Phaeryl could feel the pressure; everywhere crushing her chest, forced its way into her thoughts, drowned out everything but the frantic, broken rhythm of panic. She thrashed uselessly, twisting her body in the current with no sense of direction
Just as the darkness began to creep in,
Something firm and unyielding had grabbed her.
What she could make out to be an arm had locked around her waist, pulling her sharply upward. The force of it cut through the chaos, dragging her through the water with precision and strength that didn’t falter.
She broke the surface with a violent gasp, coughing as water burned its way out of her lungs. Her body convulsed, clinging instinctively to the only solid thing anchoring her.
Xhanes.
She didn’t even realize she had gripped him until he shifted sl
