( it isn't a big boat, which means zoya has to be extremely clever in avoiding nikolai's eye, while keeping her gaze keenly on him. being aware that it's a childish action does not mean she's willing to compromise on it — if he sees her, he'll likely say something, and zoya will likely have to hear it. it's much easier, much better, for everyone that she keeps her distance as a silent, watchful bodyguard. it's not like nikolai is going to throw himself over the side and into the water, after all.
it's the karmic retribution for being a coward, she knows — nikolai is not. she reaches the side of the boat just a second after he goes in, the whole body of it swaying as she throws herself against the wooden side, seeing the deft swimmer of her king disappear like a golden ring dropped off a newly wed's finger. eyes scan the water. zoya, while capable of many great feats, cannot lift the entirety of a body of water above her head just to look for the forgotten trinkets inside, like the lid of a shoebox. she waits, not foolish enough to dive in after him, but reasons that if he isn't back in thirty seconds, she'll opt for foolishness in the place of a dead king, now the king of sea glass and kelp and frozen corpses. his color inevitability breaks up the dark monotony of the sea, all gilded and yellow and white, like a stubborn daisy among a leafy garden. allowing the wooden side of the boat to dig into her stomach, zoya reaches over and snags him by the collar as he breaks the water, lifting him not unlike a wet kitten and throwing him to the ship's deck. her tidemaker powers are clumsy and unsharpened, more the frail actions of a little girl than the powerhouse of a dragon she is. )
Are you alive and well? ( she asks it with a calm she doesn't feel, crouching down beside nikolai's body and entirely ignoring the treasure he brought up from the sea. she expects if he needs mouth to mouth, someone else will be less inclined to break his ribs. ) It will be a good thing to know before I commit regicide.
they sleep.
it's the karmic retribution for being a coward, she knows — nikolai is not. she reaches the side of the boat just a second after he goes in, the whole body of it swaying as she throws herself against the wooden side, seeing the deft swimmer of her king disappear like a golden ring dropped off a newly wed's finger. eyes scan the water. zoya, while capable of many great feats, cannot lift the entirety of a body of water above her head just to look for the forgotten trinkets inside, like the lid of a shoebox. she waits, not foolish enough to dive in after him, but reasons that if he isn't back in thirty seconds, she'll opt for foolishness in the place of a dead king, now the king of sea glass and kelp and frozen corpses. his color inevitability breaks up the dark monotony of the sea, all gilded and yellow and white, like a stubborn daisy among a leafy garden. allowing the wooden side of the boat to dig into her stomach, zoya reaches over and snags him by the collar as he breaks the water, lifting him not unlike a wet kitten and throwing him to the ship's deck. her tidemaker powers are clumsy and unsharpened, more the frail actions of a little girl than the powerhouse of a dragon she is. )
Are you alive and well? ( she asks it with a calm she doesn't feel, crouching down beside nikolai's body and entirely ignoring the treasure he brought up from the sea. she expects if he needs mouth to mouth, someone else will be less inclined to break his ribs. ) It will be a good thing to know before I commit regicide.