Nobody was in much of a rush the next morning. We woke up at different times, had breakfast at our own pace, and started packing up our belongings a couple hours after dawn. I was peeved at being woken up at such an ungodly hour by Kadia's chipper knock, but she insisted it was a must-do. I didn't understand why; the gemstone riddle had made it clear that we couldn't access its location before nightfall. Regardless, I managed to drag myself out of bed and down to the villa's kitchen for breakfast.

  Amid the shrines of stone and moss it runs forever, yet ne’er moves at all

  Ringed by rapids and veiled in mist, it lacks lungs and throat but possesses a roaring call

  Driving torrents guard the entrance to an aquatic sanctuary unlocked by nightfall

  Salt is needed to collect Her powers; surface before cockcrow or drown in a sodden vault

  Kadia's copy of the riddle was lying in front of me on the table as I read it for the umpteenth time, trying to glean whatever secrets it may hold. I sat there alone for about ten minutes, nursing a steaming mug of black tea, while everyone else milled around. It was no use with my foggy morning brain. I groaned and rested my forehead on the table, just about ready to fall asleep again.

  A hand was placed on my back, and I heard a soft voice call my name. I lifted my head, groggily turning my gaze upward, and found that I was staring up at Shaye. She was giving me an almost coddling look, as if I was a sick child in need of tending to.

  "Hi there, Brielle..." she said gently. "How are you feeling?"

  "Sleepy," I mumbled, then took a sip of tea.

  "Well, if it's any consolation, I think you'll perk up soon. It's a gorgeous morning out, and the air smells lovely." She gestured to the window. Bright rays of sunlight filtered in through spotty clouds amidst a periwinkle sky.

  I shrugged my shoulders. "If you say so."

  She gave me a smile and sat down beside me. Her expression was gentle, and she seemed in good spirits in comparison to yesterday. "Shall I fix your hair?" She took one look at my tangled waves and let out a small laugh. "You're quite the bedhead case this morning."

  I ran my fingers through my hair with a huff, wincing. "Knock yourself out."

  She quickly got to work with a hairbrush from her bag. I drank my tea in peace, then rested my chin in my palm and closed my eyes. I probably could've dozed off right then and there if I'd tried hard enough. The sounds of the team's footsteps around me, distant or near, hurried or leisurely, filled my ears and drowned out the rest of the world. The repetitive movement of the brush running through my hair and Shaye's fingers braiding and pinning it down felt like it was putting me in a trance.

  "Oi, you two."

  I jolted in surprise, eyes shooting open as I heard Ashkan's voice from a short distance away.

  Shaye, too, paused the process for a moment before continuing. She responded in a bright tone, "What is it?"

  Ash leaned against the wall. "The driver's going to be here in half an hour to take us to the island."

  "I've done my packing already; I'm just helping Brielle out here. We'll be ready."

  He nodded and crossed his arms. "Good. Don't be late, then." He sent me a sidelong glance, then headed off.

  "We won't be!" she called back.

  Shaye's deft hands soon finished the twin braids. I felt her fingers tuck the last bit of loose hair at the nape of my neck away before she stepped back with a satisfied hum.

  "All finished!"

  I reached around to feel my hair. The style felt like it'd stay for a long while. It was quite secure. "Nice work as always," I complimented her. "Thank you."

  She smiled and dipped her head. "Anytime. I've grown to find it fun. Well, if you're all set, then...I'm going to go make sure we haven't forgotten anything in the rooms."

  As she walked away, I quickly ran through my mental checklist myself, although the trainers were more likely to catch any loose ends than I would be. Necklace, check. Weapons, check. Diving gear, check. Travelling circlet, check. Change of clothes, check. Now all I had to do was wake up. I finished the rest of my breakfast and rubbed at my eyes, then rose from my seat.

  My fellow companions gradually assembled in the front foyer with their luggage in hand. After everyone had gathered, we all bid farewell to the villa owner with smiles and thank-yous and exited out to the front gate. A covered wagon was waiting for us there, hitched to two horses, and the driver seemed more than ready to be on the road. The eight of us boarded as quickly as possible. I had to blink a few times as my vision adjusted to the change in light.

  I spent the duration of the ride listening to the lieutenants discuss plans. Morgina had an entire map out with all sorts of notes scribbled on it. Kadia read the riddle aloud over and over to see if there was any newfound clarity in any of its lines. Tyrath was busy sharpening everyone's weapons with the utmost precision while Ashkan observed him with keen interest. Reyshore, meanwhile, meditated in his own corner. But it wasn't long before Shaye struck up a conversation with him about what pieces of jewelry he was wearing that day. And of course, he entertained her questions without missing a beat, being all too happy to take her mind off of her troubles. The last person on the wagon, Thorne, continued to rifle through his knapsack and inspect its contents, mumbling to himself, ensuring that we had every single last thing we might need: food, drinks, equipment, lockpicks, potions, tonics, projectiles, bandages... He didn't seem to believe in being overprepared when it came to anything.

  I leaned over to peek inside his bag. There was everything and then some. "Why in the world do you have a grappling hook and so many lockpicks? We aren't exactly planning to scale buildings or break and enter today, are we?"

  "You never know!" he replied cheerily. "Besides, what are bottomless-charmed bags for?"

  I hummed. "True, true... Hey, you wouldn't happen to have eriterg kicking around in there, would you?"

  He paused and raised a brow at me. "...Eriterg? Where did you hear about that stuff? That's not the kind of tonic you can just pluck off any apothecary shelf, you know."

  My stomach lurched at his response. "Oh...really? Huh."

  "Yeah. Most countries don't find its production very...humane. So, it's pretty difficult to track down in retail circles. Where'd you hear about it, if you don't mind me asking?"

  "Ah, well, it's..." I stuttered, averting my eyes. It was way too early in the day for me to be lying. "I heard someone mention the name. At school. Apparently, it's good at replenishing energy."

