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chapter forty-six. ( you're on your own, kid )
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THERE WAS SOMETHING RATHER PECULIAR about death. It was inherently final, a sharp cease to the end of one's life, the years that they'd spent living and breathing and swimming above the depths of the waters could end so harshly and coldly, that they hardly ever needed time to sink to the bed of the ocean. Or it could be quite tranquil, and soft blow to one's finale, a single, heaving breath escaping them, and then peace for the rest of eternity.
Death was brutal and savage, regardless of how someone's life ended. It broke hearts and tore sobs from deep within a person's chest, and snatched someone so dear from the world of living, only to selfishly watch as a person — a child — struggled to swim against the vicious waves. Death was inhumane and barbaric and wicked and Ascella Black wondered if she'd ever smile again.
She was rooted to the ground. Her throat tightened, her breathing became shallow, and the smallest twitch of her fingers was the only give away that she was still there. Her wand had slipped from her grasp, and clattered against the ground, echoing against the dim hollow of the room, and she didn't make any move to pick it up. She was left there, defenceless and anguished — her heart having left her sternum and splattered by her feet.
A tender hand slid against her shoulder, but she could hardly feel the warmth of the person's fingertips on her — her gaze was latched onto Caelum, impatiently waiting for any signal that there was still life within, the shift of a leg, or even a minuscule rise of his chest. She was waiting.
Seraphina had sat up against the stone floor, her mouth open in astonishment and horror, her hand trembling as she reached out to shake Caelum, a gentle push formed into a harsh one, desperation bleeding into her actions. "Caelum?" she cried, amber eyes drowning in the saltiness of her tears. "Caelum, darling? Caelum — wake up. Fuck, Cae, wake up!"
