Water hit Reyn like a cold slap from an upset god.

  Reyn's last breath escaped in a burst of bubbles as she plunged into an ocean that had no interest in surface or air. The water was clear to the point of impossible, shot through with colors that had no names as far as Reyn's language stretched. Schools of fish swam by with too many eyes and not enough fins. A creature like a floating ribbon of light undulated past, singing in harmonics that she felt in her bones.

  Reyn couldn't swim. Had never learned. In Bormecia, warriors who fell into deep water were expected to walk along the bottom until they found a way out. But this ocean had no bottom she could see, just endless blue deepening to purple deepening to black.

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  She looked for the surface, but found none.

  Her lungs burned. The urge to breathe became everything, overwhelming even her Bormecian discipline. But as Reyn's vision began to darken at the edges, a strange peace settled over her. The water was beautiful. The creatures dancing in strange formations were beautiful. If she had to die, there were worse last sights.

  A shadow fell over her. She looked up to see a mouth the size of a city gate descending. The creature's throat glowed with soft phosphorescence, like swallowing starlight.

  Well, she thought as darkness claimed her, this is different.