  Thorne scratched the back of his head. "I mean, it is, but...some folks have gotten addicted to it. Do you know what the ingredients are?"

  "No." I wasn't sure I wanted to find out, having already drank it a few times during League missions.

  "Some roots, some herbs, some powdered bits and pieces... And fresh marrow from a pegasus."

  My eyes went wide, and I could feel the blood draining from my face. "That sounds..."

  "Messy? Cruel? Brutal? Awful?" he prompted, his mouth forming a frown. "...Yeah. I'd rather stick to less questionable potion recipes myself. The point is, I'm not carrying any. But don't worry! I've got lots of other useful concoctions. Just give me a shout if you need a boost."

  I nodded, looking at the floor, feeling guilt in the pit of my stomach. I guess the League had no issue with putting pegasus marrow in its members' potions, then. I made a mental note to ask about how humanely it was obtained. Maybe there was a good explanation. Maybe the whole thing was false. Regardless, I didn't think I would ever drink that potion again; at least, not unless I absolutely needed to.

  Soon after crossing into the adjacent, tiny province of Oyacoalc, we were off the wagon and boarding a boat. The water was crystal clear and so was the air, with a fresh, clean scent. The small island that would be our base of operations was far in the distance. The sun was bright above, shining its warmth down on our heads. The gentle waves that we skimmed over were calm and smooth. It was a nice ride, and I made sure to soak up what little solace I could from the serene atmosphere.

  "'Amid the shrines of stone and moss it runs forever, yet ne’er moves at all'..." Kadia was musing from where she sat at the front of the boat, watching Gerasethyr Island draw nearer.

  Morgina, who stood next to her, replied without glancing away from her pocket telescope, "Some body of water, no doubt."

  "'Ringed by rapids and veiled in mist, it lacks lungs and throat but possesses a roaring call'. What could that be, if not a waterfall? The next line also mentions 'driving torrents'," Kadia added, tapping her fingers on the wooden bench.

  Reyshore chimed in, "And 'salt is needed to collect Her powers' must be in reference to the salinity of ocean water. Although, waterfalls are predominantly fresh water... Hm."

  She sighed and ran her hands over her face. "You'd think it would be clearer."

  "I think it's pretty straightforward." Thorne leaned over the edge of the boat, squinting from the sun's reflections off the waves.

  Tyrath spoke up then. "How so?"

  His younger brother pointed forward with a grin. "I'm assuming there'll be a chamber hidden behind the fall. A cave, maybe. Or underneath it, like a pool or a passageway. If the riddle is correct, we won't be able to access it until the moons rise, and we'll have to get out before dawn. It's just the 'salt' that's stumping us."

  "What a scholar..." Tyrath muttered with an eye-roll.

  "Perhaps a sort of mineral found underwater?" Reyshore suggested.

  Kadia nodded. "Perhaps..."

  I gazed down into the depths of the clear ocean, where I could just make out a few schools of fish swimming along below, darting back and forth as if playing some sort of game. Some of the fish in Emiarhia barely resembled any species on Earth. Some had horns, some had legs, and some could change colors like a chameleon, or had long ribbons for fins, or a pair of tentacles on their heads, or other various bizarre features. Some were giant and intimidating. Others were the size of my fingernail. I wondered what kinds of creatures I'd see underwater that day, if any.

  Within the hour, our vessel arrived on Gerasethyr, and we climbed out. There wasn't a lot to it, but there was plenty of shade to be had and plenty of smooth rock to sit upon. Trees with twisting limbs and blue-green foliage provided ample shelter. And indeed, if I stopped to listen, I could hear the rush of a waterfall somewhere in the distance, far enough away to be a mere whisper on the breeze. That was a good sign.

  Kadia immediately took out the silver amulet, the one that Elliott had repaired, and engaged its compass function by means of dousing it with water from her fingertips. It soon pointed southwest, and she took it as an indication to head off that way. I followed a short distance behind. Reyshore was by my side and Morgina trailed behind, talking with Tyrath as they walked. Shaye was quieter than normal, ambling along as if in a dream, with Ashkan strolling beside her and occasionally bumping her shoulder in a friendly manner, which made her smile. Thorne took up the rear. He looked about with keen eyes, surveying everything, like he was on the lookout for anything suspicious.

  It didn't take too long for us to locate the waterfall. A large, smooth rock face covered in moss and vines rose up from the ground. We gathered at its base and took in the view, watching as water fell from a high height in a curtain before us and collected into a large, calm pool of water. Mist was thrown up and caught in the sunlight, and there were droplets of water in our hair within seconds. The rush of water drowned out almost all other sounds. The area smelled of wet earth and rock. I wiped water from my face as I looked up, seeing a rainbow in the spray above me. I shielded my eyes and blinked the droplets away.

  "Where's the entrance?" Thorne wondered out loud, spinning around.

  "Not in plain sight, it would seem..." Tyrath answered with a sigh. "Why do all of these caverns and ruins have to be hidden? Couldn't it ever just be, 'here I am' or 'go over here'? Is that asking too much?"

  Thorne let out a hearty laugh at that, while everyone else gave various expressions of agreement or exasperation.

  "We will press onward," Kadia said, staring down at the amulet in her hands.

  I stared at it as well. The compass function seemed to indicate the centre of the waterfall. Maybe...?

  My sister was already two steps ahead. She pocketed the amulet and threw up a translucent shield around herself, before moving closer to the fall, eyes searching the rocks. The others soon followed her. The giant arc of rushing water was angled in such a way that created a small space between it and the wall of rock it was parallel to. And within that space, behind the fall, was a narrow crevice, partially blocked by overgrown vegetation. Kadia walked through the fall, water bouncing off the barrier and sliding down its sides. There were just enough rocks to step on that led us to the hidden entrance. It was a tight squeeze. I held my breath as I ducked into it. The rush of water was so heavy that I felt drenched just standing adjacent to it, although we each had our own magical shield to keep us from getting wet.

