My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 270

Chapter 270: Chapter 270 STRONG HEART

SERAPHINA’S POV

Cold engulfed me.

The suffocating weight pressed in from every direction, thick and relentless, as the sea swallowed me whole.

My body reacted before my mind could catch up: lungs spasmed, limbs thrashed as the undertow snatched me, dragging me sideways and down.

Sand scoured my skin. Water forced its way into my mouth, my nose, my throat.

Dread crashed over me.

Not new. Never new.

Old. Visceral. Familiar as my own heartbeat.

I was a child again.

The world shifted, warped by panic and memory, and suddenly the sea was gone—replaced by murky green water and the sharp shock of cold stone beneath my palms.

I was small—far too small. My limbs felt alien, weighed down by drenched fabric that clung like grasping hands.

I remembered the shove. Cruel hands at my back, sudden and vicious, laughter echoing as I stumbled, and the lake behind the Lockwood estate surged up to meet me.

Water closed over my head.

I kicked and flailed, shoes weighing me down, skirts tangling around my legs. The surface shimmered just beyond reach, light rippling above in cruel mockery.

My chest burned for air.

Panic sharpened into something terrible and lucid.

‘I’m going to die.’

The thought had come with frightening clarity, stripped of drama or fear. That awful certainty that I would disappear before I’d ever mattered.

Back then, my father had dragged me out, coughing and sobbing, crushing me to his chest as if sheer will could anchor me to the world again.

Back at the koi pond, Kieran had pulled me out.

This time—

Water flooded my lungs.

The world smeared and blurred.

Something flickered at the ragged edge of my awareness.

A woman stood on the shore.

Her face was lost to shadow; only her silhouette remained, the shape of her clothes oddly out of place in the memory. She stood unmoving, her presence remote, yet inescapable.

Then the world jolted.

Strong, unyielding arms wrapped around me, slicing through the water with ruthless efficiency. My body was yanked upward, the surface exploding as we broke through.

I gasped, choking as air crashed into my lungs—burning, painful, glorious.

I barely registered the face above me: brown hair slicked dark to his head, blue and green eyes blazing with determination and fear.

Corin.

He dragged me through the water, one arm locked around my torso as he pulled us both toward shore.

As my vision dimmed, something strange flickered at the edge of sight.

Behind him...

A flash of silver-blue.

A powerful, sleek curve—unmistakable, yet utterly impossible.

A fishtail.

Then everything went black.

***

When awareness returned, it did so gently.

Soft sheets cocooned me. The muted hush of a familiar room, the scent of citrus, salt, and something warm—perhaps tea—filled the air.

My chest ached with every breath, but the pain was distant, manageable.

“Sera?”

The voice was small and trembling.

I opened my eyes.

Dora stood at my bedside, eyes shining with tears too large for her small face. Her hands clutched the blanket like it was the only thing holding her together.

Relief flooded her expression the moment she saw me stir.

“She’s awake,” she whispered urgently, glancing over her shoulder.

Kai and Neri hovered in the doorway, guilt carved deep into their young faces. Reef lingered behind them, unusually still, hands knotted at his chest.

Dora climbed onto the bed, curling into my side and burying her face in my shoulder with a muffled sob.

I wrapped an arm around her instinctively, my own chest tightening.

“I’m okay,” I rasped, my throat raw. “Hey...hey, I’m okay.”

Selene rushed in moments later, Adrian close behind her.

“Oh, Sera,” she breathed, crossing the room in three quick strides. “I’m so sorry. We had an impromptu meeting to attend, but we shouldn’t have left you on your own as our guest. We should never have gone that far. We—”

Her voice broke.

Adrian’s jaw was clenched tight, his hand resting heavily on her back.

“We can’t imagine what would’ve happened,” Selene continued, eyes shining. “If Corin hadn’t been there—”

“I’m alright,” I said again, more firmly this time. “Really.”

It mattered that they believed me. I was weary of being a burden everywhere I went, and I didn’t want any tainted memories of Seabreeze.

Kai swallowed hard and stepped forward, his head bowed. “It was our idea,” he said quietly. “To play near the shore.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I told him. “None of you did.”

Reef sniffed. “The wave came out of nowhere,” he grumbled. “That’s not fair.”

That drew a weak laugh from me.

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