My heart almost exploded as I leapt from the edge and the crowd screamed for my blood as raucous laughter rang out.
I plummeted towards the pool feet first as the water writhed beneath me. I didn’t want to scream but I couldn’t help it, the terror ripped it from my lungs as I plunged towards the water and my dress was whipped up around me.
I hit the water and shot beneath the surface as a torrent of bubbles raced from my lips. Down, down, down, the weight of my sodden dress dragging me to the bottom as it tangled around my legs.
I struggled against it, ripping the straps down and forcing it off of me as I tried to escape the confines of the material.
The water was cold, way too cold for an indoor pool and I knew I had the Heirs to thank for that.
I managed to force the dress off of me and shoved it away as I was left in my underwear. I twisted around and kicked for the surface with everything I had.
My lungs were burning, aching, demanding me to take a breath that would drown me.
My head breached the surface and I gulped down air as the water swirled around me.
I caught sight of the four Heirs standing on the edge of the pool, looking down at me with cold eyes as Darius and Max forced the liquid to bend to their command.
A huge spout of water rose up like a tower beside me and I tried to kick away from it even though I knew it was pointless.
With a flick of Darius’s hand, the column bent and slammed down on top of me, submerging me again.
I was tossed beneath the churning water like a rag doll as I tried to figure out which way was up and the water pummelled me mercilessly.
My heart was trying to beat a path right out of my chest and I kicked for the surface again with a desperate need to escape.
As I swam, the water fell unnaturally still and the temperature seemed to plummet further, wrapping me in an icy embrace.
The light above me showed me which way to go and I started kicking again, wondering how many times I would have to endure this before they’d let me out.
I scrambled through the water, aiming for the surface as my panic and the freezing temperature slowed my progress and my lungs screamed their protest.
The light was just above me and yet it still looked impossibly far away. I kicked towards it again and my hands met with a solid surface instead of breaching it.
My eyes widened as I beat my fist against the slab of ice that had been constructed to keep me caught inside this nightmare.
I was drowning again. Back at the bottom of that river with the seatbelt cutting into me and no way to get free. Except this time I was free to swim but caught beneath the ice. The air I so desperately craved was mere inches away but it might as well have been miles.
I screamed as the panic swallowed me whole and the last of my air shot from my lips in a torrent of bubbles. I could feel my tears being swept away into the freezing water as if they were nothing and my heart was thumping a rhythm which could only lead to its own demise.
My magic warred beneath my flesh, desperate to save me and I drew on it, summoning fire to my hands.
The force of my power slammed through the ice and I managed the smallest gulp of air before Darius and Max strengthened the wall of ice to combat me.
I didn’t know what to do. I had barely even begun to harness my powers and I had no idea how to shape my magic in a way that could help me. I was a blunt instrument hammering away at a wall of steel.
My magic flared again and this time a spiderweb of cracks shot out over the ice but it didn’t break.
My limbs were trembling from the cold and the panic and I could feel the urge to take a breath swelling up inside of me.
I pounded my fists against the layer of ice as I kept kicking, sinking deeper and then bobbing up again. It was no use. Any moment now I was going to take a breath.
My heartbeat whooshed in my ears and each thump of my fist against the ice was weaker than the last. I was out of tears. I was out of time.
My lungs were burning and I fought as hard as I could against the inevitable but I’d already lost that fight.
Darkness prickled on the edges of my vision.
And I took a breath.
ORION SPED PAST me in a blur, using his Vampire speed to outrun me. My heart fractured as he darted into the Lunar Leisure building ahead and I poured every last ounce of energy I had into chasing him.
Mocking cheers and cruel laughter rang out from inside and I knew in the depths of my soul, my sister was in serious trouble. I burst through the door and turned down dark corridors before practically falling over my feet as I arrived at the swimming pool.
A crowd of students stood at the far end of the swimming pool which had been turned to ice. Orion dove from the edge of it, casting a torrent of water from his hands which melted the ice before he hit it. He disappeared under the surface and my throat constricted with confusion and terror.
A huge fissure ripped up the middle of the ice and Orion burst from under it, his arm locked around Tory. She looked unconscious – or was it more than that?
My world slowed and dread built in my chest.
No, she's not dead. She can't be dead.
My mind finally kicked into gear again and I ran to the edge of the pool, reaching for Tory as Orion brought her near. I caught her arm as he placed her down on the tiles at the edge and silence fell. The kind of silence that preceded a time of death announcement.
“Tory,” I sobbed, gripping her freezing cold hand, every part of me trembling as I shook her.
Orion knelt beside her, dripping wet as he pressed a hand to her forehead. He shut his eyes and a deep red light glowed from beneath his palm.
I took a shuddering breath.
The room faded around me.
All that mattered was my sister and the magic flowing from Orion's body into hers.
Tory's eyes flew open and she coughed violently, throwing up water as Orion lurched aside just in time to miss it.
I fell onto her, hugging her close and Orion rose to his feet before I could thank him.
I spotted the Heirs walking along the edge of the pool, making a beeline for the exit.
Hatred tore at my insides as I glared at them, shaking from head to toe as I held onto my twin.
“IF A SINGLE PERSON IN THIS ROOM MOVES ANOTHER INCH, YOU WILL BE FACING IMMEDIATE EXPULSION!” Orion bellowed, the whole of the glass roof vibrating from his ferocious tone.
The Heirs stopped walking, falling silent. Darius scraped a hand down the back of his neck, looking riled for the first time ever. Seth was rubbing against all of them as if trying to soothe them and the sight of my hair poking out of his pocket made me want to scream.
“Face the fucking wall,” Orion commanded in a tone that made my shoulders tense.
I watched through blurry eyes as the Heirs filed into line opposite Orion. I’d never seen him so angry and I wanted him to unleash every drop of his rage on them for what they’d done.
The rest of the crowd grouped closer together on the other side of the pool, seeming uneasy.
I brushed the damp strands of hair from Tory's face and she blinked up at me in a haze.
“Are you alright?” I choked out.
She nodded weakly and I fell forward to embrace her again, relief singing a song in my heart.
She shifted up to sit beside me and her deep green eyes dragged over my hair. Her upper lip peeled back as she hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head against my shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Darcy,” she said in a raspy tone and I locked my arm around her, shaking my head in refusal of her apology.