  There was no need for torches. Light shone through gaps in the front walls and illuminated our path in the form of sunbeams that glimmered and refracted through the mist around us. A long hole in the cave's high roof also helped provide much lighting. There were puddles of water here and there that splashed up from our footsteps. Moss grew along the walls, as did vines, and there were little flowers sprouting from the cracks in the floor. Yet, my gaze first settled on a small pond at the back of the cavern. Aside from the rushing waterfall behind us, now significantly muffled, it was deathly silent in there.

  As we walked deeper into the cave, Kadia pulled out the amulet again. The glow seemed to point toward the centre of the pool. She studied it closely with narrowed eyes and frowned. Then, she knelt and reached into the water, but not far – it was as if the pool had a sheet of glass preventing her hand from sinking into the depths. No matter what she tried, her fingers couldn't push through.

  "How peculiar," Reyshore commented from behind her, ears flicking. "It's almost as if it is frozen over. Yet...there is no ice to be seen..."

  Kadia glanced over her shoulder. "This is not ordinary water, clearly."

  Tyrath stretched and looked about the cave. "We'll just have to wait until nightfall, then. Let's set up camp in here for the time being. We should all get as much rest as we can before then."

  She gave him a slightly amused, slightly scolding look, as if wholly unaccustomed to hearing orders coming from her subordinate. "Indeed."

  So, everyone helped set up a makeshift camp. It wasn't particularly easy in such a cramped space, but it wasn't too difficult. The cave actually had a few different rooms connected to it. The one I'd settled in had a ceiling that sloped upward from the front to the back, connecting to a long hole in the upper wall, allowing in just enough light and air circulation to make it comfortable. A few stalactites and stalagmites hung down from above or jutted up from below, and some vines cascaded from the opening.

  After a light lunch, the eight of us split off to meditate, nap, or otherwise rest before our big excursion that night. Shaye and Ashkan were in the chamber with me. Our padded bedrolls, pillows, and blankets had been placed on the dry parts of the cave floor. We were given eye masks to block out the sunlight. I removed some parts of the travelling outfit I'd received yesterday: jacket, boots, gloves, vest, belt, and left only the shirt and breeches on. I then settled into the soft fabric of my sleeping mat and let out a breath.

  Shaye had drifted off to sleep almost immediately after reclining back and donning her sleep mask, while Ashkan stared at the cave's ceiling with his hands behind his head. I couldn't help but steal a few glances at him in my peripheral vision. This room of the cavern wasn't exactly giant, so I probably could've reached him from where I was by just stretching out my arm. Not that I was thinking about that or anything.

  Frustrated with myself, I rolled onto my other side and pulled my mask over my eyes. I needed sleep. It would be a long night, after all, and who knew what it would entail? My nerves were already fraying at the thought. The riddle made me anxious.

  But eventually, after listening to Thorne offer some kind of sleeping aid elixir to the others nearby, I did drift off into a much welcome nap.

  When I awoke, I was momentarily confused as to what I was hearing. Something had stirred me out of my sleep.

  I groggily pulled my sleep mask from my eyes, blinking the cave's low light into focus. Nothing reached my ears except for the rush of the waterfall outside, some drips echoing through the chambers, and Shaye's delicate snoring. I took a moment to let the fuzziness clear from my head. And then, I heard it again – the unmistakable rumble of thunder. It was distant at first, but not for long. Another roll of it soon resonated, louder and closer than the previous. The thunder echoed through the chambers as the rain came. It sounded as if there was a torrential downpour starting outside, mingling with the sounds of the waterfall.

  I sat up with a groan and stretched. A few hours had passed, but the moons were not yet visible. We would need to wait a bit longer. Now fully awake, there was no way I was going to sleep through a thunderstorm. I almost never could. My parents used to tell me I'd scream and cry anytime it stormed when I was younger. The sounds were still too unsettling to me. I knew it was stupid, and that there was nothing to fear. It was just water, electricity, and physics. But...it was still unnerving. I just hated it. It was a compulsive instinct for me to count the time between thunderclaps and try my best to not let one startle me. I hated that. It felt stupid to be scared of them when there was a whole galaxy of scarier things.

  So I sighed, drew my knees to my chest, and stared up at the vines dangling above. They waved a bit in the cool breeze coming in from outside, the droplets of water on the ends falling to the ground. It was almost dusk outside by that point. There was barely any more light streaming through the hole in the upper wall, no more rainbows or sunbeams. All was dim and damp and chilled. I wondered how long the rain would go for. How long do storms usually last, here in Oyacoalc? It seems to rain pretty frequently. Hopefully it won't affect our diving.

  I looked over to my two friends. They both appeared to still be sleeping. I had no idea how. Shaye had curled up with her arms around her pillow, snoozing softly, and Ashkan was sprawled on his back with his face tilted away. They looked so peaceful, despite the occasional thunder that would shake the earth beneath us. It made me want to wake them, just for the company, but that would've been a jerk move. Instead, I settled for sitting against the wall, counting between the thunderclaps, and praying for it to be over. I hoped that the others weren't bothered by the weather as well, and that they were at least getting a little rest before the moons rose. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach returning. I would've liked to think that this wasn't an omen, but it wasn't very comforting.

  Before long, Ashkan stirred. He rolled over, let out a low hum, and nestled closer into his pillow. I froze in place. My pulse spiked slightly, for reasons unknown. I expected him to sit up or remove his mask, but he did neither. It was like he was just dozing in his bed back home. My gaze remained on him as the minutes ticked by, waiting for him to awaken properly, or to catch me staring like some weirdo. I couldn't tell if he was conscious or not. If he was awake, then...I wouldn't have minded talking to him for a little bit. As a distraction. To occupy my mind. Although, I knew that that would just shift my focus temporarily to different concerns.

