Savia's Heart [Sequel to Bastian's Song] [HIATUS]

[ 1 ]

[ Eryn ]

"Man overboard!"

The shout galvanized the crew, and boots hit the deck with urgency. Eryn looked up from her star charts and shot to her feet. Finally, some action! She gave a whoop as she ran out of her cabin and onto the deck. Above her, the sky flashed with lightning. No rain yet, but everything pointed toward one heck of a storm. It would make the waves swell and challenge her dominance over her own ship when it was ready to unleash its fury.

Eryn looked forward to the challenge. 

She scanned the waters off the starboard side, where all of her crew were pointing feverishly and shouting. Her brows drew together when she realized she couldn't see anything but the navy waters of the ocean. Just as she was about to find out who thought it was funny to yell out a prank in the middle of their shift, a strong wind whipped through the air. Cold slapped into her, bringing a shiver of something that was more than just nature. Immediately, Eryn wished for a thick cloak to wrap around herself.

Above the ship, the dark storm clouds ripped apart and revealed the inky darkness of the night sky. There, in the middle of the cloud-free circle in the sky, the rounded moon shone in all her glory. Moonlight spread over the ocean until a single, dark figure became apparent, floating in the water. Eryn shook herself out of her stupor and climbed up on the railing of the ship. Without a second thought, she dove off the ship in a perfect arch. Behind her, the shouts of the crew filled the air anew, and though she could not hear what they were saying, she knew what it most likely was. Sailors loved to curse, especially when Eryn was involved. 

Though the chill of the air had made her want to don more clothing, it was nothing compared to the vicious cold of the ocean water. It wrapped around her entire body and every bit of her will was required to hold onto her precious air. Eryn broke the surface to inhale deeply and make sure she was still heading in the right direction. With a determined stroke of her arms, she set off on her rescue mission. Though the figure had looked farther away, Eryn found it within a minute. As she gasped in a breath, floating with the waves, she wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the person and hoped they were not already dead. Her fingers slid down their throat, and found a heart beat. 

She sighed with relief and moved dark hair out of the way until she could see their face. Pale skin practically glowed in the light of the moon, and severely chapped lips told her that the man in her arms had been afloat for some time. Eryn checked that he was breathing and then leaned back into the water, using herself as a flotation device to keep his head above the water more consistently. 

With only one arm free, as the other was wrapped around his chest, she struggled to make her way back to the ship. Above them, the clouds reclaimed the sky, filling in the hole that had revealed the moon and the man to the ship. When the last sliver of sky was covered, a mighty roar of thunder announced the arrival of the rain. Cold droplets fell in sheets, instantly dropping the temperature of the air by several degrees and sending another shiver through Eryn.

Her arm grew tired. Sweat dripped over her brow to mingle with the icy rain, clouding her vision. Her breathing grew labored. A splash drew her attention. There, a rope from the crew! Eryn gripped it with all the strength she had left. She hauled it closer to herself and struggled to wrap it around the man she had dragged all this way. With a hard tug on the rope, and a shout up to the others, Eryn released the body and watched him get pulled up onto the deck of the ship. 

Another shout alerted her to the second throw of rope, and she swam to it. A part of her brain focused on counting the beats of her heart, and she was alarmed to find it had slowed far more than she had bargained on. With a growing sense of urgency, she wrapped the rope around herself, but she could not get her fingers to hold onto it well enough to make the knots she needed. 

She cursed the sailor who had tossed her an untied rope, but it was interrupted when a wave broke over her head. Eryn gasped as she was slammed into the side of the ship. A temporary daze cost her dearly as another wave reared up, stronger than the last. If she didn't hurry, she wouldn't have much to worry about after all. Eryn braced herself against the water as the swell lifted and then dropped her, without breaking. 

Eryn used her feet to support herself against the wood of the ship and then gripped the rope tight with both hands. She kicked off the side of the ship and swung in a wild arc through the air, twisting herself up in the rope as many times as she could. If her insane plan didn't work, she was going to pay for it—possibly with her life. Rain made the rope slick, and wind shoved at her body, urging her to let go. 

She screamed, letting out all the pent up adrenaline that rampaged through her body. The crew pulled on her rope. Under her arms, the rope tightened and jerked her back toward the deck. Eryn hit the side of the ship again, and the cold water of another swell engulfed her feet. When the water pulled away, so did her right boot. 

Then she was up and over the railing of the ship. Someone threw a blanket over her and rubbed their hands over her arms. She focused on her breathing until it slowed a bit, and her hands tingled with feeling once more. "How is he?"

"He's alive. We moved him to your quarters. You ready to stop lounging around?"

Eryn laughed. "Remind me to kick your ass later, Sven."

"I think I'll conveniently forget to remind you, if you don't mind. I'm too busy doing all the actual work round here."

She sat up and managed a half-hearted glare at him. "If you weren't so utterly necessary to my life, I'd have thrown you into the ocean a long time ago."

The bearded red head grinned and saluted her. "Aye aye, Captain."

Eryn stood up, and her knees threatened to leave her if she tried to do anything like that again. She did her best to hobble to her quarters, but Sven's help was the only reason she made it safely back inside. He closed her door behind her and left her alone with the stranger they had rescued. As she stripped off her soaked clothing, Eryn wondered where he had come from.

They hadn't seen another ship in weeks, and there had been no wreckage surrounding him in the water. Either he had been drifting too long, which would make his survival improbable, or he had not come from a ship. Which begged more questions. She leaned over the bed and moved his hair out of his eyes again. 

"Who are you, I wonder?"

His eyelids fluttered open, and he looked at her with the most stunning eyes she had ever seen. The liquid gold color of his iris ensnared her. For a moment, everything seemed to slow down around them. Then, he closed his eyes and returned to his sleep.

Eryn let out a slow breath. 

"Well, I hope you sleep well. When you wake up, you have a lot of explaining to do."  

Merry Christmas! My gift to you all is an extra chapter this week (cause I'm impatient and I wanted to share it with you.) 

Well, that was a surprise! Who could this mysterious dark-haired man be, I wonder??

What do you think of Eryn? Is she too impulsive? Probably. I love her, and I hope you all will too.