Part Of Your World

The Rescue

Alina dove under water toavoid the falling wood splinters, debris and objects that were beingtossed into the roaring sea. When she came back up in panic, the deckof the ship was practically gone and the whole vessel swayed andbegan to sink ever so slowly.

The General! She wascertain he did not survive the blast, but she needed to find him.Needed to make sure. And even if there was the slightest chance ...she couldn't bring herself to hope. With a wildly beating heart, sheswam for the side of the ship, her head hectically whipping around tosee if she could spot him on the surface, among the wood andwreckage. Nothing.

Just as she wanted to diveand look for him at the bottom of the merciless sea, which hadprobably become his death bed, she heard a splash and a desperategasp for air.

There! Not far from her,he had emerged and was trying to hold onto a broad plank. Alinabreathed a deep sigh of relief. But he wasn't out of danger just yet.

He was pale and coughing,still gasping for air. There was blood along his hairline and hisblack shirt was ripped along his shoulder, revealing a nasty,profusely bleeding gash.

Alina looked around forthe longboat, but it was nowhere in sight, his Grisha had probablyassumed the worst and left for the shore.

Unsure of what to do, shewanted to keep her distance and see, if he could make it on his ownwhilst already contemplating what she would say to him. "Excuse me,Sir. Do you need help?" It sounded a bit ridiculous. He'd probablydie of a heart-attack then and there if she approached him like thatout of seemingly nowhere.

Alina's eyes widened whenshe saw pale swirls of smoky shadows emerging from his hands,surrounding his body, which was still half-submerged in the water.She knew he was a Shadow Summoner, but could not have fathomed whatthat entailed. Something was off though, the wafting darknessseemed... weak. But it looked like it gave him a small spark ofstrength as he heaved himself up onto the plank, rolling onto hisback with a soft groan before he went completely slack, one arm lyingon his chest, the other hanging over the side in the water and hishead falling to the other side as he passed out.

Damn! What if he driftedoff towards the open sea?

Cautiously, she swamcloser and grabbed the plank right where her face was just mereinches from his unguarded, slack features, noticing a small spotunderneath his right eye, his full, parted lips... She could'vestared at him in awe forever, but she knew he needed a healer.

So she swam to the head ofthe wooden plank and began to push it towards the distant land, gladthat she made quick progress with the storm having died downconsiderably. The waves were still rolling strongly but not as bad asbefore.

She head no idea whichpart of the Ravkan shore she would reach, but she could already makeout a rural area with a soft beach and a small town to the right. Herplan was to bring him close to the port without being spotted.

But out of nowhere, avicious wave tipped the plank by some degrees and her General'sunconscious form slid soundlessly into the water. No! Alina doveafter him immediately and was glad to spot him right away. Shegrabbed him underneath his arms and dragged him up until they brokethe surface and his head tipped back onto her shoulder, his soft hairtouching her neck. She blushed furiously. He was so close. Hismotionless body against hers...

The plank had been carriedaway by the current in seconds so she was left with all but dragginghim the rest of the way.

She made for the beach,not too far off from the village in hopes that someone would find himsoon. Her strength was waning but she managed to push them bothhalfway onto the soft sand. Oh god, what if her father would find outwhere she was? Who she was with?

She maneuvered herhandsome stranger from her shoulder and carefully laid him down,their bodies still touching. She did not want to leave his side. Shewanted him to open his eyes, to see if her future was reflected inthem. What was he like? Did he have a family? A wife perhaps? Who wasshe to dream of getting to know him and the world he lived in?

The young mermaid, who atthis moment wished not to be one, leaned over the General andlovingly brushed a strand of hair from his forehead, her eyes goingto his parted lips, taking in his soft-breathing, marveling in thefact that he had survived and would live. Somewhere beyond the Fold.Without her. She felt like crying.

Slowly, his lips closedand he swallowed... so her gaze snapped up to his eyes, which werenow halfway open and he was looking directly at her, his brows drawntogether in a surprised frown.

Alina gasped...