  As I continued watching him, a familiar frustration returned. I'd already told myself to keep my distance from him, and this was exactly why. I could feel myself slipping. He was just lying there! Doing nothing at all! How dare he be so... So...cute? Just from existing and taking up space? The universe was punishing me, it seemed. What right did he have to be like that? It wasn't fair.

  I wondered if this was the longest I'd ever held my gaze on him before. It was strange, like it wasn’t really him. Like walking through a department store after closing, or seeing bloopers from a movie, it almost seemed like something I wasn't supposed to see. I wouldn't be surprised if the only time Ash wasn't fully restraining his outward expressions was when he was asleep. He was like a powered-down robot, in such a calm state of stasis. Or what I imagined it'd be like to see a wild animal up close after it's been sedated. Or perhaps a painting, something you could stare at to your heart's content, endlessly trying to absorb every single detail but never seeming to reach a point where you feel like you've seen all there is to see.

  I continued watching with a furrowed brow. This was unhealthy, surely. But the desire to move closer, to see him in better detail, to reach out, to talk, was almost irresistible. My eyes raked over him and I couldn't help but study what I could see of his features: the angle of his jaw; how one ear was a bit more pointed than the other; the tiny, V-shaped indentation on the tip of his nose that you couldn't notice unless you were really looking. He wasn't smiling now, obviously, but I could picture the way the corner of his mouth pulled up when he grinned – which was too rare of an occurrence, if you asked me. His smiles were pretty much always crowded to one side like that. Lopsided. And there was something charming about that, something that seemed to imply that he was trying not to smile but couldn't fight one off. So it felt like that much more of a victory every time you earned one.

  I hated this. It was utterly stupid. Was I doomed to feel this way for all of eternity? How long would I have to wait for these feelings to dissipate? A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the chamber, and a few seconds later, a crack of thunder made the floor tremble. I winced. I hated that, too.

  And then, just like that, my thoughts were interrupted by Ashkan shifting a little and lifting a hand to scratch his temple.

  "You're not asleep," I whispered, more than thankful that those eye masks were opaque.

  "...Neither are you," he retorted, voice gravelly with sleep. His head remained sunken into the pillow. "Is...something wrong?"

  I chewed on my bottom lip and debated my answer. The truth would be more complicated than a simple 'yes'. "...No. Go back to sleep. It's not nightfall yet."

  A long pause ensued. The sounds of the thunderstorm persisted, echoing and filling up the silence between us. Then, Ashkan spoke again, quietly:

  "It's thundering."

  I felt a cold sweat on the back of my neck. "Mhm."

  "You don't like storms."

  "Not especially."

  "Is that why you're awake?"

  An odd sense of annoyance surged within me. One that said, Stop worrying about me! It's making it impossible for me to distance myself from you! "Couldn't sleep through it. But you can. So... Go back to sleep."

  Ashkan moved the mask up so it was now perched on top of his head. His eyes were squinty as they adjusted to the dim light. "...Well, I'm awake now. I might as well keep you company."

  I almost felt my heart jolt at the words before I swiftly shoved that emotion aside. Nothing I could've said would've stopped him, so I shrugged loosely and moved to sit at the base of the opening in the back wall. The edge of the hole rose to about chest-level when sitting. The rain poured outside, creating a soothing background noise that contrasted the periodic booming of thunder. The wind gusted so that the rain pelted the opening horizontally and misted up the cave a little bit. Dewdrops clung to the small spiderwebs above us, which glistened like glass beads strung onto the thinnest necklace.

  After a moment, I heard Ashkan's soft footfalls approach. Then, the shifting of fabric as he sat next to me. We didn't speak right away. I had my head in my hand and stared out into the greyness. The world was washed in muted shades. Clouds raced past. I could see the outlines of distant trees bending in the wind, the occasional leaf flying off. Even farther, the swirling ocean surrounding the island. And yet, it was peaceful, somehow, being nestled in the warmth of a dry cave with someone you... Well, with someone next to you.

  Lightning struck, illuminating the sky momentarily in an array of white veins. I squeezed my eyes shut. One... Two... Three... Four... I counted until the thunder rumbled a few seconds later. It sounded a bit farther away that time. Maybe it would clear up before moonrise.

  "Seems to be getting better," Ashkan commented, arms wrapped around his knees as he also watched the rainfall.

  I nodded a little. "Yeah."

  His eyes flickered to me for a split second. "...How are you doing?"

  I tried not to be exasperated by his question, and tried not to answer as sharply as I felt. "Fine, Ash. I'm not gonna pass out from fear. Save your laughter."

  He frowned. "I never thought that."

  "You don't think it's hilarious that I get jumpy around thunderstorms? What kind of adult can't even fall asleep because it's storming outside? It's dumb."

  "...Why would I laugh at something like that?" He tilted his head slightly, looking genuinely confused.

  "I don't know. I think it's funny."

  Ashkan paused and appeared to contemplate what I said, then turned back to the view beyond the opening. "Well... I think you're funny in lots of ways, but never when you're stressed."

  My face started feeling warm and I didn't like it. I had half a mind to reach over and give his ear a sharp tug. But I refrained and said, "Whatever."

  He turned to look at me once again, brow slightly furrowed, like he was trying to solve a math equation in his head. "...Are you in a mood?"

  That question struck a chord. I didn't think I was. Not really. The situation just seemed a little bleak at that moment, and my nerves were on high alert, as if waiting for the worst to come. But what would be the worst, here? And why did it seem like admitting my probably-more-than-friends fondness for Ashkan would somehow be worse than any danger or pain this mission could throw my way? My stomach felt like a ball of tightly coiled yarn. I couldn't deny that. The only thought that remained constant was that I wished this stupid crush would go away and let me have peace again.

