Free Flutter (The Discover Series) by Melissa Andrea

it Sara. I’m almost there.
    I opened my eyes, making the mistake of frowning; and water flooded my mouth, threatening to choke me. I coughed so hard some of the water tripped down my throat , burning it in the process
    The water had risen higher, and there was nothing I could do about it. I tilted my head back, inhaling as much air as I could, before I was submerged by the icy water. I closed my eyes against the sting of the water, and my eyelids were lit by a golden glow. I wanted to open them, but I was afraid of what the light meant.
    I heard him calling my name, but it was too late. I felt the water covering my face again, pulling me under, with no time to inhale another breath.
    SARA! Open your eyes please! Open your eyes damn it! The scream was frantic and angry.
    I wanted to tell him it was okay, that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. That having him here with me made the situation, made death , less frightening.
    I would die with no regrets.
    Everything that had happened to me had led me to this point, here with him. I couldn’t explain what I meant by that, but the connection I felt to the voice was strangely satisfying. I wanted him to be real so badly, that I ached from the unfairness of it all. I wanted him to be physically here with me, not just a voice I had made up inside my head.
    My body felt free. I was no longer encaged in the solid walls of ice that had trapped my arms and legs just seconds ago. I felt myself floating, my body finally adjusting to the deadly temperature of the water, and I felt my muscles stiffen in objection to the cold. I kicked my legs against the water, trying to push myself to the surface; but the abyss seemed endless and no matter how hard I fought to reach air, I came up empty. My lungs had gone far too long without the requisite breath of air, and my chest filled with an aching burn.
    I could feel the water filling my lungs now.
    I’m here. Please open your eyes!! He begged. Hold on Spitfire, fight it!! I’m almost there!!
    His orders were frantic, and louder; like he was right there above me calling down to me. I could feel his pain as well as I could hear it echoing through my head.
    My feelings for the voice were so intense that leaving him hurt worse than the actual dying part.
    You’re not dying!! Stop saying that!!
    He sounded so scared I wanted to reassure him. As I opened my eyes, I hoped that my mind would produce some kind of image to go along with the voice it had made up.
    The glare of light was so harsh I had to squint. A silhouette suddenly blocked out the light just as the ice water began to burn my eyes, and I was forced to shut them.
    My name was Sara and I was dying before having ever found love.
    That much I knew.
    These feelings I had for the phantom in my head could not be feelings mirrored from recollected memories. No, nobody could forget something this strong.
    I heard my name being called out one last time and then…
    Death took me.
     
     
     
     
     
    Adan
     
     
    “Pacing isn’t going to make the Princess get here any faster you know.”
    Aaron had been sitting on a giant boulder a few feet from me, and I could feel his eyes bouncing back and forth between the two trees that I had taken to treading through. The ground was coated with a layer of untouched, powdered snow that crunched loudly under my anxious footsteps. The snow that had covered the path I had created was now black and muddy from the earth my shoes had pulled up . My hiking boots were covered in the mixture, and the snow that clung and frosted to the bottom of my jeans was melting enough to soak through the rough material. Not that it mattered; I was far too preoccupied with my scattered thoughts to care.
    I growled in frustration. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Aaron jump, shaking his head, as if my trekking back and forth had put him in some kind of trance.
    “You’re making me dizzy.” He complained or whined, I couldn’t quite tell the difference, the