The Fourth Ceremony: The Sacrifice Trilogy (28 page)

She felt the Bo
x’
s descent slow suddenly as she touched down in the water. It would
n’
t take long for her to sink, the heavy Box was designed that way. The frigid water began to envelop her. She shuddered. How was she going to swim through this ice?
I
t’
s not intended for swimming
Alessa reminded herself sardonically.

The water continued to rise in the Box. Alessa shivered as it covered her legs. She tried to sit up in the Box to keep her face as close to the top as possible. She wanted the last breath of air left in the Box before she began this crazy trek. Her breath was coming in short gasps. Alessa tried to calm herself, but between the stabbing cold of the water and the squeezing anxiety in her chest, she could
n’
t catch her breath. She was going to have to rely on her fast swimming to get her far away as quickly as possible.

Alessa took a moment to orient herself. She had to shoot out of the top of the Box, turn left, and swim as straight as she could manage. The water was covering most of her body now. She was sure the Box was deep enough now. It was dark in the Box. She took as deep of a breath as she could muster. Again and again, within a few seconds, she drank in the air that could be her last.

              Alessa lowered herself into the water. She reached above her hand into the corner of the box. She felt nothing. There was
n’
t any button. She frantically searched at the corner of the box, digging her fingernails into the wall. Still feeling no button, Alessa noticed a movement. She reached her hands above her head. Sure enough, the top of the Box was open.

Alessa carefully moved out of the Box, she did
n’
t want to cause motion in the ropes holding the box from sinking to the bottom of the Ocean. Aless
a’
s chest was already burning from the anxiety and lack of quality air. She made her turn and began to swim, not allowing herself to rise in the water, staying as deep as she could.

She was
n’
t sure how long she swam, she was afraid that it was
n’
t too far. Aless
a’
s chest and eyes burned. Every muscle in her body screamed for air, and still she swam with all of her might. The icy waters of the Sacred Ocean threatened to tear her arms from their sockets, and still she swam. The fear coursing through her mind convincing her that she would die in these waters threatened to paralyze her, and still she swam.

Eventually, her body began to force the carbon dioxide out of her lungs and she knew that she had to rise or she would inhale the frigid waters. Alessa kicked to the top of the Ocean. She was almost done exhaling. Her body would soon automatically inhale and she was
n’
t to the top yet. She kicked harder. Her body began to inhale just as she broke the surface. After sputtering on some of the water she swallowed, Alessa gulped in the fresh, warm air. Her eyes darted around. She was afraid that she was too close. She turned to look. She spotted the Great Cliffs, the people hardly dots upon them. She had swum farther than she thought. She allowed herself a small smile. Now, she just had to make it the rest of the way to the Pier and to Camden. Her chest squeezed. She would have to face him.

Alessa lowered herself back into the water and swam.
What if he is
n’
t there?
Alessa was
n’
t certain that he would remain invested in this plan. Perhaps he only wanted her to get out of the Box. Maybe the SDL did
n’
t care what happened to her after that.
I know h
e’
s only fulfilling a duty
Alessa reminded herself. She remembered their last conversation on the Cliffs, the one where he confessed that it had all been a lie. He would probably be there, but he was doing what he was supposed to do, nothing more. Alessa did
n’
t want to be embarrassed again by allowing herself to think that he meant any of the things that he had said and done. They were allies on a mission. She had to believe just that. Even as she thought it, she pushed herself to swim harder and faster. In a deeper, less acknowledged part of her mind, she knew that it had nothing to do with getting out of the icy water, but with getting to stare into Camde
n’
s warm green eyes.

Chapter 10-

Camden

              Camden paced under the Pier. He had no concept of time. Other than the start of the Ceremony, he could
n’
t predict any other factors.
How long would it take to lower her into the water? Would the Minister make a disgusting speech first? How long would it take her to get out of the Box? What if she did
n’
t find the button?

              He shook himself. He could
n’
t afford to think like that. He could
n’
t afford to think that anything could go wrong. That she would
n’
t come swimming up the coast at any moment. The mission was paramount. He had to save the Sacrifice. But his heart was also a cause. He not only had to save the Sacrifice, he had to save Alessa. He had to tell her it was all real, that he did
n’
t seduce her but the exact opposite had occurred. He had to have at least one more conversation with her to correct everything that had gone wrong in their last talk. Thinking about that disaster made his blood boil. He punched the support beam of the Pier. The waiting and the worrying were driving him insane. He could
n’
t stand it.

              Camden walked out to the edge of the water again to look for any sign of her. The cold water stabbed his toes and made him shiver involuntarily. He could
n’
t stop his worry.
How can she even swim in this? What if she gets halfway here and freezes up or runs out of steam?
Everything that could possibly go wrong with this plan kicked him in the chest. They should have just planned to kidnap her. They should have never let her go into the Ocean.