  Do not let him catch on. He'll read you like a book, you know. Avoid him if you have to. You'll feel better soon, and then everything will be normal.

  So, I gave a tiny shake of my head and looked down at the bed of damp, moss-covered rocks near my feet. "...No. Just waiting for this thing to blow over."

  The silence that followed felt charged, in some strange way. My body remained tense. I wanted Ash to keep talking, to fill the void with idle chatter so I wouldn't have to focus on how much I was overthinking things.

  "I'm sure it's almost over," he said after a beat.

  "Yeah, hopefully."

  "Do you think we should wake Shaye?"

  I glanced over to her bedroll. "She's sleeping; let her be. She can use all the rest she can get before tonight."

  Another bout of silence, though Ashkan's mouth remained open for a few moments like he was trying to think of something else to say. "...And you? You must be tired, if the storm woke you."

  I shook my head again. "It's fine. I don't know why I got up."

  "Are you sure? You're making this face–" He then made a sleepy expression, "Like you're tired."

  "That's how I always look."

  He ran his tongue along his top teeth and studied me for a moment. He seemed to have taken that as a joke. "Right. That must be it, then." His attention switched back to the steadily fading rain. "...If Shaye's still asleep, then maybe I should tell you about my dream before she wakes."

  I arched a brow at him. "Why? Does it involve her?"

  "No," he replied quickly. "But she wouldn't want to hear it."

  My other brow lifted. "Should I be worried?"

  A faint smile. "...Perhaps."

  I crossed my arms and turned to face him. "Now I'm intrigued."

  Ashkan's eyes remained fixed on the rainy world outside. "Remember what the Elders told us about prophetic dreams? That the gods might be responsible?"

  "Uh-huh?"

  "I think I might have had one."

  I shifted to tuck a leg beneath me, watching him in anticipation. "Seriously? How could you tell?"

  He sighed and brushed back his hair. "Well... It seemed very vivid. The things that happened felt...real. It was unlike any other dream I've had. I can remember it far too well."

  My heartbeat sped up. "Did it involve something about the League? Is that why you don't want Shaye to know?"

  "Yeah. I think so, at least. I'm still not sure. But you were there... And some other hunters were, too. Not sure which ones. It was a fight... I don't remember all the details. But we were all trying to kill what I believe was a horde of Rotted. Then, the monsters started...conglomerating? Growing bigger. We were fighting this gigantic one."

  My mind was running wild. This sounded like the type of information I should've been writing down. "That doesn't sound good."

  "It didn't look good, either. It was like all the Rotted were merging, melding together. Corpses and bodies. Maybe there were some Inkbloods mixed in there as well. It's a little fuzzy, but I remember the end – or what I think was the end – pretty well." He paused for a moment and let his gaze travel to the ground before him. His voice dropped in volume, and he went on, "So, we were using mostly light magic, of course. But that...abomination wasn't taking the hits like a regular Rotted would. I don't know how else to describe it, but I'm pretty sure that this creature was immune to it. Or resistant enough. Either way, it definitely wasn't afraid of light. And we noticed that too late. It just started bubbling and bloating. Like a...boil. Or an infection. It became a pile of...softening sludge."

  "...That's a horrible mental image," I mumbled.

  "Tell me about it," he agreed with a grimace. "Anyway... It exploded. In a sort of...burst. There were Rotted corpses everywhere, all over the walls and on the ceiling and...everything was drenched in black blood. Something about the light magic must've created an imbalance or reaction, because... Well, we didn't have time to duck and cover, so when it inevitably hit us...we were all instantly decayed, just like that." He made a gesture with his hands to indicate a quick detonation. "It was like we were hit by a giant blast of acid or something."

  I could feel my blood go cold. "What a pleasant thought."

  "I know." He scratched his cheek. "Maybe I got the details wrong, or I misunderstood what I saw. But it just...felt like the truth."

  "But... If this was a prophetic dream, then we just...die?"

  "You saw yourself dying in yours."

  "I guess... But mine wasn't..."

  "As vivid?"

  "I mean..." I swallowed. "It was still pretty awful."

  He gave a nod but didn't offer any more on that subject. "We can't assume it will come true," he said instead, "but if we ever face a situation like the one in my dream, then don't use light magic on the Rotted...carbuncles. Not without sufficient shelter."

  "Duly noted," I murmured.

  A long silence formed again. It seemed we'd exhausted the topic. My thoughts eventually drifted to last night; the boat ride and the moonlit walk that Ash and I had shared. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours ago, and yet it felt like much longer. A strange ache was stirring in my chest. Something I wasn't positive how to classify or label, but that I knew would eventually consume me if I wasn't careful. And yet, I wasn't sure how to go about preventing it. Other than being plain rude. Which seemed like it'd be difficult to maintain for any long stretch of time.

  I liked Ash too much, even just as a friend, to be deliberately unkind to him. But I couldn't think of a better solution. I'd been trying to ignore this for almost a month, now. At this point, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to just talk and laugh with him, to seek out his presence whenever the mood struck. I hated to admit that, even to myself, because that felt like admitting defeat. Was Luke not enough for me? What kind of person did that make me, to want to seek the affection of more than one boy?

  But did I really want Ash's affection, though? That seemed...out of place. Too intense. Too close. Too strange.

  Yet the idea of kissing him isn't totally off-putting, an insidious little voice whispered from somewhere in the back of my head.

  My mouth pressed into a thin line. Ew, shut up. That. Cannot. Happen.

  "How is...everything on Earth?" Ash asked, effectively saving me from myself.

  The question seemed like a good opportunity to clear my mind of the confusing thoughts, so I was more than eager to jump on the new conversation. "It's pretty much the same." I shrugged and started picking at the moss on the cave floor. "Really not interesting... People still haven't invented teleportation or time travel or whatever."

