Trafalgar was pulled out of the water by Xavier.
Maledicta dissolved into particles of mana before his hand even reached the surface, the blade breaking apart while his body gave up the last of what it could spare. By the time Xavier dragged him far enough onto the sand, Trafalgar was still conscious, but only just.
He lay there on his back, chest rising hard, seawater running from his hair and shoulders into the sand beneath him.
Xavier bent over with both hands on his knees, breathing like he had been the one fighting at the bottom of the sea. To be fair, Trafalgar had drifted much farther from the shore than any of them had realized, and dragging him back had not been light work either.
A short distance away, Zafira, Cynthia, and Bartholomew were still making their way in. They had stopped pushing deeper once the water kept exploding from the mana clashes below. None of them had wanted to jump blindly into that.
Xavier straightened and wiped water from his face.
