Page 69 of The Souls Harvest
But today, my breath is sticky and doesn’t travel far from my mouth, warming my face with sickly purple puffs.
“July…”
Galen’s face fuels fears that were only temporarily forgotten but never extinguished.
“Hello?”
What if this is what Galen wanted?To lead me far away before I could even get close to that Rogue.
“Crimson, for fuck’s sake.” Tabitha’s slap on my cheek is a cry for help, and it hurts like hell. “Whatever is brewing in your little head, make it stop.” Her voice is a mixture of authority, wisdom and maternal apprehension.
My face stings where Tabitha struck, and it is growing warmer than my toes. My shoes are barely visible under the icy cold water that has already risen to my ankles and turned Galen’s trousers into a deeper shade of black.
At last, I look away from him to acknowledge Tabitha. “We’retaking on water,” I mumble.
“Thanks for stating the obvious.” Tabitha flicks me on my forehead before grabbing me by the shoulders. Her eyes are a deep, warm shade of brown, veined with thin red lines, like molten lava, and circled by lilac rims.
She sighs. “I didn’t come back to the island and risk my life only to die between Worlds. So, you keep our charming sleeping beauty alive, and I get us out of this uncomfortable situation. Understood?”
My head, hands, and whole body nod in agreement. This stranger appears to be the only one who can save us now. She seems to dislike the Chapter as much as I do and, like me, has a strong bond with Galen.
“He’s got more to lose than his life…” she adds before turning to the emergency control panel, which we never use because crossings are legal and thoroughly planned. “Now, where is that little bastard... Ah-ha! Found you.”
I fight the urge to check what Tabitha is doing when I hear the click of a switch. Instead, I kneel next to Galen. The water has almost reached his hips. My slippery hands and his drenched body, doubled in weight, don’t make it easy for me, but I lift him up against the wall to place my ear over his heart.
“He’s still alive.” I let out a relieved sigh.
“Good, now keep him that way.” Standing tall, legs spread like strong trees, half-submerged in water but sturdy like her desire to put as much distance between the pod and Roden, Tabitha remindsme of a captain leading her ship against a bunch of pirates. Only we are the ones facing the wrath of the so-called authorities.
Galen mumbles something unintelligible under the light touch of my fingers as I try to keep him from sliding dangerously close to the water level.
When I’m almost convinced the water pressure will crush us inside the pod before we reach Horigos’ shores, Tabitha’s voice booms. “Resurfacing in ten seconds, love. Hang in there, you did so good…” I’m unsure if she is talking to me or her beloved pod, but her words give me hope.
Nine… My heartbeat settles into the regular countdown in my head.Eight.
“Come on, Galen—” My hand slips on the wet surface of the giant egg-shaped ship when I try to touch his face. I end up on all fours, half-submerged by the water, watching Galen’s body slide down the wall.
I scramble back to my feet, coughing and spitting, and hurry to adjust Galen as if he’s an abandoned doll, but at least with his head out of the water.
The cold touch of my soaking-wet clothes against my skin doesn’t bother me as much as the sound of someone laughing.
I can’t remember when my hair became untied, pooling over my shoulders into a dark mass of waves. My mouth is stretched, or maybe it’s just the salt water drying on my lips. That laugh again.
My laugh.
“Sweetheart, if you’ve decided to go allrogueon us, at least allowme to stop this wreck first. I didn’t have time to upgrade to the latest version,” Tabitha chuckles.
“Five…” I look up at Tabitha, giggling. I’m still shaking with euphoria; my hair is stuck on my cheeks like strings of liquorice. I must look like a wild animal who has just escaped her predator.
Tabitha nods. There is a whisper of uncertainty in her eyes, but I think she understands my behaviour when she smiles, “Hold on tight...”
I search for Galen’s hands underwater and grab them the moment the pod stops for an infinite second, as if held back by a long elastic still attached to Libera. I blink. Once. Twice.
What if I open my eyes again, and someone pulls us back to the shore?My breath turns to oil in my lungs.
Tabitha is frantically striking a button on the control panel so hard that I worry the tip of her finger will snap.
Something in the water moves. Galen’s fingers flutter in mine.
