Behind the Walls. NOVEL By Claire Darcy.

54. Drown Your Demons.

ROWAN.

I was surging through the water, praying I wasn't impaled by a stick or shattered against a stone.

Sticks and stones aren't as harmless as people think they are.

I had held Ace's hand as we jumped, but lost it when we hit the water. She was all that was on my mind as I tumbled with the current. My lungs were beginning to grow tight, but suddenly the surge of raging water wasn't so harsh. I opened my eyes for a second, finding the light and swimming towards it. My head burst the surface just as my drifting came to a standstill. I breathed in harshly, treading water. I flicked my hair out of my eyes and searched for Ace in the near darkness. There was a gasp and a small splash as she came up, instantly panicking.

"Air!" she choked, breathing raggedly. I pushed myself blindly towards her, grabbing her shoulder when I found it and pushing her higher out of the water. I kicked my shoes off under the water and found sand beneath my feet, so I moved until I could just stand comfortably. Ace's breathing slowed down and she held on to me.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly, feeling her legs wrap around me as she held on for dear life. She didn't say anything, just shook her head. Her dark hair was clinging to her face, water droplets glistening as she shivered.

"Why are you shivering, Ace? It's not even that cold..." I smirked, but she didn't fight back or even laugh. She was silent and still, her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck, her breathing slowly getting more even. I decided to take her to the shore, but the moment I moved, she gasped and her heels dug into me. I was thankful she'd lost her shoes in the rush.

"Ace?" I whispered gently, "You're safe now. You're alright. Look, you can~"

"Don't let go."

I had been about to say 'stand,' since the water was probably just shallow enough for her to do so, but when I went to pull her arms from around my neck, she freaked out.

"Okay, I won't," I said quietly, hesitantly wrapping my arms back around her, "But you've got to tell me what's going on."

"The water," she breathed, "It's... The waves and the sound of it, and being in it, I just..."

I waited for her to say more, but she didn't. She took her head off my shoulder, placing her hands on my shoulders so she could look at me with shimmering, frightening eyes. Her legs remained exactly where they were.

"You're scared of the water, aren't you?" I asked quietly. She nodded through strands of soaking hair, her pale skin visible in stripes.

"The memories of The Voyage..." she said quietly, "Still haunt me. Even now."

"You can't drown your demons. They know how to swim," I mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just some unnecessarily dramatic quote. I don't even know where I heard it."

"You are very mysterious, tough guy," she said quietly, almost in awe. Or perhaps I imagined that.

"And you are very beautiful, princess," I whispered, moving her hair out of her face. When I rested my hand on her cheek, I almost fell over when I felt her body tighten against mine. I swallowed hard, unable to take my eyes off her face. Her fearful eyes, her trembling lips, her skin glistening with water. I was falling for her; hard. There was no way I could hide it anymore.

"This is insane," Ace murmured, her hands moving slowly in the water as they ran under my hoodie where it was unzipped, over my bare shoulders and collar. I was having trouble breathing at how much she was touching me. Of how much of her I could feel, weightless yet strong in the water.