The Fallen by Ali Winters

Author:Ali Winters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rising Flame Press

NIVIAN

THE STINGING PAIN of cold surrounded her, kicking every last bit of air from her lungs. Nivian kicked her feet and reached for the surface.

Then she stilled.

Gaia, she wanted to fight, wanted to swim away and save herself, to fight this man she had come to care for, had come to… love.

But her sisters. Her mother. Finn. Every other Watcher. There was no way to tell how far Silas would go in retribution for her defiance. They didn’t deserve this fate. And only she had been marked.

To die now or later, it didn’t matter, her life was on a timer. The only thing she could do to save them all, was to let Caspian win.

She stopped fighting completely and let the weight of her water soaked cloak pull her down, down, down, into the dark depths of the river.

Nivian’s lungs burned like wildfire as she held her breath, refusing to let the water in yet fighting her body’s instinct to gasp for air.

The moon’s watery light pierced the surface, sending beams to illuminate the specks of debris floating and swaying peacefully before her eyes.

As she sank deeper, the pressure weighed her down. A few bubbles filtered through her lips.

Fear gripped her and pulled her further into an unmoving prison. Mercifully, the cold slowly seized every bit of feeling from her body, numbing the pain. Her energy quickly waned as the painful chill seeped its way into every inch of her, down to the marrow of her bones. Would she freeze or drown?

Her eyes grew heavy, sliding closed. She tried to open them, but they refused to obey her commands.

Nivian opened her mouth to call out for Caspian, to beg him to save her, even knowing what he’d been sent to do.

But only a flood of water greeted her as a flurry of bubbles danced their way to the surface. Her eyes snapped open. Helpless. She was helpless, struggling to move, to breathe, to think… helpless to change her fate.

A shadow moved above in the shape of a man. Caspian stood on the water just above her head. He bent at the waist and reached a hand toward her. She didn’t understand. Pulling her out now would… save her.

Her lungs screamed, threatening to explode as she only took in more water. Nivian wanted to reach for him. She wanted to live for at least one more day.

It was all she could do to force every thought down and away, save for one. Do not fight. Do not fight. Do not fight.

A wave of disorientation rolled over her as her body began to rise. Caspian’s magic surrounded her, pulled her toward the surface. He had to know that she was dying but not yet dead. That if he pulled her from the water now, she would still live.

No.

Nivian struggled against him, but her body refused to fight. Her mind and her heart knew what her fate had to be, though it went against every instinct built into every cell of her body.

She pushed what little remaining power she had at him, loosening his hold.

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