Flashes of exhaustion swarmed her expression but I moved one hand to reach out and entwine in hers while my eyes searched hers.
We can do it. Together we can.
My words must have gotten through to her, because there was that flicker of hope in those red gems, and she gave a slight nod and gripped my hand tightly.
With a final glance at one another, we began the journey upward. It was amazing how swiftly I'd gone through these very waters that now felt like added weights on our wrists and ankles.
Our bodies were tired, limbs and muscles aching from the expelling force of magic used, not to mention the physical exertion and mental strain of everything that had occurred. Even with the countless problems slowing us down, we continued our pursuit to the surface, our joined hands and tight grips the only things that aided in encouraging us to reach for the top.
Stroke after stroke, inch after inch, we closed in on our goal and crushed through the waters. When we finally burst through the calm barrier, we both gasped the air our lungs begged to retrieve.
We were both panting heavily as we tried to gain as much air into our lungs as possible, all while we floated in our spot. If it hadn't been for our magic, we would have run out of oxygen ages ago, but because we had an overflow of it, I was beginning to grow dizzy by the second.
My priority was on Jade as I tugged her into my hold and did my best to keep her afloat. I'm sure her world was spinning just as fast, leaving me a little delirious as I tried to figure out if we ended up drifting to the spiraling waves.
"Jade! Lisette!" I heard the calls of the Maxwell brothers, their voices extremely close, which made me pray they were close enough to get Jade out of the chilling water.
Reaching the surface was relieving but the drop in adrenaline was suddenly becoming a counter effect on us. I decided to try and float, letting Jade rest on top of me while making me into a platform to keep her afloat.
"Almost there!" I heard Zeke stress.
"Lisette? Are you okay?" Zackery called out.
"Bar...ely," I struggled to even reply as the second syllable croaked out of me while I attempted to move my head whenever water threatened to enter my nostrils and mouth.
"Got you!" I heard Zion declare, and I felt the tug of a hand on my arm.
Opening my eyes, I realized their iced platform had survived the chaos, and they were working on helping Jade onto the platform. I worried they would let me drift away, but as Zion and Zackery aided Jade, Zeus and Zeke reached out for my arms.
"We got you, Lisette," Zeus grunted as he and his brother pulled me right out of the water and onto the chilled platform. The frigid cold did nothing to ruin the happiness and sense of accomplishment I was experiencing at this peak moment.
"Thank the fucking heavens," Zackery breathed. "Lisette! You're absolutely crazy!"
"Cra...zy...but..." I paused to roll over onto my stomach. "Alive."
"Is your back injured?" Zeke questioned, which had to be due to my movement to hide the potential sight of my tight crotch. "It's extremely stiff but I don't think I broke it." I decided to tell a lie in an effort to avoid the chances of them discovering the truth.
"You did amazing, Lisette," Zeus praised with his deep voice that was full of relief.
"Is Jade okay?" Zackery asked Zion.
"She passed out," Zion revealed. "She must have heard our voices and realized she was finally safe enough to fall unconscious."
"Our Queen never wants to succumb to anything if she knows it'll leave others in danger," Zeus complained. "Unbelievable."
"That's why we love her," Zion admitted.
"As much as I'd love to praise Jade's many qualities, we have to deal with those dark assholes approaching us!" Zackery emphasized as his voice gave off a warning that the threat was far closer than any of us realized.
I fought hard to go on my hands and knees and forced my outfit to change back to my uniform. It was still drenched like my combat uniform was, but my skirt would hide what I was fighting to keep hidden.
"Fuck. How did they get so close?" Zeus questioned.
"Scratch that," Zion declared. "What the fuck are they?!"
"They feel like shadows," Zeke revealed, and I lifted my head up to see what they were all viewing. Speed boats of shadow beings were heading our way, carrying various weapons from crossbows to guns.
The sight left me a little horrified, but I knew exactly what they were.
"They're minions of Charles," I breathed and tried to get up, but my feet gave way just as quickly. Arms caught me, and I looked up to Zeke's black eyes.
"You shouldn't be moving," he said, acknowledging my obviously unstable state.
"We won't...stand a chance," I breathed and tried to stand, but Zeke forced me back down on the ground.
"We won't know until we try," he emphasized, and Zeus agreed, "He's right. We have no choice in the matter. We're sitting ducks until backup arrives, and if they destroy the platform Zackery created with Zion, we're screwed."
Zeke nodded and eased me into sitting on my knees.
"We have to keep them as far as we can," he declared and moved to scoop Jade up. He moved her over to where I was, lying her back down and resting her head onto my lap.
"Make sure she keeps breathing," he instructed me as he rose back up completed the four-point square we were somehow in the middle of.
"What are you guys planning?" I said in a rush to get the sentence out without the constant pauses. "They're...shadows! They're hard...to kill," I breathed. With how drained I felt, there wasn't an ounce in me that could try to be my hyper self and play along with the illusion of power.
We were literally sitting ducks unless a miracle happened, but as my eyes darted from one Maxwell to the next, I noticed how their stances widened as they stood there like beacon towers that were ready to defend us with every ounce of magic they had within them.
I noticed Jade stir just slightly, and my head lowered to see her eyes open very slightly. She appeared exhausted in all aspects, and yet was fighting the invitation of unconsciousness yet again.
"Hang in there, Jade," I whispered to her, gently pressing my hand to her cheek as if to remind her that I was right here. I'm sure she wanted to say something, but her eyes began to close yet again.
"Can't...we teleport or something?" I inquired, noticing how the shadow beings were preparing to attack. I never expected Charles to decide upon finishing this one of the many incomplete manipulated projects of creating a life that surpassed element contributions.
The only reason I feared these creatures was because they were boosted up with months’ if not years’ worth of magic that were kept hidden in storage rooms of Charles's laboratory where he kept me imprisoned.
The shadows would run out of energy extremely quickly because they lacked the flowing magic that typical magic users relied on. However, they packed a punch that was more dangerous and had enough force to knock you out if you weren’t careful.
The fact they were now surrounding us only confirmed that this was Charles’s backup plan against us.
"We can't," Zion revealed as he pulled off his glasses and tucked them into his black combat attire. "Charles had to be the one to set this place up for Alaric because it completely blocks teleportation. Think of it like the Bermuda Triangle. You can't directly fly over it without all electronics turning off and leaving you flying into your doom," he explained.