Page 100 of Ravenrose

The current takes me before I can even fight for the surface.

This must be the Blackstone River. Flowing down from Izel in the north, the Blackstone River twists its way through the continent, through almost every kingdom.

The bitter cold seizes my lungs, my muscles, my body; I’m locked in an icy vise.

The cold, however, is the least of my worries. The water is chaos. It spins me, flipping me end over end through the water. My shoulder slams into something hard enough to send blinding pain exploding down my arm.

I think it's a rock, or maybe a tree.

There’s no time to recover before the river drags me away.

No more than a few seconds later, pain wrenches my side as the river slams me into yet another boulder. The impact forces me up, and I hit the surface, inhaling nearly as much water as oxygen when I do.

My fingers scrape frantically along the slick stone, desperate for purchase, but there’s nothing to grab. The force of the current is too strong, quickly sweeping me around the massive rock.

I don’t know how to swim, but even if I did, I don’t think it would matter. The river is in control, and I am completely at its mercy.

It’s all I can do to get enough oxygen into my lungs before the current drags me back under.

Something sharp slices along my leg as I’m dragged past it—a branch, another rock… I don’t know. I cry out again at the sharp pain, only to have even more water rush into my open mouth. Coughing and choking, my lungs burn and I’m desperate for air.

Pain.

It’s one thing to choose to give your life to the river; it’s another thing entirely to actually let it drown you.

Panic sets in as I’m swept further away. The water’s moving fast, slamming me into rocks, trees, and submerged debris over and over again.

I try desperately to cling to anything, not even to escape, but just for relief—a full breath of air, at the very least. But it’s all too slippery. I need to catch my breath. I need to⁠—

The fight drains out of me far sooner than expected. I’m tired—so tired, my muscles scream with effort until they start to fail. I stop fighting for control and start fighting just to keep my head above water, but it’s no use. The river plunges me down mercilessly, under and under, rolling my body in its churning fury.

I don’t know how long I’ve been in the water. It could have been several minutes or close to an hour, but I know my time is running out. As my body tires, I begin to spend more and more time beneath the surface.

Darkness presses in, thick and murky, threatening to swallow me whole.

Air. I need air.

My lungs feel like they’re on fire without it. I try kicking for the surface again, but the water relentlessly pushes me down, and there’s just— I just have nothing left.

The current drags me down deeper, and this time… this time I don’t fight it.

My body goes still, and I sink faster. My limbs feel heavy—like they’re not mine anymore. The tumultuous sound of the roiling water around me fades away and everything gets…

Quiet.

I don’t feel the cold anymore.

I don’t feel the violent churning of the surrounding current.

I don’t feel… anything.

My eyes lift to the surface; the sunlight is barely visible through the rough waves, but it’s there. I can see it. It’s beautiful.

I close my eyes, wanting that to be the last thing I see as I finally hand myself over to the darkness.

For once, the void is welcoming.

But then, my wrist catches on something. My body jerks so violently, and my injured shoulder screams in protest.