Cursed (Enchanted Gods #1) - K.K. Allen Page 0,72

until darkness begins to take over my sight. My energy is depleted. My chances of holding on are slimming to zero. So I do the only thing I can think of and release my will and float freely within the lulling quiet of the water until an eerie peace fills my dreamlike state.

What makes us most powerful can also kill us.

I imagine Rose talking to me now, her stark warnings making complete sense. I should have listened. I should never have gone to the party. There is obviously so much I don’t know about myself or my powers—and clearly, there are things I cannot control.

I grab hold of my emerald. My last hope. I attempt to squeeze it tightly, but my strength is gone, my power drained. Feeling utterly lifeless, I float away into my own consuming darkness.

Not even my magic can save me now.

I’m starting to see things.

A shiny blue fin passes by me. I recognize it from my dream. Only this time, I see more of it. The V-shaped fin is a beautiful iridescent sort of blue, sparkling when it catches a glint of light from the moon. It’s attached to a long tail, narrow at the bottom and curving in until it meets the body of the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. She has long red hair, a creamy complexion, and sparkling green eyes.

I’m mesmerized by her beauty. As she swims closer, her hypnotic eyes hold mine, nulling all my thoughts of death. Then she scoops me into her strong arms and carries me up where the water meets the air. Maybe there’s hope for me yet.

We’re nearing the surface of the water when a strange black shadow covers the light from the moon. The girl’s arms slip away, and no matter how desperate I am for that small taste of air, I’m sinking beneath another wave.

My lungs burn. My muscles are weak, and just as I give up all hope, arms dip into the water above me and yank me to the surface. I scream, causing water to bubble around me as I use the last of the air in my lungs.

Strong arms tighten around my waist and pull me to the water’s surface. I’ve swallowed so much liquid, it feels as though I’m still drowning, but the gentle breeze and the sound of waves crashing around me tell me I’m being lifted into the air.

As I fade in and out of consciousness, the rest seems to happen so fast.

I’m laid on a cold, hard surface.

The floor beneath me is rocking with the waves.

Hands push hard against the center of my chest.

I’m struggling to breathe, but it still feels like I’m drowning.

A mouth lands on mine…

Pressure flows into my lungs, causing water to gush from my mouth. Water continues to empty from my stomach, and I can finally breathe again. I gasp for air as if it’s my last breath.

There’s a tightening on my wrist, and something snaps…

Then darkness finds me again.

“Kat, wake up,” a voice pleads over and over until I’m pulled from my darkness.

I look up and find Alec, his wondrous green eyes shining down on me.

“Kat.” He’s relieved. He looks tired and scared, like he thought I was dead.

I try to sit up. I want him to know I’m okay, but I quickly become dizzy and I fall back again. My head hits the sand. Sand? Wait. I thought I was on a boat. Before that, everything is foggy.

“Just relax, okay? You almost drowned.” Alec’s concern strengthens me.

But I did drown, I want to say. Someone pulled me out of the water. Then I remember Iris.

“The fire! Alec, is Iris okay?”

“She’ll be okay, but she’s badly burned, really shaken up, and in a lot of pain. The ambulance is coming.”

As if on cue, a siren blares in the distance. I pull myself to a sitting position to take a look around. The crowd has thinned significantly, and the remaining guests huddle in clusters, while watching the aftermath of the freak fire and windstorm that terrorized the entire party.

Alec looks worriedly at me and wraps me in a hug. “Are you okay?” The concern in his voice tugs at my heart, but I’m too disturbed from the events to return his affection.

I find the strength to nod. “I’m okay.”

Apparently, the croak in my voice tells him differently because he looks down at me with a helpless expression. He shakes his head, unbelieving. “That wave almost killed you, and it saved Iris’s life.” There’s