his flower queen (nikolai lantsov)

Revelation

Water rushed into her eyes, ears and mouth. Sucking in the salt water, attempting to breathe in oxygen. She splashed her arms about trying to break free from the darkness detaining her. As she waved about madly, she hit her hand on a wall in front of her and proceeded to smack her hand on it, knocking with as much force as she could muster against the water. The salt pricked at her eyes even though it was closed and it dried her throat up quickly. All she heard was her own muffled screaming. 

"Let me out!" Kaida cried, but all she could hear were burbles. 

Tears were washed away as she continued to pound against the wall. Turning around to check if there was an exit behind was a failure as the wall surrounded her. 

"Stop struggling and focus, Kaida." His voice was heard clearly through a speaker. 

Kaida rasped for air but water kept filling up her lungs. She frantically shook her head, her body following the movement. Through her blurry vision, she saw that her feet were tied up by shackles. She clawed against them, having no more ideas on how to get out of the tiny tank but she found it was futile. Her movements slowed down, her eyes grew heavy and her lungs were full of water. This is it. Finally, no more suffering. 

But before she could completely fade away, two hands reach out for her and pulled her out. The sunlight burned her eyes. People shouting and paddling to the shore along with the early morning sounds of crickets echoed. 

The hands that grabbed her weren't soft and rough like she was anticipating them to be. Instead they were calloused and the person's grip was gentle. 

"You're safe," his smooth and confident voice whispered tenderly in her ear. He placed her down onto the beach as he looked down at her with worry. As he came into focus, she saw that it was Sturmhond, but his eyes, that were the only visible features of his face, were hazel, not muddy green. 

"Your eyes," Kaida lifted her hand to cup his face to get a closer look, but he removed his face from her touch and turned away.

"Tamar, could you check on Kalista?" Sturmhond asked. Tamar ran over to Kaida as Sturmhond left to go back to the lake they crashed into. The Hummingbird was ruined to bits that it looked as though it never even existed. Tamar felt Kaida's pulse but she was surprisingly doing well internally. Externally, she had a huge gash on her cheek, swelling on her eyebrow and splinters in her scarred hands. 

Kaida got up and stared at Sturmhond, curiously. "Has he always had hazel eyes?" 

"Now's not the time to admire his eyes, Kalista." Tamar answered. 

Kaida was going to explain herself, but Alina and one of the crew members were having a very loud argument nearby. Sturmhond trudged back to them siding with Alina, "She's right. I should have given her more warning, and I shouldn't have gone looking after the nest." 

Then Sturmhond removed his hat and goggles. Kaida's jaw dropped wide open. 

"What the hell is this?" said Mal, his voice low and dangerous. For once Malyen Oretsev, I agree with you. What the hell is this? 

Sturmhond sighed and ran a hand over his face - a stranger's face. He took a glimpse towards Kaida. It almost looked like he was ashamed of this revelation to her. 

His chin had lost its pronounced point. His nose was still slightly crooked, but nothing like the busted lump it had been. His hair was no longer ruddy brown but dark gold, neatly cut to military length, and those strange, muddy green eyes were now a clear, bright hazel like she just saw. He looked completely different, but he was unmistakably Sturmhond.