  "Sounds disappointing."

  I chuckled and continued my ministrations with the moss, now pulling out individual strands and creating a little pile on my knee. "Yeah. Not much to do with yourself when you can't levitate things, or jump really high, or shoot lightning from your fingertips. I know you've told me how you've thought about running off to Earth. And how, in the beginning, it seemed to you like I had certain things in life as an Earthian that you never would, but...it's just not that glamorous. If you thought Earth was a magical, fairytale world, I've got some news for you." I plucked a clump of moss and threw it out the hole in the wall. "It's pretty boring, most of the time."

  "Really? Nothing to do all day, every day?" Ash questioned with a curious tone to his voice. "It can't possibly be that dull."

  "Eh. Depends on the day. But most of the time? It's just a lot of school and homework. And hanging out with friends. But hey, on the bright side, there aren't any monsters lurking around corners." I leaned back onto my hands. "Unless you consider humans monsters."

  "Good point," he agreed. "Still, though. You have different technologies, and foods, and languages. The internet. Televisions without fickle crystal orbs, unlike ours. Airplanes. Cars. You have no idea how often I daydream of automobiles. Just...sitting in one, watching the world pass by without having to exert myself. Sounds like a dream come true."

  I couldn't stifle the laugh that escaped me. "Well, you actually have to know how to drive the car. You can't just sit in it. Unless you get one of those driverless ones. Which I still find really unnerving."

  He frowned in a way that implied he wasn't sure how to feel about the prospect of driverless vehicles. "Seems...dangerous."

  "They definitely can be," I replied. Then, an odd idea hit me, one that I couldn't pass up, mostly for the chance to see the reaction it'd get from him. "Y'know, most Emiarhians really don't care for Earth. But you bring it up more often than anyone I know. So, I was just thinking... Is there anything...you'd want?"

  A bit of hesitation was apparent on his face as he tried to process my question, like he was wondering if I was trying to pull a prank on him. "What do you mean?"

  "Like..." I gestured vaguely. "I could bring you something. From Earth."

  His face turned inquisitive. "What would you bring me?"

  "I'm not sure, really. What would you like?"

  He regarded me for a few more seconds. It looked as though his mind had started working at breakneck speed, searching for all the answers in existence. "...A car?"

  I snorted. "What, so you can drive it around on roads that aren't built for cars, with the gasoline you don't have, and the driver's license I know for a fact you don't have?"

  "It was worth a try," he said, smirking slightly. "No, um... I'm not sure. You really don't need to do that."

  I tilted my head. "Come on. Really? Nothing?"

  He shrugged a bit, almost sheepishly. "It's fine. You don't need to–"

  "I want to," I cut in without thinking. "It can be like...a souvenir."

  The smile he gave me then was a strange one. An odd mix between endearment and what seemed like gratitude, and maybe some relief, and some other feelings I couldn't quite figure out. I had half a mind to say he could just thank me later, with a kiss, but I immediately obliterated that thought with the most disgust I could muster.

  Ashkan's eyes went a bit distant. "Okay, if you insist, then... May I ponder for a while before giving you an answer?"

  "Sure. But don't think about it too hard. It's not a big deal," I said with a slight smile of my own.

  "Okay. Thank you, Brie."

  "You're welcome."

  A beat of silence. A brief exchange of glances that didn't last long. He cleared his throat quietly. I brushed away some stray moss. Neither of us could seem to settle our gaze on one spot for long.

  "...It should be another hour or two before we can head out. Maybe I'll sleep for a while, see if that dream comes again and I can glean some more details," Ash spoke up.

  I looked over at him. "Sure, okay."

  His eyes caught mine once more and lingered this time. "Will you sleep too?"

  I considered it briefly, then gave a shake of my head. "Probably not. But you go ahead. I'll stay here. Make sure we don't get ambushed."

  "Heh. Yes. Can't risk the abomination of my dream appearing and attacking us."

  I grimaced and made a face that said, 'Please don't put that idea in my brain'. "Ugh. Just...sleep."

  "All right, all right." He got up from where he sat, stretching his limbs with a sigh before heading to his bedroll, and me and my confusing thoughts were alone again.

  Soon enough, the storm passed entirely, and nightfall was upon us. The last traces of twilight disappeared behind the trees of the island. It was about nine p.m. when Reyshore came by our section of the cave to wake us up. Everyone else was already awake and in the midst of a discussion. Kadia was prepping and laying out all the equipment with Morgina. Thorne was handing out snacks and drinks. Tyrath and Reyshore were chatting by the entrance. They all looked busy, so I stayed put to stretch and wake myself up. I'd gotten enough rest to last through the night, so I wasn't really sleepy, but I definitely wasn't at my peak.

  As it turned out, we ended up having a lot more spare time than we thought. The invisible seal covering the glimmering pond still hadn't budged. And the riddle didn't specify at which hour of night it would unlock, either. So we were forced to sit there, in a circle on the cave floor, with only our conversations and a single deck of playing cards to keep us occupied. Kadia just kept pacing back and forth. She tried to open the seal every fifteen minutes or so. It was immune to any magic she could conjure, though; not that it stopped her from trying.

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  I stood up from the ground and joined Kadia at the edge of the pond, giving a look of sympathy. "I know you want to get this done with. We all do. But pacing around here for hours on end won't make time go by faster."

  Her jaw clenched. "I am aware."

  I folded my arms and shifted to face the pond as well, studying it carefully. The water was calm and silent. No waves lapped the sides, and no currents ran through it. No creatures lurked within, as far as I could see. Just pure, probably magical, blue water. "...You're sure we're in the right spot?"

  "Yes," she replied flatly. "At the very least, the amulet has led us here. And everything coincides with the riddle."

