Abyssal Reverie

Chapter 16: Say that you will

"And do you like the way it feels? Like fire from the heavens. Carving past the surface into you."

It was comforting waking up to the feeling of Vessel's arms around me. The smell of salt and sea enveloped my nostrils. I could hear the seagulls squawking overhead, no doubt traveling from one shore to the next to lay their eggs. I could feel the soft breaths from Vessel rising and falling underneath me. This was peaceful. The moments before I woke fully to remember the life or death venture we were on... I had to fight this gnawing uncertainty again. The longer I was aboard the Nazareth, the harder it was for me to fight the connection I gained with the ship.

My mind was still dancing with questions that I needed answers to. The soft embrace of a new horizon wrapped around me as I barreled toward the future. No matter where we were headed... I needed Vessel to trust me. To trust that no matter what Sleep offers me, this ship... This is where my home was now.

"You look so serious." Vessel's soft lilt had a hint of a laugh as I felt him stir beneath me. "I don't suppose you'll let me get off so easy, will you?" I could feel the laugh that started at his sides. The reverberations were a welcome change to our last few interactions. I could see the pearly whites of his teeth, the pointed canines cradling the soft skin of his lips.

"I know you can't answer all my questions... I know you have some of your questions and are desperate for the answer. But, Just..." I shifted my weight, feeling his body underneath mine move with me, the soft pressure of his hands on my sides grounding me where I lay. "But, I just need to know you... I need to know that you trust me. You brought me here for a reason... and it feels like everything is secret because you don't."

I could feel Vessel's deep breath, the rise and fall of his chest causing me to worry. "What do you know that you're not telling me, Selah?" He pushed me from him, causing me to sit up and meet his eyes. "You're keeping something from me. You have been since you came back with this necklace."

My stomach dropped, my conversation with Simon floating through my thoughts. I couldn't reveal my whole had, not when Vessel held the best cards in the deck. But, If I didn't give him something to work with, I wasn't sure that I would ever be able to have another moment like this.

"I heard you... You mentioned the Atlantic summoning table when I fought with II. Ever since I have been fighting to understand what that means, you continue to tell me there is only so much I need to know, but until you promise me that you're not going to sacrifice me on the open sea, I won't ever feel as though I can trust you." I folded my hands into my lap, the nervousness eeking out of my skin, causing me to shiver.

"So this is before the vial?" His voice pitched slightly, his lilt curling around every word like a serpent. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"You weren't exactly lining up to give me the answers I sought. But, I suppose that we both owe each other the truth. Even if we aren't able to disclose every emotion we are feeling." I could feel the guilt curling in my chest. That familiar call that we shared rose within me. I knew at that moment he was reaching out to see what I was thinking. To see if I was being truthful. In my panic, I could feel my mind racing; waves crashed into one another in a symphony of life. I begged myself to calm down... To push him out before he could see what I was thinking.

The call was growing larger, my eyes boring into his mask, pleading with him to stop, but as he approached my mind, I focused on the waves. Each of them ebbs and flows with a different energy. I could feel how boundless they were, the crests rising high above where my consciousness sat. I began to manipulate them. Pushing them higher and higher. Their elliptical pattern sent them well past where I stood. The swell rose and rose inside my mind until I could no longer feel the pull in my chest.