Damiana Meade’s new cozy slice-of-life portal fantasy/isekai serial, Apothecary, is live on Kindle Vella! You can read the first 10 chapters for FREE. New chapters released weekly on Fridays.
Here’s a fun lil snippet from Apothecary to wet your appetite.
Chapter 10 Salt Water Swoon
I was going to drown. My first attempt at an adventure and here I was, drowning before I could even get my footing.
Not even drowning. Being drowned and by something I couldn’t see as the waves tumbled me and whatever it was pulled me into the blackness where the biofluorescent plant light could not reach.
No one would know what happened to me. Melody might be able to guess. The stupid human went to pick plants and got herself killed. Hopefully they could find Mamaw without me.
The sea water hurt as I choked on it and my vision was going dark and all I could feel amongst the panic was failure.
A rough hand wrapped around my wrist, an arm around my waist. Someone warm and strong and far more capable than me was there. Pulling me up and free from whatever had my ankle.
My head broke through the surface of the water and I tried to take a gulp of air but all I felt was water and sea salt burning. I gagged and choked while whoever it was pulled me further along.
Sand grit under me as we reached the shore. Voices, muffled by water in my ears and the sounds of my own gagging, shouted loudly around me. One in particular I realized was speaking to me.
“Come on, beautiful. Breathe. Just breathe. By Ruan’s eye, please…just breathe. That’s a good girl.”
I gasped and vomited up sea water. Calloused hands gently pulled my hair from my face and rubbed my back.
“Good girl, Poppy. Let it up. That’s it.”
Something warm and dry was wrapped around me…us, I realized as the warm hard body of my rescuer pressed close and wrapped the fabric snug.
Blinking back salt and sand, I looked up into the concerned face of Hri.
“There you are,” he said softly with a smile. “We almost lost you there.”
