn’t make any move to stop her. And Elian… She could tell he was worried by the muted color of his eyes. Yet he still offered her a reassuring nod.

Their presence gave her enough resolve to take her first step into the water.

The water was surprisingly warm, caressing her skin with gentle, lapping ripples. She crouched, letting her knees skim the surface. Water seeped into her clothes as she angled her back to the swell of the lagoon and settled into the water. Her hair fanned around her, sprawling across the surface as though it was nothing more than a pillow.

Just like falling asleep, Thicket reminded herself, closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing, not the creatures moving beneath her, their barbed tentacles drawing ever closer.

The first sting came. Thicket tensed but exhaled, forcing the tension to slip away.

“You’re doing great,” Elian said, peering over her as another sting jabbed at her skin.

Thicket took in a large, deep breath right as Elian’s face was devoured by the undulating water. She had been pulled under. Her chest tightened, heart beating, beating to a panicked rhythm.

Relax. Remember.

Let the water whisk you away.

A numbness spread across her body. Her fingers and toes tingled, yet unlike the dream of darkness, she knew if she tried she could still wriggle them. She resisted the urge, not wanting to test the jellyfish’s patience.

A strange wave swept through her body. A sense of weightless dizziness. The sensation moved behind her eyes in a kaleidoscope of colors. They merged, piecing together shade by shade until a picture swirled into existence.

A sheet of picture perfect sky hung above her, permeated only by the clouds, trudging across with their wispy edges. A shadow fell over her, followed by a grinning face framed by short auburn hair. “I got you.”

Thicket launched onto her feet and tapped the girl’s shoulder, giggling. “Now you’re it!” She took off, tearing down a hill covered with vines sporting brilliant, star shaped flowers.

“Oh, you are so going down!” The girl charged after her.

Thicket glanced over her shoulder. The girl’s shoulder lengthed hair had grown, now cascading down to her mid-back. Her foot caught on one of the vines clinging to the hill. The world toppled over and she tensed, waiting for the impact. It never came.

“Are you okay?” She glanced up to see a pair of concerned blue eyes blinking back. She couldn’t truly make out the features of his face beyond those bright eyes, not even the color of his messy hair.

“You saved me!”

The boy's cheeks and ears tinged pink. “I-it was nothing,” he said, helping her straighten.

The girl bounded up to them. “There you are! We’ve been waiting for you. Now we can play a proper game of tag.” She smacked the boy’s arm. “You’re it!” She ran off, giggling. Like the boy’s hair, his features seemed to be indiscernible, shifting from short muted locks to long, vibrant ones.

The boy didn’t run after the girl immediately, seeming to hesitate.

Thicket grabbed his hand, grinning. “Should we get her together?”

The boy’s shy blue eyes finally met hers, shining as he nodded vigorously.

“Then let’s go!” Thicket tugged the boy after her and together, they charged after their friend.

“No fair,” the girl complained, but she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

The image in front of her rippled. She was no longer racing after her friends, but barreling into the arms of a man with light brown hair and the same vividly green eyes as Thicket.

“Dad!”

“There’s my darling girl.” Her stomach swooped as her father lifted her up, swinging her body up and down as he spun her in a circle. The world twirled around her, the purple hills and faces of her friends blurring together in a cacophony of color.