The Claimed: A Clash of Copper and Gold

Chapter 2: Obsidian

I dove into the water.

Salt stung my eyes as I swiveled around. Niako floated several feet from me, long arms and legs bizarrely elegant as they drifted in the water. I clawed toward him, hooked my hands under his armpits, and kicked as hard as I could.

Our clothing and shoes dragged me down. I fought against the pull, lungs bursting. Darkness spotted the edges of my vision. 

With a final desperate kick, my head broke through the surface. 

Gasping in air, I wrapped one arm around Niako's chest and shoved down water with the other. His head breached the surface.

And lolled to his shoulder.

Panic and despair swelled in my chest. I sucked in a rasping breath and dove under water again, dragging Niako toward the jagged shoreline beneath the ledge. When my feet scraped rocks, I pushed off and shoved Niako ahead of me. Using every last bit of strength, I heaved him up onto the shoreline. His body slumped over the rocky edge, and one arm flopped to the side, dangling into the water.

I struggled up onto the land beside him, panting, and laid my palms over the center of his chest. I thrust down three times and then leaned down toward his mouth, but just before I reached his lips, his eyes flicked open. 

He blinked at me for a second. Then he rolled to the side and vomited noisily into the lagoon.

I wrapped an arm around him to keep him from sliding back into the water as he convulsed and retched. When he stopped, he laid his head back on the rock behind him, closed his eyes, and wiped a hand across his mouth. His white tunic clung to his chest, exposing his thin torso and arms.

I swallowed hard, wishing for his anger or even his arrogance. "Niako, are you... are you alright?"

"Mm," he said, still not opening his eyes. "I almost hurt you. You almost killed me. Guess we're even?"

A quick burst of startled laughter erupted from my chest, but then tears stung my eyes. "That wasn't what I... I knew you were afraid of water, but I d-didn't mean to..." I pulled in a breath and tugged a hand through my hair, causing water to stream down my face again. "Niako, I didn't know you couldn't swim."

"Yes, well, that goes with being afraid of water, doesn't it?"

"Sometimes, but I thought you could swim, since..." Unease sloshed in my gut. "Makash knows you can't swim, doesn't he?"

Eyes still shut, he grimaced. "Makash asked you to push me in?"

"I told him I wanted to teach you a lesson."

"Well, congratulations."

A lump swelled in my throat. I swallowed several times before forcing out hoarse words. "I'm sorry, Niako."

His eyes opened, and he regarded me curiously, the way one might watch a dog acting like a cat. "Toom... are you crying?"

I swiped my palms over my eyes. "I thought you were going to drown."

A small indentation appeared between his eyebrows, and he chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Well, I didn't. Thanks for that, I guess."

Unsure how to respond, I turned my attention toward the narrow strip of land connecting our rocky piece of shoreline to the beach on the other side. "I'll find someone to carry you back to the palace."

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I can walk."

The thought of him stumbling home alone after nearly dying made my throat dry. 

"I'll find someone. Will you just stay here for a minute?"

He didn't answer.

I grabbed his wrist and squeezed once. "Niako? Stay here. Please?"