Chapter 34On the other side of the portal, as Mavis kicked and clawed through freezing water toward the surface, she ran out of breath.
I can't make it.
The bumpy trip through the portal had shaken everyone's hands free, so they were all on their own. Stanza was far above, silhouetted in sunlight. Jonah swam after her, climbing fast. Mavis was last and farthest behind.
Oh God, this is it.
As the last bit of air drained from her lungs, Mavis slowed down. She concentrated hard on not inhaling, though she knew it would happen sooner or later.
I don't want to die.
Mavis stopped swimming completely...then erupted in a flurry of motion, arms windmilling and legs whipsawing. It was a last-ditch, panicked struggle to reach the surface, an all-out act of desperation.
And it fell short.
