My count was off, and the door shot open sooner than I’d prepared for. I didn’t have time to think about it, wedging my foot and arm behind the door, catching the wood in my hands as it flew back just in time before slapping into my face. That jolt had been enough to break my shield completely, and I held my breath and closed my eyes as blood enveloped me. Magnus’s legs knocked into me as he shifted, the door pressing away from me, opening more and more with the small crack I’d given him as leverage.

The more it crept open, the more I crept toward the hall, pressing my shoulder into the door. I gasped for breath as I emerged from the room into the hall, spitting out blood that ran down my face and hair, while the sea stayed within the confines of the doorway. I got to my feet to gain more balance and rammed my shoulder into the door. Magnus eased out his leg. I rammed again, and his upper half leaned out, and he gasped as I had, though his breaths were a little more panicked. I continued until he was clear of the door, standing in the hall with me, holding the door against the liquid mass.

“We’re going to let go at the count of three,” I said, and he didn’t argue. “One.”

“Two,” he counted with me. “Three!”

We tumbled back, the force of the rising blood slamming the door behind us. The floor knocked the wind out of me, and I gasped a few times to gather my breath. We lay on the ground, our cold, sopping-wet clothing sticking to us. I wiped my face quickly to keep the blood out of my eyes, giving myself a moment to catch my breath. I suddenly realized we were holding on to each other, and I let go of him quickly.

“We’re okay,” I said, feeling stiff and cold, and his grip wasn’t helping. “Let go.”

He did so, immediately folding into himself and shivering. We lay facing each other. For some reason that felt intimate, so I rolled and splatted onto my back.

“Is there an amulet for this?” he asked, panting.

“There’s an amulet for everything.”

I shoved myself to my feet and hurried down the hall, leaving a red trail behind me. I grabbed the entire basket of supplies instead of trying to sort through everything in my dark room. When I slipped to a stop back in front of Magnus’s room, he was standing eying the door, as if it might burst open at any moment. But when I sat down with the basket, so did he, hugging his wet clothes to him, teeth chattering.