Rowan takes another breath and holds it in the heartbeat before the ball wraps around her head. She knows she can hold her breath for a minute, maybe two. Perhaps that is enough time to stop this? Her fingers inch towards her bag, but then something strikes against her chest and all the air whooshes out of her lungs.

Through the watery bubble, she can just make out a shadow standing in front of her, a flash of pale skin and dark hair. Ciorsdan must have hit Rowan to force all the air out of her chest. Rowan knows why too, now that her lungs aren't full of air, it's hard to fight the urge to inhale.

The pain of not doing so just grows and grows, she isn't sure how much longer she can hold it. There is a blur from outside the bubble and for a moment, a pocket of air appears, funnelling down from the top of the water bubble. Rowan takes a greedy breath, sucking the air into her exhausted lungs.

But then the bubble is gone again and she almost chokes on water, forcing herself to not inhale at the last second. Despite her attempts, and it was successful, Ciorsdan seems to grow tired of waiting. One moment the bubble of water is just wrapped around Rowan's head and the next it is forcing itself down her throat.

She can't help but inhale this time, she doesn't have any choice. Rowan chokes as the water forces its way into her lungs, drowning her. She can feel her lungs beginning to fill, but then energy blasts around her and the air in front of her clears. Still choking on water, Rowan watches through teary eyes as Ciorsdan stumbles backwards.

She stands there for a moment, stunned, before she lunges for Rowan with her hands outstretched. Frost is curling from her fingertips as she reaches Rowan, digging her nails into soft flesh. Rowan would cry out in pain if her airways weren't already full of water, but they are so she falls back instead, overwhelmed by both the pain and the darkness spreading over her vision.

The oxygen deprivation is getting to her now, drowning beginning to take effect. Ice begins to spread from Ciorsdan's talons and into Rowan's bloodstream, spreading faster than the most severe frostbite. Rowan is shaking faster than she ever thought was possible, her body slipping too far below normal temperature.

There is another blast of magic and Ciorsdan cries out in rage and pain, shrieking. Rowan squints through the darkness to see Ciorsdan almost dissolving, being torn to shreds by some almost invisible force. She can't examine it further, the darkness takes over and she falls against the ground. Ciorsdan's cries stop abruptly and Rowan knows she is dead. Before she falls into unconsciousness, Rowan feels along her arm and presses against the raised imprint of a leaf.

~~~

Astrila stares in disbelief at the swirling of winds and shadow around Ciorsdan, watching them tear her into strips of flesh. She's not sure what is happening, one moment Rowan is drowning and the next there is a cloud bursting from beneath her skin to destroy Ciorsdan. There is a soft thud and Astrila turns to see Rowan hit the ground, several meters away from Ciorsdan.

Astrila glances back at Kyma, but the other girl is fine for now, holding a hand over the bleeding gash in her chest. So Astrila takes a few bounding strides over to Rowan. Her arms are bleeding from several deep puncture marks and as Astrila watches, the blood leaking from Rowan's arm freezes solid, turning pale with frost.

Her skin is paling too, and Astrila's eyes widen with understanding. She swears and pulls her pelt from around her shoulders, wrapping it tightly around Rowan, trying to combat the hypothermia. But it isn't just hypothermia, not with how pale Rowan is becoming.

She's turning blue and if it wasn't so soon, Astrila would be worried that it's frostbite. But no, she's paling so incredibly quickly and her blood froze solid. There is something else happening here. Rowan takes a ragged breath, or she tries. She makes a gurgling sound instead and Astrila swears again.

"Kyma, get over here!"

Still putting pressure on her wound, Kyma dashes over. Her face is drawn with residual pain and a mix of worry and confusion. "What's wrong?"

"There's water in her lungs. I need you to get it out."

With a swift nod, Kyma extends her free hand towards Rowan, placing it on her chest. She winces, clearly wanting to pull her hand back. "She's horribly cold! It burns. What's going on?"

"I don't know, but you have to get that water out of her lungs before she dies, Kyma."

Kyma flexes her fingers and flattens her hand against Rowan's chest. Water begins to stream out of her mouth, speckled with small bits of something solid. Astrila sweeps her hands through the stream and pulls back at once.

"It's freezing." They exchange a panicked glance. "We need to hurry then."

Kyma lowers her other hand from her chest and places it atop Rowan's stomach, not even caring about the red specks covering her palm and fingers. The stream of water emerges twice as fast now, but the flecks of ice are becoming increasingly concentrated. She's starting to worry that the water will freeze before they can remove it all.

Astrila seems to sense this, disappearing from Rowan's side for a moment. When she returns, there is a flaming branch clutched in her fist. Either Kyma's sense of time is warped in her desperation or Astrila is far too good at starting fires. The fire seems to help keep the water thawed and the last droplets of it slide out of Rowan's throat and they both slump with a gasp. Just then, there is a sound from the trees.
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What do you think destroyed Ciorsdan? What's happening with Rowan? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out