Another day, another chance to drown. Though according to Maverick, I wouldn’t. Still, I struggled to breathe under water yesterday, so I found that very hard to believe.

  “We’re doing this today,” Maverick said to me as he took his shirt off. This time, I wouldn’t be distracted by his slim torso. And I didn’t have anyone reading my thoughts!

  “Uh, doing what today?” I asked once my thoughts were clearer.

  “Getting you to swim and breathe under water. We don’t have any more time to waste.”

  He yanked my wrist and pulled me into the water, ignoring my kicking and screaming.

  “Stop!” I screamed. “I’m not ready yet!”

  “And at this rate, you never will be— Ow.” He let go of my wrist and soaked his hand in the water. I had accidentally burned him.

  “I-I’m, sorry, I’m just… scared…” I admitted, taking a couple of steps backwards.

  Maverick sighed. “Maybe Aidan can help you.” With that, he hesitantly stepped into the water and swam away.

  Aidan seemed only too eager to help me out, rushing towards me with his big beady eyes.

  “You’re not going to push me into the lake, are you?” I sighed.

  “O-of course not!” He took a step back as if he were offended I’d even bring up the possibility. “We should start with holding your breath. If you can breathe under water, t-that reduces the risk of you drowning, right?”

  “I guess so.” I shrugged.

  We walked over to the shore. Since we had woken up so early, the sun hadn’t reached its highest point yet, meaning the sand no longer burned my feet. It actually felt pretty nice to feel the sand between my toes. It was so early Finn hadn’t even arrived with breakfast yet.

  I slowly waded into the water, my heart racing as soon as the water reached my waist. You can do this, Ella! I sucked in a deep breath and crouched into the water.

  “Just keep calm,” I could barely hear Aidan say from above the water. His voice sounded so muffled. Ugh, and now I noticed water getting into my ears…

  I stood back up, gasping for air, frustrated at my inability to hold my breath for longer. That must have been twenty seconds—ten less than usual. I was already screwing up.

  “E-Ella, you look so tense—"

  “I’m frustrated!” I shouted, causing Aidan to flinch. “I’m sorry…” I quietly apologized.

  “The more frustrated you are, the less likely you’ll be able to breathe under water…”

  I sighed. “How do you know all of this?” I asked. “Like, didn’t you just get your powers a few days ago?”

  “I-it’s… different for me.” He ducked under water for a few seconds before popping back out, his breathing steady, indicating he didn’t come back up for air. “The elements… they call to me. It’s almost like they’re speaking to me—telling me that I’m safe. I-I guess it just comes naturally to me.”

  That made sense. I’d have to work a lot harder than he did.

  “T-try to clear your mind. Don’t worry about breathing or anything. Just feel the flow of the water.”

  “Okay…” I sucked in another deep breath and ducked back in. Just feel the water…

  The world almost seemed to stop beneath the surface. It was difficult to hear anything from above, almost as if it no longer existed. As for how things looked… Well, I didn’t dare open my eyes. I guess that would be next.

  I allowed myself to relax, taking Aidan’s words to heart. The water felt thicker than I expected—almost as if it were cradling me. I could kind of understand now what he meant about the elements making him feel safe.

  I rose above the water again, taking a deep breath. I kept my eyes closed and headed back down to try again. Safe… secure… This time, on instinct, I opened my eyes. The water burned, and I momentarily closed them before realizing this didn’t make a difference. I opened them again out of annoyance more than anything. Holding my breath became a struggle, and I could feel my heart racing, so I rose to the surface again.

  “How am I supposed to face the Falor Ghula if I can’t even open my eyes?!” I shouted.

  Aidan shrugged. “I don’t have that issue. Why don’t you ask Maverick?”

  “No. He’ll just insult me. I’ll do it, and I’ll do it myself.”

  I lost track of how much time had passed. I tried over and over and over. I was able to count to forty before rising up for air, but that wasn’t very impressive when we’d have to hold our breath for several minutes. Aidan had long since swum off to somewhere else, probably getting bored of repeating the same things to me over and over.

  Finn had come by with food at some point, but I hadn’t had the time to greet him. Aidan talked to him for a while—at least five cycles of me attempting to hold my breath—and the food had remained untouched since. I decided now was as good a time as any to eat. Once I was finished, I walked back. The sand started to burn a little, so I must have been at this for a couple of hours.

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  I wanted to try again, but something stopped me. Dread? Guilt? Something else? I sat at the shallowest edge of the shore in agitation.

  “Any progress?” Maverick swam up to me before taking a seat next to me.

  “I can hold my breath ten seconds longer,” I answered. Maverick’s jaw dropped, his eyes threatening to leave their sockets. I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Pretty impressive. You don’t have to congratulate me. What about you?”

  “I can manage a few minutes.” He closed his mouth and stared out into the distance. He was grabbing fistfuls of sand and releasing them, and his expression was unreadable. Something was bothering him.

  “What is it?” I asked, the tension killing me.

  “We’re running out of time. It might just be me and Aidan out there.”

  My stomach dropped, but I also felt relief at the same time. I didn’t want to be out there. But I also felt guilty wasting everyone’s time…

  “You mentioned not liking the water before. Why is that?” I asked, hoping I could maybe relate to him more than I had thought.

  He sighed through his teeth. “My sister… drowned—when I was younger. I couldn’t save her.”

  That was the last thing I expected him to tell me. I didn’t even know he had a sister. “I’m sorry,” I said, not knowing what else I could say.

  “Large bodies of water remind me of her death. I’m not going to lie and say it was easy swimming again, but it’s not like I have a choice either.”

