The Shallows

xxv

I break the surface and am thrust into chaos.

Beads of water sting my eyes and blur my vision. The world comes to me in waves of fractal brightness: starlit ice and heavy shadows, draped in a cloak of inky black. My lungs are screaming for air, but my wings are beating against the water, forcing me into a rapid ascent that sends droplets of foam scattering into the air.

For a moment, I drop, and my tail is submerged once more. Then I'm climbing, climbing up into an unyielding air that weighs down upon me as I alight on the nearby bank.