  "Then there must be another requirement that we're missing. That, or it's timed."

  "It had better be timed."

  I tried to offer her a smile of encouragement. "Come on. Don't look like that. You're making us all anxious."

  She said nothing. Instead, she continued glaring at the pool as though her eyes might somehow melt the seal and force the waters open.

  "Come join us. Play cards; have something to eat or drink." I nudged her. "It won't do you any good to get stressed out."

  "…This mission must succeed."

  "And it will."

  "I do not care to be playing around."

  "Neither do I." I tilted my head. "Look at us, bickering like sisters..."

  Kadia's expression softened marginally, a glimmer of something that may or may not have been amusement passing in her eyes. "I don't bicker. You, however...are a different matter."

  "I don't bicker either. I am passionate about my opinions and views." I raised a finger.

  She didn't bother to hide the chuckle that escaped her. "If that's what you prefer to call it, I won't be the one to stop you."

  I turned my smile up a notch, pleased to have coaxed some levity into her. "There we go."

  She regarded me with a long stare before she eventually said, "Fine."

  "Great. And by the way, Shaye was wondering if that hole in the ceiling might be pertinent." I hooked a thumb at the small opening in the rock directly above the pond. "We were trying to figure out if the trajectory of the moons will line up with it. It looks like it should. What do you think?"

  Her gaze traveled from my face to the ceiling, and then back down to the pond, her brows knitting in thought. "It could be... We won't know until the moons move higher and it gets closer to midnight. I suppose that is something to watch."

  "All right. Well, that's progress." I moved to turn away and join everyone else again. She came along several seconds later, after another pause to study the water some more.

  When she arrived by the group, Morgina perked up with an easy grin. "There she is," she sang.

  I plopped back into the circle next to Shaye. "I managed to pry Kadia away from her glaring contest with the water. She thinks there might be something about the hole in the roof being important."

  Thorne was chewing something that looked somewhat like a cracker. "Good thing the storm passed. It's really clear out now."

  Kadia folded her arms and let her shoulders relax a bit. "Yes, thank the gods."

  The eight of us talked, played games, and ate for another couple of hours. It was hard not to feel restless at times. We weren't doing much of anything; just sitting there waiting for a magical pool of water to unlock. Still, I was glad to spend some quality time with my team, without a whole slew of dangers chasing us, for a change. The others all seemed to share my opinion, though not without some of the usual bickering and debating and the like. Really, I didn't mind so much. That was just their nature. I couldn't say I didn't partake in it now and again. It made for interesting discussions and plenty of entertainment. And I always enjoyed learning more about the lieutenants: Thorne's pickpocketing techniques, Tyrath's weird hobby of carving things out of rocks, Morgina's terribly unlucky gambling streaks, Reyshore's incredibly diverse tea collection. It made the time pass faster. It kept our minds busy and our spirits high. And it was the only thing to do, other than sleep or stare into the water of the pond, which only a select few of us actually wanted to do.

  Just after eleven p.m. and several games of keyhole, everyone began suiting up. We had to be ready as soon as that pool opened. We couldn't use anything besides small weapons underwater, so not having to strap those on helped save some time, but there was a lot of equipment to don and adjust and fasten. Thorne set his bottomless backpack on the ground and started pulling out all the custom gear the Opian King and Queen had gifted us. They'd spared no expense, it seemed, for the expedition.

  When it was my turn to change, I walked back into the side cavern where I'd slept earlier and stood in the corner farthest from the entrance. I then quickly stripped and started pulling on my custom wetsuit. There were many layers to it. The first was like a swimsuit: a black one-piece with shorts and wide straps. I slipped the wetsuit on next, which was a thick, durable layer that felt almost rubbery. It took some wriggling to pull on, but after I got it zipped up almost to my chin, it fit perfectly. Next came a pair of flexible boots with built-in flippers, which were shorter than Earth ones and had teardrop-shaped holes in the fins. Lastly, a pair of gloves with small ridges on the knuckles.

  The entire ensemble was constructed of black and blue-grey panels sewn together and detailed by reflective piping. It looked almost futuristic, really, with its curved lines and scale-like texture. Finally, there were some black, geometric casings to snap over my shins, knees, abdomen, forearms, and shoulders. They felt a bit like armour, with all their shapes and points and curves, but they were so lightweight I could barely tell they were there.

  I re-entered the main cavern to finish prepping. Everyone was putting the final pieces of their own equipment on. The designs of their suits varied: some more black than blue, others the opposite; some with more panels than others; some with different patterns or textures. But all of them were similar in design.

  Kadia approached me after a few minutes. "How does it fit? Comfortable enough?"

  I gave my legs a few experimental kicks to get used to the feeling of the fins on the boots. "Yeah, it feels fine. Actually, better than fine. Feels really high-quality."

  "Good. I should hope so."

  I flexed my fingers and moved my arms to get a sense for the suit. "So, how are we going to breathe underwater?"

  She retrieved my dagger in its sheath from the array of gear on the floor, then handed it over. "Rebreather diving helmets. It attaches over your face and ears and filters in regulated air through two small tubes on either side of your neck. That is where the air reservoirs clip onto. When those stores run dry, you change out the porous, electrolytic crystals within them, and those will continue extracting air from the water around you. It is quite efficient."

  "Sounds like it," I replied as I fastened the sheath to my right thigh.

  Kadia crossed the floor and returned with my air reservoir capsules and helmet. The former were each about the size of my fist and shaped a little like boomerangs. These brushed metal attachments were covered with what looked like circuitry. Kadia clipped them onto either side of my wetsuit at the base of my neck before picking up the helmet. With some clicks and adjustments, it slid onto my head with surprising ease. It had a single large, rounded visor that went across the entire width and length of my face, with two small tubes protruding from my jaw. Those connected to the two capsules. The edges of the lens were rimmed with the same reflective piping as the suit, and my ears were covered by round discs. My twin braids hung free through an opening near the nape of my neck, which was sealed off once the helmet was locked. The rest of my head was fully covered.

