To The Ones Who Can't Dream

chapter 67 - This Isn't The Cauldron

"Shit!" Amren yelled at the same time that Seren yelled, "Fuck!"

They both ran up to the door and Seren tried pulling on the handle. "It's not opening!" she told Amren.

She gave up the handle and instead placed her hand on the door and tried to melt the metal. But whatever spell that had been put on the door had been a strong one and even against Seren's magic, it wouldn't budge. She eventually gave up and kicked the stupid door, "Damn it!"

She stepped back and tried to quell her panic. The cold water had reached Seren and Amren's knees. Amren snatched the book out of Seren's hand and shoved it down the front of her Illyrian leathers. This way they didn't have to worry about losing it while they tried to figure their way out of this mess. "What do we do?" Amren asked.
"I don't know. The door is resistant to my magic for some reason."

Amren cringed as the cold water crept higher up their bodies. They both cast their gazes around frantically, trying to find any point of escape. Seren pulled her daggers out and started banging them onto the cracks in the rock. Maybe if they were lucky, one would be loose enough to break away. But they both soon realized that it was pointless. They had lived long enough to know when they wouldn't win a fight. When the water reached their shoulders, Amren reached out to grab Seren, "If we don't make it out of this alive, I want you to thank you for being my best friend. You've never left my side and I'm so grateful to have you in my life."

Grasping the back of Amren's head, Seren pulled their foreheads together, "I love you Amren. Even if this is the outcome, I wouldn't have changed a thing. You're my ride or die and you've never once let me down. Thank you."

Seren squeezed Amren's hand before she was forced to let go so they could tread water. As they neared the ceiling and Seren was forced with the idea of them drowning in here, she had to fight the memories of being stuck in the Cauldron. She had drowned in the Cauldron all of those years ago for creating the Book of Breathings. It was fitting that she would drown in this room trying to take the Book of Breathings back. Amren's body started to shake with what Seren assumed were memories of her time in the Cauldron.

Although they had both tried to get over their fear of cold water, they just couldn't. Nomatter what they tried, the phobia stayed with them. Seren had a feeling that they would never completely get past the horrible memories of them drowning in the depths of the Cauldron. Trying to control her breathing and reassure Amren, Seren said, "Amren this isn't the Cauldron. Yes, it's cold water. But this is not the same as the Cauldron. Everything is going to be alright."

Seren knew they wouldn't make it out of this alive, and she knew Amren had come to the same conclusion. But she hoped her words would offer her friend at least a little bit of comfort. They didn't have to make it any more painful than it needed to be. The water level was rising rapidly and there was only inches of space for their mouths to gasp for breath. And with one last deep breath, Seren's whole body was submerged into the icy liquid. The room was filled with water, no more air left to breathe.

All of the lights had gone out, so Seren couldn't see anything. She could feel Amren gripping her arm though. She tried to focus on the pressure from Amren's hand and let her breath out extremely slowly. Seren knew it would be the end for her when her breath ran out. But all too soon, she felt Amren's grip loosen and slide from her arm. She reached down to take a hold of Amren's middle before she could lose her in the darkness of the room.

Panic swarmed Seren's mind. She couldn't think straight. They were stuck in a dark room, completely filled with water. Amren was unconscious and Seren could see no way out. They were truly going to drown in this room and die. She glanced around frantically but of course, she couldn't see anything. It hadn't fully hit her until that moment that she was actually going to die.