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I’d ask more about that later if ever given the chance. “Okay, I need you to listen and try it. I’m going to walk around to the other side so when you lie back, you can extend your hand, and I’ll pull you toward me.”
Her sinking had slowed, but she clasped her hands in front of her chest.
I didn’t want to rush her—that would only make her freak out again—but I needed her to move. She was waist-deep, and it would only get worse from here.
I hurried to the side and pushed myself into the hedge to get around. A vine wrapped itself around my finger, sniffing me like a dog. I pushed away the strangeness and tapped my foot on the edge of the sand, where it appeared solid. Even though I was certain I could get out if I slid in, I didn’t want to risk it. Curry and the others could come and cut off my head.
The crowd would love it.
My boot met solid sand, so I crossed, moving close. With my back pressed against the hedges, something inside me stirred, giving my blood a kick. It felt similar to when I’d manipulated the vines around me. It must be my magic, and I wished like hell I could channel it.
I made it to the other side and damn near cried. Finding the edge where the ground started to sink, I realized that, from this side, she was farther than five feet away, but this was our best bet, especially if Curry and the others showed up any second, as I expected.
I removed the bow from my back. “Lie back, and I’m going to lean over with my bow. Grab it, and I’ll pull you to me slowly.” Any jerky movements would risk the sand suctioning her under.
She nodded and closed her eyes as she leaned back. Then she exhaled so her body didn’t have the trapped air to help her float.
Bloody summer icecaps. “Inhale deep,” I commanded. I got on all fours and held out the bow, but missed her hand. The top half of my body tumbled forward, and my hand slid into the sand. Dirt circled it. With my knees, I pulled myself out while maintaining my grip on the bow.
Moire’s top half had already begun to sink, and she gulped a breath.
We were running out of time, and I could see the fear taking hold once more.
I gritted my teeth, keeping a firm hold on the bow, and inched closer to the loose dirt. With as much calm as I could muster, I slowly extended my hand and the bow toward her. The quicksand was already at her ears—she’d go under in seconds.
Her hand reached out again, and she missed the wood but clasped the wire. It would have to do.
Curling my legs underneath me, I used them for leverage as I reached out my other hand, snaked it around the bow, and began pulling her toward me.
When her head lifted from the water, my eyes burned with tears of relief until I noted blue liquid dripping from her fingers into the sand.
Blood.
The wire had cut into her hand.
“Readjust your grip real fast,” I ordered and leaned forward. She had enough give in the weapon to grasp the wood on the other end.
Then she started to sink again. “Alina!”
I tugged harder, needing her to feel me reeling her in. Despite my arms screaming, I groaned, “I’ve got you.”
The light brightened around me, and the heat intensified as I continued to pull her toward me. Sweat slicked my body, and beads of it rolled down my face into my eyes. I’d hit two obstacles within minutes of coming here, and part of me wanted to lie down and rest. But I couldn’t give up. Not with Moire so close to death.
“You’re doing it,” Moire sighed, her relief evident, but my arms trembled harder between the strain and the heat.
I gritted my teeth as Curry shouted, “We’re almost out!”
Of course, they’d be coming right when I almost had her freed. My head swam as my arms struggled to keep pulling. When I had her within two feet of safety, my legs gave out, and I tumbled forward.
My face hit the ground, and sand filled my mouth and nose with a grotesque, earthy taste. I hadn’t taken a breath since I’d been winded from exertion, and my lungs were screaming.
This was it. The way I’d die. For some reason, I thought it’d be less melodramatic.
Not wanting Moire to be the last person I remembered, I conjured Kieran’s face in my mind. I focused on his sculpted cheeks, full lips, and commanding presence, and the way he tasted of cinnamon and chai. The one regret I had was not throwing caution to the wind and enjoying his body. My heart broke in a way I didn’t understand how to describe, even worse than it had in my memory as Alina.
My blood burned and came alive.
Something hoisted my legs, and my lower half was tugged backward. Suddenly, my body emerged from the sand. I inhaled deeply, and sand filled my mouth, but oxygen mixed within it and filled my lungs. My blood pulsed, and I realized I still had the bow in my hands.
