Chapter 43 #2
The path me before opens up like the pages of a book. I haven’t been here before, but I know the way. A nondescript door at the end of the hall glows like the runes on my medallion. There.
I bolt towards it. A tiny wave of electricity goes through my hand as I jerk the knob open.
A yawning maw of darkness opens before me. The distant clang of metal behind me pushes me across the threshold. My toe hangs over the edge of a winding staircase.
Go.
Throwing myself down the stairs, I run, down and down, around and around.
Nausea churns in my gut and my head spins. The stone stairwell turns darker, muskier, and the smell of saltwater rises from below me. Murky, watery light shines from way above me.
Dim light.
And then shadows.
On and on for what feels like forever.
This stairwell must lead to the very bottom of the castle, or deeper.
They could still be alive battling the demons back.
The faces of my friends and Lachlan flash in a never-ending loop in my mind. They could still be alive.
Or…they’re already gone?
I would feel it, right? I would know if one of them had fallen?
My feet falter and I fall backward on my ass. The impact has my teeth and bones rattling. Both hands splay out to the narrow wall on either side of me and I barely catch myself before I fall even further down the stairs.
Fuck.
Erratic breaths pulse from me and I work to master myself. To breathe slow and steady. I crane my ears, trying to hear anything that’s happening above me.
And that’s when I hear it.
There is water lapping against the stairs.
Easing up to my feet, I descend a few more stairs and into the water. The ground below me must be sand as it cushions my every step. Water reaches up to my calves as I wade further into a murky antechamber.
Far below the castle, the ocean swirls and churns in a room that must span the entire building above. Like a giant air pocket underneath its foundation. Several hundred yards away is an alcove, but with the murky light, it’s hard to see what’s on the other side.
I spin around, seeing nothing but water and dozens of colossal stone pillars that rise out of the water, bearing the weight of the castle. Something tells me I need to be on the other side of this room. My heart drops into my stomach.
How the fuck am I supposed to get all the way across and quickly?
“Lena?” a voice calls in the darkness to my left.
“Odessa?” I whirl around, and water splashes as she steps out of the darkness.
“Oh Lena!” she cries, her silver gown clings to her like she tumbled headfirst into the water. Ribs protrude roughly from her sides as she breathes deeply. “I can’t make it across. The water—it’s too deep and there’s something in here.” Her voice drops to a whisper.
I wade towards her, my armor making the trek difficult. She reaches out to me, her hands still crudely tied together.
“What’s here?” I ask, holding her hands in mine, as her eyes turn frightful.
The paleness of her skin blanches even further. “Sea dragons,” she breathes.
A shaky laugh bubbles out of me and bounces off the stone ceiling above us.
She quirks her head, confusion forming a divot between her brows.
There’s a gentle kindness in her eyes the asphidra could never replicate.
“They’re friends of mine. We’ll be okay.”
She reels back, her wet hair sticks to her chest and face.
“Friends?”
I nod. Time presses down on me and I let go of her hands. “Let me remove these.”
She holds her hands out still in front of me and I thumb my dagger from my thigh holster. I pry the tip of the blade into the small gap in the links and jerk my hands down. The link breaks and the chain drops, splashing into the water that swallows it open. Good riddance.
“Oh thank the gods,” she breathes, flexing her wrists. Even in the dim light, the red irritated skin looks painful around her wrists.
“Stay here if you want. But I—I have to go.”
I remove the metal braces on my forearms and the armor around my legs.
Odessa looks to the silent staircase behind us before her slate-blue eyes fall on my face again. Understanding sparks, and her face falls.
“Let me help you,” she murmurs, and unstraps my axe, holding it under her arm as she removes my chest and shoulder plates.
I take my axe from her, strapping it on my back, as she splashes through the water to deposit my armor on the stairs.
Determination thins her lips when she stands beside me again. “Let’s go.”
We wade deeper into the water. Higher and higher the warm sea rises. Before long, we’re swimming across the vast body of water that lies between us and the other side of the antechamber.
As we swim past one of the colossal foundation pillars, a ripple in the water slows our pace.
Odessa glances sidelong at me. “Are you sure they’re your friends?”
I nod. My chin bobs in the water. “I am of two places. Idirhalla—and here.”
Her eyes widen and she slaps the surface of the water with her palm. “I knew it. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me!”
My brows knit together. “She didn’t tell you either?”
Odessa shakes her head, her chin dipping into the water. “No. She was very vague about the assassination attempts and the answers they were seeking. I think she was trying to protect me in case word got out he was our enemy and there was a revolt.”
A large scaly head rises out of the depths before us and Odessa screams.
But its eyes narrow on me. Spikes of turquoise glow, lightening the darkness around us. I can barely make out the ceiling, or I guess it’s actually the foundation above us. Its sandstone shimmers in the turquoise light.
“My name is Lena,”—I reach a hand out towards the dragon—“and I need your help.”
It stares at me a heartbeat longer. Weighing and judging my words for truth. The slits of its pupils widen as understanding glimmers and it saunters over to us, slowly and steadily.
“Holy gods,” Odessa murmurs, as she floats closer to me. She grips my hand tightly under the water as we pedal to stay afloat.
The dragon sidles up next to us, lowering the side of its head in offering. A ride.
“We need to get to the gods. Can you help us?”
It dips its head the smallest amount. Relief washes through me. Thank the gods.
“Come on.”
Her mouth drops open in shock.
A stab of pain between my ribs has me gasping. She whirls towards me, reaching out.
“Are you okay?”
She looks at the sea dragon to make sure it stays where it’s at before glancing back at me.
“Lena, what’s wrong?”
The pain lessens. The stabbing turns into a dull ache.
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “We need to hurry.”
I latch on to the sea dragon, the smooth hardened scales not giving us much to hold on to. But as we straddle its back, I lean forward, holding onto one of the elongated turquoise spikes.
Please, don’t let us be too late.