Chapter 119
"Cassie, you are a genius!"
"I am? Uh... thanks?"
He looked around us, taking in the lake, the surrounding rock, and the night sky above.
"The wording is too precise."
His gaze shifted toward the rocky overhang nearby.
"It can't be an ordinary lake. It has to be somewhere enclosed... a cavern, perhaps. Somewhere with water still enough to reflect the sky like glass."
He looked upward.
"And an opening in the ceiling large enough for moonlight and starlight to fall directly onto the water."
"Of course! Of course Ardentia would never hide their relic somewhere so obvious. I cannot believe it completely slipped my mind." Rhaevan pulled the map from the satchel and unfolded it between us. "The Sanctuary of Asterveil. It was one of the sacred places during the height of Ardentia's glory."
I leaned closer as he traced a finger across the map.
"We have been looking in the wrong places, Cassiane. According to the historical records, this sanctuary once sheltered some of the greatest Ardentian guardians. After the fall of Ardentia, it was buried beneath a lake and disappeared from all known records."
He pointed to a marked location. "If the Ardentian texts are telling the truth, then our next fragment is here."
I studied the spot for a moment before looking up at him. "All right. That is great. So, when do we leave?"
"Tomorrow at dawn. We may have to wait until nightfall to retrieve the fragment, though. The clue mentions moonlight and stars falling into the water. That may be significant."
I nodded.
---
It turned out he was right.
We left at dawn the following morning, spending most of the day travelling through dense forest while following the path revealed by the living map. By the time we reached the marked location, dusk had settled over the trees.
At first, Asterveil looked like nothing more than a massive stretch of rock rising between the forest. I would have walked straight past it if Rhaevan had not stopped.
I frowned at the rock, then noticed a narrow passage running almost perfectly through its centre. It was so well concealed by shadows that it looked like nothing more than a natural crack. I glanced at Rhaevan, and he nodded.
Apparently, we had found the entrance.
We stepped into the passage, and the forest disappeared behind us almost immediately. The walls closed in as we descended deeper into the rock. The air grew colder, and the familiar sounds of insects and rustling leaves gradually faded until nothing was left but the quiet echo of our footsteps.
The passage eventually gave way to a set of worn stone steps.
I ran my fingers along the wall as we descended; the stone was damp and covered in a thin layer of moss, its carved markings eroded until they were barely legible.
The stairs continued downward, twisting gently into the darkness, until they simply ended.
I stepped forward and stopped.
The cavern before us was enormous. Crystal formations covered the walls and ceiling, catching the faint moonlight and scattering it across the stone, but even that failed to hold my attention for long.
At the centre of the cavern lay a vast underground lake, its surface so smooth it barely looked like water.
I slowly raised my eyes. High above us, directly in the centre of the cavern ceiling, was a massive circular opening.
Through it, the night sky stretched wide, the moon hanging almost perfectly overhead while stars scattered across the darkness, their reflections resting upon the lake below.
For a moment, it felt as though we were standing between two skies-one above us and another beneath our feet. I stared at it, unable to find anything remotely sensible to say.
"This is... unbelievably marvellous."
Rhaevan stepped beside me. He said nothing. For once, he did not need to.
There was something about the place that made even a whisper feel intrusive, feeling ancient in a way that went beyond the age of the stone, as though the sanctuary had been waiting here in silence long after everyone who had built it had been forgotten.
We walked toward the water's edge. Our footsteps seemed strangely muted against the stone; there was no wind, no distant dripping of water, and no movement anywhere in the cavern. The lake remained perfectly undisturbed beneath the reflected moonlight.
I crouched beside it and studied the surface. The moon shimmered beneath my reflection like silver fire. Then the runic compass in my hand began to glow. I looked down as the symbols pulsed once, then again, growing brighter with each pulse.
I smiled. "Well, at least we know we are in the right place."
Rhaevan glanced at the compass before looking back at the lake. I reached out and touched the surface.
The water reacted immediately. A faint ripple spread beneath my fingertips, but instead of moving away from me, the water seemed to gather around my hand. My magic stirred instinctively and slipped beneath the surface.
The lake suddenly cleared. The change was so abrupt that I nearly pulled my hand back-the water had become completely transparent, moonlight penetrating all the way to the bottom to illuminate what had been hidden beneath the darkness.
I stared. Ruins.
An entire structure lay submerged beneath the lake. Broken pillars rose from the depths, their surfaces covered in moss and strange markings. Collapsed walls disappeared beneath layers of silt, and a wide staircase descended from the centre of the ruins into deeper water.
"This was a city," I murmured.
Rhaevan crouched beside me. "Or part of one."
I leaned closer as something else caught my attention: a faint silver-blue glow shimmering at the heart of the ruins. "There."
Rhaevan followed my gaze, his expression changing immediately. "The second fragment."
I straightened so quickly my foot slipped on the damp stone. I caught myself, looked around the cavern, then at the lake, and finally back at Rhaevan.
He raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"Checking."
"For what?"
"Dragons."
He stared at me.
I considered the lake again. "Or crocodiles."
His expression remained completely blank.
"Or giant carnivorous fish."
"Cassiane."
"Yes?"
"I sense no living creature nearby."
I nodded thoughtfully. "Excellent. That eliminates the obvious ways this can go horribly wrong."
Rhaevan sighed and pulled the map from his satchel.
At first, nothing appeared different, but then the ink began to move.
Lines slowly formed beneath the section representing the lake, a submerged structure emerging on the parchment: pillars, broken walls, a series of arches, and finally, a small point of light at the centre.
I looked at Rhaevan. "Well, I suppose the map is showing us exactly where we need to go."
We followed the edge of the lake until we found what remained of an ancient stone staircase descending into the water.
The upper steps were worn smooth from centuries of exposure, moss covering their edges while thick aquatic vines curled around the lower ones.
After several steps, the staircase disappeared beneath the surface.
Rhaevan crouched at the edge and examined the first submerged steps.
"These must have led into the sanctuary."
"Or to a very inconvenient swimming lesson."
He ignored me.
Rhaevan stepped onto the first submerged step.
Nothing happened.
He moved down another, then another. The water reached his ankles, and he paused.
For a few seconds, everything remained perfectly normal.
Then the water around his legs changed.
I felt it before I saw it-a strange pressure gathering beneath the surface, pressing against him with increasing force. Rhaevan immediately tried to pull his leg free.
The lake surged.
Water twisted upward around his body as though something beneath it had suddenly awakened. Golden magic flashed around him as he attempted to counter the force, but his spell barely lasted a second.
The lake threw him backward.
"Rhaevan!"
I lunged toward him.
He caught himself before striking the stone, one hand braced against the ground. Water streamed from his clothes as he slowly straightened.
I crouched beside him.
"Are you all right?"
"I am fine."
The answer came too quickly. His eyes remained fixed on the lake.
I followed his gaze. The surface had already settled, looking completely harmless again.
Somehow, that made it worse.
Rhaevan's expression hardened.
"The water is rejecting me."
I glanced between him and the lake. He had felt the force beneath that water, and he knew exactly how easily it had thrown him aside.
I looked toward the submerged staircase, then back at him.
"Can I try?"
His eyes immediately snapped toward me.
"No."
The answer came so quickly that I almost laughed.
"I was asking politely."
"I am aware."
"Then why did you answer like I had just announced that I was going to wrestle a dragon?"
"Because you are considering entering a lake that just threw me out of it."
"You make it sound worse than it was."
He stared at me.
I sighed.
"I will take one step. If the lake tries to murder me, I will come back."
"That is not reassuring."
"It is the best reassurance I have."
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then his gaze dropped to the compass in my hand. The runes were still glowing, and I watched the realisation settle over his face.
"I think it'll allow me through," I said quietly.
He looked at me for a long moment.
I could almost see the argument forming behind his eyes. He wanted to stop me. He wanted to come with me. But he already knew the lake wouldn't allow that.
Finally, he exhaled.
"Stay where I can see you."
I smiled.
"That may be difficult once I'm underwater."
His jaw tightened.
I softened my expression.
"I'll be careful."
"You have a questionable definition of careful."
I smiled despite myself, then stepped onto the first submerged stair.
Nothing happened.
I glanced back at him. He was watching the water around my feet with an intensity that made it obvious he was prepared to pull me out at the slightest sign of danger.
I took another step.
Still nothing.
The water reached my ankles, then my knees. No resistance. No pressure. No invisible force pushing me away.
The lake simply accepted me.
"Cassiane."
"What?"
"Do not go farther than you have to."
I smiled faintly.
"I thought you trusted me."
"I do. But that is not the same as trusting this place."
I gave him a small nod.
"I'll come back."
He held my gaze for another moment before finally nodding.
"Be careful."
"I will."
I descended another step.
The water rose over my shoulders. I took one final breath and let myself sink beneath the surface.
Silence swallowed me.
I opened my eyes.
The ruins stretched beneath me, far larger than they had appeared from above.
Ancient pillars rose from the lake floor, covered in moss and twisting aquatic vines, while broken arches disappeared into the darkness.
Fragments of statues lay scattered across the bottom, half-buried beneath centuries of silt.
There were no fish.
No insects.
Nothing moved except the slow sway of the plants.
The absence of life made the ruins feel even older.
I followed the compass. Its glow remained steady, drawing me deeper into the submerged sanctuary. I swam between two fallen pillars and descended farther, the water growing darker the deeper I went.
Then I saw it.
A faint silver-blue glow shimmered ahead.
I slowed.
A circular chamber emerged from the darkness.
At its centre stood a stone altar, remarkably intact despite everything around it. And resting within a shallow depression in its surface was the second fragment.
I smiled beneath the water.
Finally.
One uncomplicated quest.
Or probably the exact moment I had just tempted fate.