I run for what seems like forever, hysterical. They don’t let up.
Hands grip me, stilling me, batting off the bugs. I’m crying. Screaming. I’m lifted up off the ground. Something goes around me. A coat, a blanket.
Kiro.
He’s carrying me, running hard. I cling to him as the world jolts and shakes. His cheek is dotted with black bugs, all along the strong ridge of his cheekbone.
He’s moving fast, not trying to be gentle. He himself is wriggling around. Fuck—the wasps must be stinging the hell out of him.
“Don’t look at me,” he says through his teeth as he wipes them away by rubbing his cheek against the blanket around me. “Put your face to my chest. Take in a deep breath—through my shirt! Now!”
The last thing I see is his beautiful face, dotted with a new round of black wasps, before I press mine to his shirt and suck in a breath.
“Another breath,” he commands, speaking through his teeth. “Hold it.”
I’m barely able to comply before I feel us flying through the air.
And then a rush of cold as we plunge into icy water.
I cling more tightly to him. I wait for us to come up, but we don’t.
I feel him pulsing us through the water—underwater—using his powerful legs to propel us. The ice cold feels good on my stings, but I need air. I pull my head away from his chest. I need air!
He holds me tightly.
I try to push away. Through the blur of the water I see light up above, but he’s moving us to the bottom. I panic, fighting him. He grabs a few rocks and suddenly we’re going up, up, up to the surface.
He’s going too slowly! I need to breathe! I need to get up there!
I struggle as I see the light above, pushing, pulling. I feel like I might pass out. Like my lungs might collapse. Or maybe explode.
He squeezes my shoulder, as if to urge me to calm. I try—I really do. He grabs my hair and pushes my head down, keeps me down while he’s above the surface. Why won’t he let me breathe? Is he trying to kill me?
I kick and fight. I can see him breaking the surface. He’s doing something up there—throwing rocks? Suddenly we’re heading down again.
No! I need to get back up there! My lungs burn!
He drags me down, down to the rocky lake floor again. I fight him as if my life depends on it. It feels like it does.
He has me tight against him. Black spots crowd the edges of my vision.
I’m no longer paying attention to what he’s doing. All I know is that I need to get away from him, to breathe. When I see the light above, I thrash more wildly.
Air.
He palms my head, keeping me under while he breaks the surface. Then, finally, he guides me up—slowly. He seems to be communicating something to me. What, I don’t know, don’t care. I need air.
I break the surface and gulp in great mouthfuls of air, sputtering, coughing.
“Quiet,” Kiro whispers. “Do notsplash!”
I can’t stop sucking in air—loudly. I push away from him and tread water. My boots are heavy, weighing me down. I try desperately to focus.
“Shhh!” He points at a dark cloud at the far end of the lake not a hundred yards away.
A chill comes over me when I realize it’s the wasps, swarming out there. “Oh my God,” I breathe.
“Shhh. Stay still.”