My heart is struggling to beat for the last time when my sense of feeling suddenly starts to come back. Fresh air streams into my lungs, my heart taking its next tentative beat. My whole body is shivering and I have never felt so cold in my whole life, but at least I’m feeling again, the icy core inside me beginning to thaw. The voices around me start to make sense again, my eyelids flutter and I manage to open my eyes. Slowly I turn my head. Close to me Rupert is tackling Cassius, whose face is contorted with hatred and fury. Everybody is screaming and I follow Randolph’s gaze to the other side of the lake and I gasp. A figure is standing there, ablaze with fire, her blonde hair shining. Without doubt it’s Ruth. But my heart seems to be still frozen, I don’t really care.
“She’s alive! Livia’s alive!” Natalie’s voice shrills in my ears. She falls down to the ground beside me, gripping me by the shoulders. “Please, Livia, you must stop Cassius, he’s killing Ruth!” Tears are streaming down her face and she pulls at my arm but I can’t get up, my legs are still numb from the cold. And why the hell should I help Ruth? It was her dark forces that nearly killed me. But Natalie seems to be reading my mind. “Please, do it for Cassius’ sake!” she implores. “He’ll become an outcast if he kills another Arash!” Holy shit, that’s a different matter! Gritting my teeth I crawl over to him. Rupert and Will are now holding him down but the fire doesn’t abate. He’s blind with rage, and when I put my hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at me, he doesn’t react at first. No, don’t kill the bitch, please! I have to get through to him and quickly.
“Cassius, stop it, please!” My voice cracks. Suddenly he stops struggling and stares at me as if I were a ghost.
“Livia?” he whispers hoarsely. “Is it really you?” I nod, tears streaming down my face, as he pulls me into his arms. The heat of his body goes through me like a shock and dissolves the last of the ice within me. Randolph kneels down beside us.
“It’s a miracle that you’re alive. You certainly are much more resilient than any normal human being.” His amber eyes are winking at me.
As soon as Livia has stopped Cassius’ fire, Rupert ubilocates to the other side of the lake. Livia is alive but what about Ruth? He knows that her attack on Livia is unforgivable, but he has been in love with Ruth for too long to give up on her now. Ruth is lying on the ground, motionless. She’s still breathing but her open eyes are vacant, lifeless. “Go away and let me die,” she whispers when he bends over her.
“No, I can’t, I love you,” he breathes, pushing back her hair that has fallen over her face.
“Nobody can love a dark creature like me”, she pants, trying to struggle up. “I killed Livia, intentionally.” Now that everyone knew, Randolph would cast her out, her only solace being Livia’s death. But Rupert shakes his head.
“No, Livia’s alive! She came through!” Ruth’s dark eyes are widening in horror. No human could possibly have survived her attack, but Livia has somehow succeeded. She has won again and Ruth herself has lost everything. “Livia got Cassius to stop the fire,” Rupert continues. She owes the bitch her life now as well.
“I can’t stay with you,” she whispers, suddenly struggling up and running towards the lake. Only the lake can take the pain away, the fire that is still burning inside her, the humiliation, the fear. Before Rupert can stop her, she plunges into the Lake of Truth, knowing that due to its special powers it will drown her for what she tried to do.
Natalie screams when she sees Ruth jumping into the water. Rupert plunges in after her and Natalie tries to do the same but Randolph stops her. “Natalie, it’s no good, you can’t save her!” Shocked by his words, she turns to him.
“Why not? We can’t just let her die!” Randolph sighs heavily.
“She will anyway. None of you will be able to find her in the water. The Lake of Truth is a law unto itself. Ruth will die in there because she tried to kill Livia. But Ruth knows that, it was her own decision to jump.”
“And no one can save her?” Natalie whispers, horrified. Randolph frowns, unable to hide his uneasiness.
“Just one person could try it, the person she wronged.” Oh, that’s obviously me. I glare up at him, clearly shaken. “And it’s terribly dangerous. Not many Arash come back from its waters and certainly no human ever has.” There! Why should I risk my life for the bitch who tried to kill me? Natalie is looking at me with imploring eyes.
“Livia, please don’t let my sister die!” Will whispers beside me.
“Tell me, why should Livia risk her life for Ruth?” Cassius hisses at him, pulling me closer. “You heard yourself what Randolph said, no human could pull it off!” I look into Will’s and Natalie’s anguished faces, see Rupert emerging from the lake on the other side, without Ruth. Will I lose their friendship if I don’t try? Will it always be an issue from now on?
“Randolph, how many humans have tried it so far?” I ask my father, shrugging Cassius’ arm off. He averts his gaze.
“Well, none, I suppose. It’s not a place that humans can see.” So he’s only trying to protect me. I take a step closer to him.
“And no human would have survived Ruth’s attack earlier, right? You said so yourself,” I whisper. His eyes are pained as he looks into mine.
“The lake is extremely dangerous for Arash too. You never know what will happen in there.” My friends are staring at us, curious, not hearing what we’re talking about, Will’s and Natalie’s faces still pleading. Oh fuck! I look up at the night sky, my own bright star right above me. I’ve drowned so many times in this bloody lake in my dreams, I won’t do it for real too, will I? With three quick steps I reach the lake and dive in, ignoring Cassius’ and Randolph’s anguished shouts.
It’s exactly like it was in my dreams. The water’s cold and dark, but when I come up for air I suddenly see Ruth’s reflection in the water. From the shore I hear sounds of a struggle, Cassius is obviously trying to follow me, the others are deterring him. I take a deep breath and plunge down again into the darkness, following her reflection. And then, just a few instants later, there she is, quite close to me, her blonde hair floating around her like seaweed. My first thought is that she looks as if she’s dead. Am I too late? The urge to resurface becomes almost overpowering, but when I see her drifting into the depths of the lake I decide to follow her. I’m swimming for all I’m worth now, lungs burning, but I’m nearly there. Now I get hold of her limp hand and try to drag her up with me, but suddenly I’m sucked down, pulled by a powerful undertow. Frantically I struggle upwards, but Ruth’s body is dragging me down again. It’s like it was in my nightmare and I know I have to let go of her to save my own life. I don’t want to die now, I want to start my new life with Cassius, Randolph and the others! Hell, I can’t leave Cassius, he needs me! The thought seems to strengthen me again and turning my face towards the surface I catch a glimpse of light. It’s the huge star that has been escorting me ever since last autumn, its brightness illuminating the darkness of the lake around me. Quickly I push to the surface, still dragging Ruth behind me, the undertow somehow superseded by the light. In the next instant I gasp for air, breaking through the surface of the water. I feel a pair of strong hands grabbing my shoulder and pulling me to the shore where Cassius lays me on the ground.