darina19: переводы

→I panicked. My first impulse was a human one, and I bent my body, trying to tear at the ropes across my ankles with my bound hands. I quickly realized this was profoundly stupid, and tried to calm down and concentrate on my powers.

→Then I glanced over to my right, and through the murky water, made out a skull grinning back at me.

→Okay, Sophie, I thought. Don’t panic.

→And then I hit the water.

→Cal shifted me in his arms, and I tensed. Just before he tossed me into the pond, he leaned in and whispered, “Good luck.”

→“Oh, thanks, that’s super helpful.”

→“Don’t breathe in any water.”

→“I’ll be pretending, of course, but do you have any advice on how I’m supposed to not drown?” I asked Cal.

→“Maybe,” he replied. We’d reached the end of the pier. I looked down at the water and tried not to shudder.

→“Cal,” I said with mock astonishment, “did you just make a joke?”

→“Mrs. Casnoff let me install my heart-shaped Jacuzzi in my new dorm room.”

→“Weird for me, weird for her, probably weird for you since you had to give up your swinging bachelor pad.”

→“No problem. Must be weird for you, having your mom here.”

→Mom frowned, and I wanted to give her a thumbs-up to let her know I was okay. All I could manage was raising my bound hands in her general direction, clocking Cal on the chin as I did so. “Sorry.”

→Six months later, and we were still waiting.

→“Thanks,” I said. Over his shoulder, I saw my mom watching us from the front porch of what had been Cal’s cabin. She’d been staying there for the past six months while we waited for my dad to come get me and take me to Council Headquarters in London.

→Something fluttered inside my chest, catching me by surprise. I hadn’t felt anything like that since Archer had disappeared. It probably didn’t mean anything. The sun was shining through Cal’s dark blond hair, and his hazel eyes were picking up the light bouncing off the water. Plus, he was carrying me like I didn’t weigh anything. Of course I’d feel butterflies when a guy who looked like that said something so swoon-worthy.

→“You’ll be fine,” he said. “And if you’re not up in a few minutes,I’ll save you.”

→“I think I can manage the sinking part,” I muttered. “The rest…not so sure.”

→I thought I saw that ghost of a smile again, but then he said, “The Vandy said that real witches escaped trial by water by pretending to drown, then freeing themselves with their powers. So she wants you to sink, then save yourself.”