Chapter 5
Edith had routines, not because she was predictable… absolutely not, she would argue that point to her last breath, but because some things were… necessary.
The grotto was one of those things.
Tucked just beyond the main stretch of Krakens Hole, hidden underneath Krakens Hollow, it opened into a cavern that shimmered with soft, living light. Water pooled in its centre—clear, glowing faintly, touched by magic that ran deeper than anything Edith could name.
Merlin’s Gate, that’s what the witches called it, and she loved it. It didn’t ask questions and didn’t expect anything. It just… was.
Edith padded carefully along the edge of the water, her claws clicking softly against the smooth stone before she reached her usual spot; the submerged platform where Dave and Brutas in their Kraken form would bask.
“Right,” she muttered, settling herself. “If this doesn’t fix everything, I’ll be writing a strongly worded complaint to… someone.”
She wasn’t entirely sure who. The grotto, perhaps, it seemed as good a candidate as any. Then with a small sigh, she dipped her front feet into the water.
The warmth travelled up her legs, Not too hot and not too cold it was just right.
It seeped into her scales, into her bones, easing the lingering ache from last night’s frantic escape. The burn in her wings softened, the tension in her chest loosening just enough that she could breathe a little easier.
Edith let out a slow, contented hum.
“Okay,” she admitted. “That’s better.”
She shifted slightly, letting more of her feet rest in the water, her tail curling lazily behind her.
For a brief moment, Edith let herself forget about hunters and her past and any looming vamoosing situation. Just the gentle ripple of water and the soft glow of magic surrounded her. It helped, which was why when the explosion happened she nearly launched herself into the cavern wall.
BOOM.
Edith yelped, claws scrabbling against the stone as she jerked backward, wings flaring instinctively and water spraying everywhere.
“What in the…”
She froze, her heart hammering in her chest as she looked about and frowned, there was no debris, no falling rock, no sign of destruction at all. Nothing apart from the echoes of the blast… until…
“Oh for the love of… WHO LEFT THE SECONDARY SIGIL UNATTENDED?!” A voice pierced the quiet and echoed off the walls of the cavern, a voice that was on edge, annoyed, and very much alive and not dead from said explosion.
Edith blinked. “That’s new,” she whispered.
From deeper within the cavern, another voice called out, this one far more amused.
“Oh don’t be dramatic, it only exploded a little.”
“A LITTLE?!”
Laughter followed, bright and unapologetic. It filled the air with a positive energy.
Edith stared into the deeper shadows of the grotto, her heart slowly settling from immediate terror to mildly concerned curiosity.
“Moonchild witches,” she muttered.
Of course, that explained everything and absolutely nothing at the same time.
She huffed softly, her wings folding back in as she cautiously returned her feet to the water.
“Honestly,” she grumbled. “No respect for peaceful soaking environments.”
Despite the rude interruption, calm quickly returned along with the warmth and the sense of “everything’s going to be okay”. Edith exhaled slowly, her body relaxing once more.
She didn’t notice the shift in the air or in the waters of Merlin’s Gate.
Not the way the light in the grotto, usually a soft blend of blues and greens, began to ripple.
Then it began to change, to deepen, and somewhere beyond the cavern, past stone and water and layers of very old magic, Merlin’s Gate stirred. And with it, something shifted.
The colours in the grotto bled, subtle at first. Blues darkened. Greens twisted. Threads of purple slipped in. Then red. Slow and almost curious
The water lapped gently at Edith’s claws, the colours swirling around them, responding to her. Edith, entirely unaware, wiggled her toes slightly.
“Alright,” she murmured. “I take back everything bad I said about today. This is…”
More laughter echoed from deeper within the cavern, only louder this time and closer.
Closer… Edith’s head snapped up.
“Nope,” she said immediately. Relaxation time was officially over and her peace was gone… vamoosed.
When Witch-related explosions followed by laughter appeared, it was absolutely not her problem.
She pulled her feet from the water in one quick motion, shaking them off as she backed away from the edge.
“I’m going to go,” she announced to no one in particular. “And by ‘go’ I mean leave immediately and pretend none of this ever happened.”
Another distant bang echoed faintly, followed by more cackling.
“Yep. Excellent decision. Love that for me.”
Edith turned, padding quickly toward the exit, her tail flicking behind her. She didn’t look back. Didn’t see the way the water continued to ripple long after she left.
Didn’t see the colours deepen further, purples and reds threading through the glow like veins of something awakening. She didn’t feel the way the magic reached after her as she went. Reacting, answering something buried deep within her… something older than her fear. Dragon magic…
Edith slipped out of the grotto and into the open air, breathing in deeply as if to clear the lingering strangeness from her mind.
“Right,” she muttered, shaking herself slightly. “Avoid witches. Avoid explosions. Avoid bounty hunters. Simple.”
She nodded once, satisfied, but behind her, deep within the cavern, the magic pulsed. Once… twice. Then settled. For now.
And Edith, still blissfully unaware, walked away.