Go slow.
Not a race.
The water splashed around her, and Grace had to work to still her racing heart. He wanted her to panic and that was the only reason she didn't. No way was she going to give Emmanuel the satisfaction of knowing just how much he and his stupid fable games terrified her.
On principle, she would rather die than allow him to glimpse the absolute horror she felt every single day. The only thing that had kept her alive so long was the very fact that she had managed to cling to a control she hadn't even known she possessed and fight through every single one of his tests.
So … kick your legs.
Don’t stop.
Go slow.
Not a race.
The mantra had saved her before and it would save her again, but there was nothing she could do to save the woman floundering helplessly in the other pool.
It killed a tiny piece of her each time another one of the girls died, but she was powerless to do anything to stop it from happening. That was Emmanuel’s game, or his lessons as he thought of it.
One lived, one died, and there was no way she could allow herself to be the one who died. Certainly not now when she had fought for so many years to keep herself alive. She had a family at home, one who would be going crazy searching for her, and because they would never give up on her, she couldn’t give up on them.
Grace hadn't ever known she was this strong. As the baby of her family, she had been spoiled, she was used to getting her own way. She hadn't really been into the whole camping, shooting, hunting, outdoorsy kind of things the rest of her family liked, but they all made an effort to do things she liked too. She’d never once felt left out or like she didn't belong, she’d been sheltered a little, definitely coddled, and looking back she knew she had been very naïve.
That naivete was long since gone.
She was tougher now, stronger, and yet as she watched the woman beside her go under and struggle to get her head back above the surface, she had to fight the urge to panic. Determination stopped her from letting her movements grow frantic and jerky, Grace kept them slow and steady. Emmanuel would leave them in here until one of them drowned and panicking wasted energy.
Slow and steady wins the race.
How many times had she heard that since he brought her here?
Of course, she’d heard of fables growing up, but she had never met anyone who was obsessed with them before she’d met Emmanuel.
The woman went under again, this time she could barely get her head back up. It had been hours since Emmanuel threw them into the pools, exhaustion weighed at her limbs, but still she fought against her instincts to scramble as fast as she could.
Next time the woman went under she didn't come back up, her movements were slower now, barely movement at all, and Grace knew that she had won.
As the woman jerked once or twice, then went still, her wide empty eyes staring sightlessly in death, she knew it was a hollow victory.
She had won this time, and shewouldwin next time, but this woman was dead. How many more would she have to kill to win …
Grace woke with a start, unsure where she was. Her heart thundered in her chest like it was trying to race its way right out of her body so there would be no more death.
How much more could she take before she just turned dead inside?
“Gracie?”
She turned her head and saw two figures standing beside her bed.
The room was dimly lit, but her moment of panic very quickly faded away as she recognized them.
“Jeremiah,” she squealed happily and pushed herself off the bed to hug her other brother. There was a tug of pain in the wounds on her back, but she didn't care, anything was worth it for a chance to hold onto someone she loved.
“Hey, sweet little girl,” Jeremiah said as he sat on the edge of the bed beside her and hugged her back. There was moisture on her cheeks, but it hadn't come from her own eyes, she hadn't cried since that very first day she’d woken up in Emmanuel’s house. After that it had been all about survival, but now that she was back home, she didn't know how to live any other way. For five years her entire existence had been about staying alive and doing whatever she had to not to die. How could she ever learn to live her life normally?
“You okay, Gracie?” Elijah asked.
Forcing herself, she relaxed. She’d learned to live with survival as her only goal, so surely it couldn’t be all that hard to learn to live normally. It was really only doing in reverse what she’d done before. She could do that.