  “How did you learn how to swim?” I asked.

  “My parents. We used to go to the lake every summer.”

  “Let me guess, they pushed you in?” I asked.

  He looked at me, puzzled. “No, of course not. What kind of parent does that? I mean, I’d probably do that with my kids, but I’m me.”

  I facepalmed. “Just forget about it.”

  The sound of Aidan splashing around in the distance oddly put me at ease. He didn’t even need to practice—he was just having a good time. I wished I could have a good time. Honestly, I wished I could be more like him. He started out just as weak as me, but now he was on his way to kill a beast not even the empress herself could kill. Not to mention, we had both been in the facility together, and he came out fine. I wondered why that was.

  I wondered why I couldn’t be strong like him. Why couldn’t I unlock my Talent like he had?

  “I want to do this,” I said, breaking the silence. I pushed myself off the ground and stared off at the horizon, wondering how far the lake went on and what lay beyond. “I want to learn how to swim, to breathe under water like you and Aidan, and to face the Falor Ghula alongside the two of you.”

  “Then do it,” Maverick replied from behind me.

  “You make it sound so easy.” I turned to him, expecting indifference. To my surprise, his expression was serious.

  “Why do you think Aidan is so strong now? It’s because he didn’t give up.”

  “He also came upon a stroke of luck unlocking his Talent that makes all of this easier…”

  “Yeah. Admittedly, most of that was luck, and his hard work accounted for very little.”

  “That makes me feel sooooo much better.” I sighed.

  “But Ella, you’ve already come so far. Don’t you realize that?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, genuinely puzzled. I had just dragged everyone down back on Earth…

  “You stabilized the manor, rescued Sylvis, and even saved us at the facility. None of us would be here now if it weren’t for you.” His words were sincere and filled with awe, something I never expected from him. “Not to mention you’re the very reason Aidan’s magic awakened in the first place.

  I paused, thinking about what he had said. I guess that was all objectively true, but somehow it didn’t feel like much at the time. Even now, it didn’t seem like much. My magic awakening at the facility was entirely out of control, and I had rescued Sylvis for my own personal gain more than anything.

  “You’re so weird.” Maverick’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned to him in confusion. “Most people are excited to celebrate their achievements. Look at Aidan. Yet, I can tell you’re struggling to justify yours in your head.”

  “Is it really that weird?” I asked. If it were Carol, not only would she not recognize her achievements, she’d be apologizing for them, claiming she inconvenienced someone or stole the spotlight.

  “You think otherwise? Maybe it’s my lack of socialization, then.” He shrugged.

  “Your sister had something to do with that, didn’t she?” I asked, hoping he’d finally explain…

  “She was one of many factors.” He kept his gaze on the horizon—away from me. But then he smiled, or rather smirked. “Maybe if you can learn how to swim, I’ll tell you.”

  “Deal.” I pushed myself off the ground. Was it strange that Maverick promising to open up was the thing motivating me rather than getting off this cursed island? Maybe. Probably stranger than he thought I was earlier. But either way, I couldn’t give up. Not after I wasted so much time.

  I got back in the water. This time, Maverick and Aidan both devoted more time to me. Aidan would tap me any time I would tense, reminding me to relax, and Maverick would share anything interesting he had learned while practicing.

  “Imagine little nostrils on your arms,” Maverick said, pointing to his bare arm.

  “That’s gross.” I cringed.

  He raised one side of his lips, unamused. “Fine. Pretend you have little breathing holes on your arm instead. They allow you to breathe what little air is in the water.”

  “I’ll try.” I sighed, still not liking his description.

  With their guidance, I was slowly improving. I could open my eyes in the water without the sting being overwhelming, I could hold my breath for two minutes (nothing compared to Maverick’s seven and Aidan’s fifteen), and I had gotten more comfortable actually swimming. It took a while to figure out which muscles to use and how to keep myself balanced, but I eventually got it. Somewhat.

  “I think you’re ready.” Maverick smiled at me.

  We came to shore in time for Finn to deliver us dinner. Hmph, he hadn’t even bothered to bring lunch. Then again, Marge brought lunch. Even though I didn’t see her, I knew it was her because the sandwiches were in heart shapes. I didn’t think Finn would be that direct.

  “You did it!” Finn exclaimed as he ran up to me and pulled me into a tight hug. I thought he would break my back for a moment, ouch!

  “B-barely,” I struggled to get the words out, let alone breathe.

  “Two minutes should be good enough, assuming we’re not diving two minutes beneath the surface,” Maverick added. “I’m happy with that. Finn, stop smothering Ella.”

  Finn let go and guided us to the picnic he had already set up. This time, it was some sort of meat, or uh, meats? Different cuts were piled one on top of the other— Okay, Maverick just took two-thirds of it.

  “I brought enough for all of you,” Finn said pointedly.

  Maverick swallowed his bite of meat before speaking. “I know. I left the rest for those two.”

  I facepalmed and quickly plated my portion on the small wooden plate Finn had brought. I could see Aidan eagerly doing the same, trying to outpace me, but he wouldn’t win! Hahahaha! My meat! Maverick watched us in amusement—Finn, in horror.

  We recounted the day to Finn, though there was little reason to. Finn and Maverick somehow went off topic and started talking about sparring, and Aidan sneakily stole some of Maverick’s meat while he was looking away. Finn seemed to be using telekinesis to help him out…

  It was moments like these that made me forget the danger we were in—what we would have to face tomorrow. Wait… I had spent so much time practicing swimming, I had completely neglected practicing light magic! I just hoped I’d prove useful tomorrow…