Chapter 36: Emperor of Wrath: Chapter 36

It’s quiet now.

I listen to the shallow, rhythmic breathing inside Kenzo’s chest and the drip-drip-dripping sound of the water down over the side of the walkway.

At times, my vision swims again. Then I’ll feel like something is twisting inside me. But I can’t tell if it’s what Valon injected me with or my mind, fucking with me.

I hold Kenzo’s hand, refusing to acknowledge the truth that’s staring me in the face.

We’re going to die down here.

I sniff back tears. When I do, a terrible realization hits me. It’s smelled dank and bad down here since I arrived. But something’s different now.

Rotten eggs.

My face falls.

The air…

I tremble when Kenzo’s hand finds mine and squeezes a little.

“I’m sorry,” he growls quietly. “I’m so fucking sorry for pulling you into my world.”

“Don’t you dare say that,” I whisper back, wiping away a tear. “Loving you has been the highlight of an otherwise pretty shitty life.”

“Fantastic endorsement.”

I grin through the tears as I lean up to kiss him.

“Our friends are looking for us,” I whisper more urgently. “They’re going to find us.”

“Definitely,” he grunts.

“They will,” I repeat.

“I know,” Kenzo smiles softly.

Drip-drip-drip.

The sound of the dripping is maddening.

Drip-drip-drip—splash.

My brows knit. The splashing sound comes again, and I stand, walking tentatively toward the rusty railing and looking down into the inky black water.

A fish breaches the surface, then dives back down.

Holy fuck.

This is not how this ends.

I might be a lost cause at this point. I have no idea how long it’s been since Valon stuck me with that needle. I’m guessing I have…fifteen minutes or so left?

But I’m getting Kenzo the fuck out of here.

I’m not sad to die. I’ve thought for years that I’ve been living on borrowed or stolen time. I should have died long ago in the attack on my family. Or in a squalid alley in Athens, at the hand of a man paying to use my body.

But I didn’t. I made it this far, and my reward was to have Kenzo for a little while.

He. Will. Not. Die. Here.

This was never him “dragging me into his world.” This is my mess. My chaos.

And he will not die for that.

I stare at the rippling surface of the water, where the fish just was. That fucking fish came from somewhere. The water came from somewhere.

We’re going to find out where.

Kenzo is barely conscious when I march back to him, lift his arm over my shoulder, and get him to his feet, groaning with the effort.

“Annika…”

“C’mon,” I grunt, gritting my teeth. “Help me get you up. You’re a heavy fucker, you know that?”

“Annika, stop…”

“Nope.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, I can’t come with you,” he breathes raspily. “So just leave me⁠—”

“Not fucking happening. Get the fuck up,” I spit. “Now!”

His eyes slide to mine. Whatever spark is still flickering inside of them burns a little brighter. It’s not much.

But it’ll do.

“There we are,” I grunt as he grips the wall, pushing to his feet. “Let’s go, Mori.”

He shoots me a doubtful look as we stumble and shuffle to the stairs dropping down into the black water. “What the fuck are⁠—”

“Come. On.”

I’m running out of time.

At the stairs, I let him sit back down. Then I tug off my pants, leaving them with him as I walk down into the terrifying water.

I hate deep water. I hate not being able to see the bottom, not knowing what’s about to come up out of the depths to grab me.

Today, that particular phobia can go fuck itself.

Without another thought, I take a deep breath and dive beneath the surface.

Fuck, it’s dark. Terrifyingly so. But I force myself to kick down to the bottom of the drowned room. The massive hole in the floor is a horror all its own. But I can’t let that get to me either right now. I need to push past the fear.

For him.

I scream as a shape emerges from the hole in the floor. Air bubbles cloud my vision until I realize it’s just another fish. I watch as it swims up into the room, crosses the gaping hole, and then swims back down.

…And presumably out the opposite side.

It’s not proof.

But right now, it’s all I have.

I kick back over to Kenzo and climb out. I refuse to acknowledge how bad and close to death he looks. Instead, I tie one leg of my pants to each of his wrists and back up to where he’s sitting on the step right above the water, looping the pants around my neck.

I turn to cup his face, looking into his hooded, shallow eyes.

“I need you to take a deep breath,” I whisper quietly. “And I need you to hold it for a long time. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he murmurs. “Yeah, princess, I⁠—”

I kiss him hard, searing my lips to his as I hold his face in my hands.

Time to go.

I turn, adjust the makeshift harness around my neck, and plunge forward into the water. A splash follows as Kenzo’s weight tips in after me. The pants bite into my neck, and my muscles scream as I kick down, dragging us deeper into the abyss below us. Fear rips and claws into me as we near the dark hole in the floor.

But I can’t stop now.

We dive into it, and I swim lower, going the same direction as the fish, praying to whatever God or gods are listening that the fish knew what the fuck it was doing.

We’re in a smooth tunnel, and as I swim forward, I realize it’s some kind of sewer main or water conduit.

I have no idea what’s at the other end.

But there’s no turning back now.

So I swim. I swim until my legs burn and my lungs scream. I swim until my vision blurs and my body is milliseconds away from giving out, giving up, and swallowing a mouthful of death.

That’s when I see the light.

There’s fucking light ahead.

There’s nothing left in my tank, but I floor it anyway. I kick and paddle, my body screaming for oxygen until, suddenly, we’re falling⁠—

And for one brief second, I can fucking breathe.

Then I choke on water and spray as I go plunging back into water. Kenzo’s weight pulls me down, but I fight and kick, dragging us both back to the surface. When I break through, I gasp for air, sucking sweet, sweet oxygen into my lungs with a wrenching sob.

We’re outside. There’s moonlight glinting down on us, and air across our faces.

My eyes lock onto the shore of the runoff pond. I kick away from the gush of water surging out of the pipe behind us, swimming with everything I have left until I get to land.

Kenzo is limp as I drag him out of the water.

His chest isn’t moving anymore.

“KENZO!” I scream. I turn to the side, spasming as I vomit up grimy water, wheezing before I turn back to him. “KENZO!!!” I scream in his face, slamming my fists on his chest.

Hot tears sting my eyes and roll down my cheeks.

“FUCK YOU!!” I scream, pounding his chest again.

Something else is wrong. My vision is getting darker. My breathing is slowing.

I’m getting weaker.

I raise my fist and slam it as hard as I can against his chest, screaming his name as loud as I can.

His abs clench. His throat bobs and he sputters. Sobbing, I grab his face and turn it to the side as he chokes up water, wheezing and gasping as I fall across his chest.

Smiling.

But fading.

Quickly.

“ANNIKA!”

I hear my name somewhere in the distance.

“ANNIKA!!” The voice roars. “THEY’RE OVER HERE!!”

My eyes flutter open just long enough to see flashlights bobbing and weaving towards us. They get close, and in the glow of the moon, I can make out a handful of police officers, some EMTs, and both Takeshi and Mal bolting down a hillside toward us.

My head drops to his chest, listening to his weak heartbeat and the ragged breathing of his lungs.

He’s alive.

He’s going to live.

“I love you,” I whisper against his chest as everything fades away.

I’ll take what little time we had.

That’s enough for me.