Epithethere

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  Nikos was drowning again.

  The inky-black water, frigid and salty, surged down his throat, filled his lungs, and dragged him down as though it was a living thing. Far below, Cassie was still screaming—calling his name, begging him to save her.

  He reached for her, but it was too late.

  Her severed arm drifted past him as he grasped his sister’s limp body. Her lightless eyes searched his, looking to him for confidence. But, rather than relax, she flinched back and said, as though the water was not there…

  “You lied. You failed again.”

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  Nikos woke with a jolt, clutching at his chest with trembling hands. His breath came hard and fast, shallow in his throat. Carefully, he eased Cassie’s comatose body off of him and sat upright, trying to steady himself.

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  But the nightmare clung to him.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Cassie,” he murmured. “I… I should have—”

  “Nikos?”

  He shouldn’t have failed her. He should’ve done more. He…

  A gentle hand touched his shoulder. Selinia knelt beside him, drawing him into a quiet embrace. He froze for a moment, then exhaled shakily and leaned into her, his face pressed to her shoulder.

  “Cassie’s alive,” Selinia told him.

  “I failed her,” he said, shaking his head. “She… she should’ve died. She lived because of luck.”

  “Luck is fifty percent chance, and fifty percent the—”

  He shook his head, cutting her off. “I didn’t do anything. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t stop it. She only lived because the world... broke.”

  “Then call it what you want,” Selinia grumbled, pulling away. “But everyone’s alive, ultimately.”

  They sat there for a moment, the silence deep and undisturbed except for the faint stir of leaves in the trees above.

  Eventually, Nikos glanced down at Cassie, still unconscious, still breathing.

  ‘I’m so damn pathetic. Pull yourself together, Nikos…’

  “You packed food and water onto Jelhan, right?” Nikos asked, standing up. “I should get something to eat and drink.”

  “You probably should’ve before you went to sleep,” Selinia said, stretching as she moved to the side. “I don’t know why you didn’t, really.”

  “…I don’t know, either. I just didn’t think of it,” Nikos said as he walked over to Jelhan. His legs were sore enough that every step hurt.

  “You’ve always forgotten to eat lunch pretty often, too,” Selinia commented, following along. Since Nikos didn’t actually know where she’d stuck the food, she gently pushed him out of the way and retrieved [food] and a waterskin from the saddlebags, which she took a swig from before handing it and the [food] to him.

  “Thanks,” Nikos said as he took them.