              Of course, that was his heart talking. She had to go in, that was the only way to prove that it was her choice. It was the only way to avoid the embarrassment of the last rescue attempt. But how could the SDL risk Aless
a’
s life in order to save its own embarrassment? Camden sighed heavily. The inaction of waiting was wearing him ragged. He began to pace again.

              On his next pace, he turned towards the Ocean and did a quick scan. There was something in the water. It was her, it had to be her. Camden scanned the beach beside the Pier. The dilapidated area was unlikely to attract anyone, but he had to make sure. He had to keep her safe. He set off at a run, checking the perimeter of the beach, making sure that no one lurked in the woods beyond the beach, and ensuring that their route out of there remained clear. As fast as his legs would carry, he returned to the beach under the Pier. Alessa had reached shallow waters and was dragging herself out of the Ocean. He thought it was the most beautiful site he had ever seen. He stood frozen for a moment, drinking in the fact that she was here and seemed unharmed.

              Then, a wave came up behind Alessa. It seemed small, but it knocked her forward and face first into the water. Camden surged forward. In seconds, he had pulled Alessa into his arms and was guiding her out of the water. She coughed and choked out the water that had unexpectedly entered her throat. Camden pulled her away from the wate
r’
s touch and sat with her on the beach, patting her back gently as the coughing subsided.

              She looked up at him. Her eyes were unreadable and complicated. He could
n’
t tell if she was happy to see him, still angry with him, or if she even wanted him near her. He could
n’
t tell if she was injured or hypothermic. For several moments, they simply stared at each other. Finally, Camden could
n’
t stand to keep it inside.

            
 “
Yo
u’
re incredible
,”
he said softly, moving a lock of her hair away from her face and touching her cheek lightly
,“
yo
u’
re so amazing. You made it and yo
u’
re here and yo
u’
re the most beautiful and incredible sight
I’
ve ever seen
.”
His voice was barely over a whisper and his touch was light. There she had it. He had said exactly what he was thinking.

            
 “
Cam, I
-“
her word was cut off by another coughing fit. The salt in the water made her voice sound raw and painful.

            
 “
Come under the Pier, I have fresh water and some warmer clothes.
I’
m sorry, we should have gone there first
,”
Camden stood and reached for her hand. She hesitated
.“
Alessa, you have to keep moving. We still have some ground to cover and we ca
n’
t afford for your muscles to seize up. I know you are beyond tired and probably in a lot of pain. We will rest soon, I promise, but I need you to keep being strong right now
.”
Camden was worried, but she finally reached for him. He helped her to stand.

              They began walking slowly. Her legs were obviously fatigued and hardly able to carry her. When they were halfway to their destination, Alessa stopped. Camden turned to look at her, about to encourage her on, when she tugged his hand. He took a step towards her. Her hands and arms shook with exertion as she ran them up his arms and secured them around the back of his neck.

            
 “
Cam
,”
she whispered with a sigh. His name, spoken like that, relieved a tension in his chest he had been carrying for weeks. He wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her as close to him as he could manage. He buried his face in her neck and pressed his lips her shoulder. They stood there, holding each other. He ran his hands over her back and arms. He stroked the back of her hair. She held firmly to his neck, her arms continuing to shake.

            
 “
Alessa, you need water and warmth. I could stand like this the rest of the night, but we have to get out of here soon
,”
he pulled back reluctantly and peered into her eyes
,“
ther
e’
s so much to say. It will get said, I swear to you it will
.”
Camden cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead longingly. Then, he untangled her arms from his neck and, with an arm wrapped firmly around her waist, led her to his supplies.

              Camden handed Alessa a bottle of water, which she took and began to drink. After a couple of sips, she began to cough again. Camden kept a hand on her back as she coughed, murmuring comforts in her ear. She stood and cleared her throat. She looked like she was about to speak, but Camden stroked her arm and shook his head. He turned to the bag lying in the sand and pulled a pair of soft cotton pants and a sweater out of it.

            
 “
As much as I appreciate you in that, you need to warm up. Put these on over it for now. We will get to the safe house and you can change soon
,”
Camden said as he handed her the clothes. She obediently removed the sheer overlay and put them on over the wetsuit and then turned to face him.

            
 “
Cam
,”
her voice was scratchy and soft, the Ocean water wearing on her vocal cords
,“
Cam, I do
n’
t really know what to say.
I’
m so very sorry
.
”

            
 “
Alessa, stop
,”
Camden moved to her and wrapped her in his arms again. He could
n’
t imagine that he could ever miss anything more than he had missed this in the past few weeks
.“
You do
n’
t have anything to apologize for. Yo
u’
re here. Yo
u’
re here and you are so incredibly brave and strong and amazing. You did nothing wrong. I know how it looked. I always knew how it would look, and maybe tha
t’
s why I waited so long to tell you. I was so afraid because I knew that it looked like exactly what you thought it was. Hell, I tried to convince myself tha
t’
s what it was for quite some time. I did
n’
t know how to navigate it all and I had all year to think it through. You got about five minutes. I need to be apologizing, not you, please not you
.
”