Queen of Summer's Ice (Book 2)

Chapter 10

     I had never been so weak before in my life. My muscles were screaming at me to stop, I had gotten a cramp in my right toe, and I just couldn't get enough air into my lungs - but none of that mattered. Not when land was this close. I could already imagine the relief it would be to finally be out of the water, to feel the solid earth beneath my feet.

     That hopeful relief is what kept pushing me to swim faster and faster. Nazim and I had ditched the piece of wood from the Summer Breeze that we had just been clinging to and swam as if we were racing each other. Which in a way it felt like we did. Nazim was slightly a few feet in front of me pumping his arms through the water with little effort. 

     What a show off. 

     Just wait until I get my powers back and I'm instantly filled with the lands energy again. I'll have my skin replenished and healthy, my nails won't be chipped anymore, my hair might still be a knotted mess but at least it won't be damaged. And best of all, every single splinter will finally get out from under my skin. I don't care if I have to burn every single one of them, I just want them out.

     Summer's getting closer and closer with each movement I make. I can see the vibrant greens of the tropical plants and the white clear sand that's beckoning us to safety. And as beautiful as seeing it might have been, I didn't recognize any of it though. But that goes without saying, I haven't been to every shore or outskirts of summer yet. I just haven't had the time to do some intense traveling after I've become Queen. But from the way Nazim was looking, he seemed to have known where to go. 

     And soon the miles of distance from the plain open waters turned into just a few more yards until we can feel the precious safe land again. All I kept repeating in my head to distract myself from my heavy limbs were, right arm, left arm, kick, kick, kick, right arm, left arm, kick, kick, kick.

     We were so close to land but my body was so tired that I just wanted the waves to float me there while I rested. But soon I'll have my powers again and I won't have to worry about being human any longer-

     I stopped mid stroke as the realization hit me. Being this close to land, I should have had my powers already. But I felt absolutely nothing. Before we left summer we were miles away from land, and I still had my powers. This shouldn't have been any different.

     Unless - in some odd unlucky way of ours - this wasn't summer.

     I tried coming up with any excuse as to how that couldn't be possible. That summer was the only part to have the ocean, so by all logical purpose any land that we saw should be summers. Or that I was so exhausted and drained that I needed to feel the actual land in order to regain my powers. But even though I wanted that to be true, I knew deep down it wasn't. As impossible as it may seem, this place we were swimming too wasn't summer. And come to think of it, the closer we got the more I could tell it wasn't. 

     First of all, it wasn't big enough. Yes, this land - from what I could tell - was filled and stretched in its vastness, and I couldn't tell how far exactly it ended. But it wasn't the summer lands. It wasn't even a land in our seasons. It was an island. Quickly I rushed towards Nazim, but he was swimming further in front of me, just out of my reach. I know he was eager to get back on land, but I had to tell him this wasn't our home. 

     "Nazim!" I yelled over the small waves that kept slapping my face. Of course he couldn't here me when his head was under water most of the time. I sighed in frustration and then took a big gulp of air in right before I plunged down below. Being under the surface use to be calming for me, the only sounds I would here were my heart beat, but now all that comes to mind when I have my head under water is the tsunami we got suck in. How it treated me like a rag doll. How I was completely useless.