Free Web NovelChapter 84: Chapter 84
Trigger Warning: Drowning!!!
The surface of the pond rippled once, then stilled, the moonlight painting a pale sheen across the murky water but beneath it was chaos.
The icy water was a brutal shock to her system, forcing her body to go still during the first few seconds of submersion. The cold crept in swiftly, threading its way deep into her bones, paralyzing her limbs and clouding her thoughts with numbness, but those few seconds were all her attacker needed to regain his bearings. His dagger gleamed dully in the dark as he swung it at her once more. His movements were slightly hindered by the resistance of the water, slower than they would have been on land but not slow enough.
Circe was helpless to stop the blade from plunging into her abdomen. A searing, blinding pain exploded through her body, knocking the breath from her lungs and sending a violent tremor through her limbs.
Her fingers instinctively grazed the hilt now embedded in her stomach, her blood blooming out in thick crimson clouds that coiled into the water like smoke. Her lungs burned for air. She needed to reach the surface. She needed to breathe.
But he wasn’t finished. He swam closer, his shadow looming larger in the darkness. His hand clamped down on her shoulder with bruising force, holding her in place when she tried to swim back out. Holding her down, drowning her. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Circe writhed in his grip, her limbs flailing wildly through the thick, silty depths. Her wet dress was heavy, making it harder for her to move. Pondweed tangled around her ankles and arms, the slippery strands winding tight like ropes, dragging her further down into the cold. Her fingernails scraped against his forearms desperately, tearing at his flesh, but she couldn’t find purchase.
Bubbles escaped her mouth and nose in quick streams, floating upward in lazy spirals toward the distant shimmer of moonlight above.
Her wound throbbed with a deep, pulsing agony as her blood continued to seep into the pond, painting the water red. Her lungs screamed in protest, the burning inside her chest, growing more unbearable with every second she remained below the surface.
It would be so easy to give up now, a dark voice whispered in her mind. To stop struggling, to let her body go limp and slip into the cold dark embrace of the depths. For one terrifying, tempting moment, she wanted to surrender. It would be easier and less painful. She was so tired. Her strength waned rapidly, slipping away from her like sand through fingers. Her heart thundered inside her ribcage, each beat more erratic than the last.
Then her brother’s face flashed in her mind. His tear-streaked cheeks, his wide, frightened eyes. His small hands clutching at her gown.
She was going to die. The realization struck her like a blow, solid and cold, heavier than the water surrounding her. She was going to die here, in the dark, and Rowen would be left alone in Lamora, surrounded by the same monsters that destroyed their entire family. All the sacrifices she had made, all the pain she had endured, would mean nothing. Who would protect him? Who would love him like she did?
No, she couldn’t die. Not yet. Not while he still needed her.
She had to live for him. She had to fight, even if her last breath was stolen in the attempt. She had to try and if all hope was truly lost, she would make sure her attacker shared the same horrible fate he condemned her too.
Circe summoned the last dregs of her strength, curling her fist tight around nothing and drawing it back with every ounce of rage and desperation left in her. She punched him hard in the throat. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
The effect was immediate. He recoiled, sputtering violently. His grip loosened as he instinctively clutched his throat, inhaling sharply and taking in a mouthful of water. His eyes widened in panic as he began to choke, his body writhing uncontrollably.
Circe didn’t wait. Her vision swam, her hands trembled from blood loss, but she reached down and grasped the hilt of the dagger protruding from her abdomen. A cry, silent in the water, tore through her as she yanked it free. The agony that followed was mind-shattering, but she welcomed it. Pain meant she was still alive.
Fueled by fury and the need for retribution, she turned the blade on him and slashed a jagged line across his throat. The water around them was stained red with blood. He jerked violently, hands clawing at the open wound as crimson gushed in thick streams from his neck.
Watching him bleed filled her with a savage sense of fulfillment. It tasted like retribution, like justice.
Right then, she felt like something reborn. A dark avenging spirit forged in pain and fury, even though she was dying as well. Even though her own blood now flowed faster, her body slipping further into weakness.
She tried to swim upward, toward the pale shimmer of the moonlight, but her limbs refused to obey. They felt like dead weights, dragging her down. Her body was completely drained and death was just by the corner.
She was sinking to the bottom but so was her attacker.
The surface seemed impossibly far now.
She closed her eyes, just like her father had told her in the past. Death was easier when one didn’t see it coming.
But instead of completely darkness, she saw faint glowing threads of light. They beckoned her closer, whispering gentle coaxing words. In her mind’s eye she saw herself reaching out for the glowing threads even though she knew her real hands stayed unmoving by her sides.
She grasped one thread and it pulsed in her grip. Then slowly it seeped into her skin, vanishing beneath the surface. The moment it entered her, warmth bloomed through her cold, dying body. She did it again, and again, until all the threads had been absorbed, leaving her with a strange sensation, like embers glowing just beneath her flesh.
Just as her body touched the muddy bottom of the pond, her eyes flew open. A gasp ripped from her lips as strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her upward with urgent strength.