  "Comfortable?" Kadia inquired as she tightened a couple of latches.

  I moved my head in different directions to check, and nodded. "Yep, I'm good. Can I talk in it?"

  She slipped on her own helmet, secured it, then reached under my chin to click some buttons I hadn't even seen. "Yes, now you can."

  My eyes widened a bit as her voice suddenly rang clearly in my ears, like I was wearing earbuds or headphones. "Wow, that's neat."

  "What's neat?" came Morgina's voice in my helmet, cutting in.

  I jumped slightly at her voice. "Whoa. It's like a walkie-talkie."

  "Oh, the communications feature? Smashing, right?" Thorne said, a touch louder than his normal speaking voice.

  I chuckled and looked around at the others, all wearing similar helmets. We looked a bit weird, but also cool at the same time. Like divers but without bulky tanks or harnesses. I hadn't thought about how we'd be able to communicate underwater until right now. It was definitely a relief that we could.

  The next couple of minutes were spent helping each other put everything together, fasten each other's buckles, tighten any straps, check equipment for faults or damages, and make sure everything was on snugly. Everyone carried a blade of some sort as well as a luminescent crystal on a cord around their belts. Thorne was in charge of carrying most of the gear in various small bags and pockets, as usual: extra lantern crystals, our supply of electrolytic minerals, spare reservoir capsules, tools, first-aid equipment, and the three travelling necklaces. His supplies were limited due to the nature of our mission, but he'd transferred his most important potions and tonics into air-tight vials. If need be, most of them could be injected rather than swallowed.

  Before long, everyone was standing in a circle around the pond. Midnight was fast approaching. We stood silently for what seemed like an eternity. There wasn't much else we could do except stare at the pond. It was hard to gauge what everyone else was thinking, or even what I was thinking, in that moment. I'd never gone diving before. This was something completely new to me, and yet the task was simple in theory. We just had to find the gem. The challenge would be in the execution. I wasn't even sure what I could expect to see down there. Maybe nothing. Maybe a whole host of weird and dangerous sea creatures. The anticipation made my stomach flutter. I wondered if any of the others felt it, too. But I wasn't about to ask and disrupt the tense quietness around us.

  Finally, Tyrath broke the silence, his voice booming through my helmet. "Any minute now."

  I looked at the moons high up in the night sky, their pale, glowing lights piercing the darkness. The two revolved around Emiarhia at different speeds, so they weren't always this close together, yet they were now near enough to each other that they looked like two big, pearlescent coins side by side in the sky. Corrus – the larger, silver-white one – was slowly getting closer and closer to the edge of the hole in the ceiling, where its light would eventually sink in. Its sibling, Eras – smaller and pale blue – was just behind.

  There was no fanfare; no loud clang, no blinding flash. But as the moonlight started to illuminate the edges of the pool, there was a slight ripple in the surface of the water, as if someone had flicked a pebble into it. It shimmered for a brief moment before a burst of glittering sparks scattered from its surface, spiraling around its edge. Then, the sparkling dust began to dissolve into the water like it was sinking into the surface of a gel. The pond was glowing.

  "It is time," Kadia stated in a clipped voice. "Keep close to one another and do not stray. Do not engage any wildlife. Stay alert at all times." She gave one last glance around the group before turning to face the water. "Switch on the vitals interface, engage your air capsules, then take one breath of air."

  Everyone fumbled for the control panels on their helmets and flipped the switches. When Reyshore helped me connect the tubes to my reservoirs, I felt a momentary jolt in my neck and jaw, and heard a faint whir, like that of a laptop cooling fan, for just a second before the helmet was completely sealed. I took in a deep breath and felt only pure air, not an ounce of humidity, filtering into my mouth and nose. My glass-like visor suddenly lit up with all kinds of new information in small holographic overlays, showing my heart rate, breathing patterns, oxygen levels, blood pressure, and other things in numeric format like current depth, dive time, and remaining air reserves. They were subtle enough to not be distracting. I was more surprised by the tech than anything. Earth had a lot of stuff that Emiarhia didn't, but every so often, the advancements of this place would make my jaw drop. Admittedly, the HUD display looked a bit like an old IBM monochrome monitor, with its bright green letters and blocky fonts, but still. For a universe that didn't have cars, this was impressive. I was beginning to think that was more of a matter of preference than capability.

  Kadia checked the ancient amulet one last time, then tucked it into a pocket within her own suit. "Stay in close proximity, and remember your training." She took a confident step forward. And with that, she was in the pond.

  "Don't keep the lady waiting," Thorne said with a laugh, before following.

  Morgina hopped in next. "Last one in's a rotten fish head!"

  "You already are." Tyrath smirked and plunged into the water.

  Reyshore sat down to swing his legs in, then slipped off the ledge and under the surface. A few seconds later, his voice rang clearly in my ears: "I can confirm it is indeed water, and it feels as refreshing as it looks."

  I couldn't see Tyrath, but his voice sounded again. "What did you expect, a pool of acid?"

  "Well, I am accustomed to the swamps of Noslux. That is a bit different from this," Reyshore laughed.

  Ashkan went next, plunging straight into the middle without a word. Shaye and I exchanged glances. She nodded once, then turned to follow, her suit's reflective detailing gleaming in the moonlight. I went after and was soon up to my neck in cool water. It wasn't too cold. More like the pleasantly tepid temperature of a shower or a swimming pool.

  Kadia spoke in my head as she reached out a hand. "Here."

  I grabbed hold. It felt a little strange, sinking into the pond, knowing that I couldn't drown. All around me was a blue-black void. My eyes started to adjust to the darkness after a few seconds, the others' silhouettes gradually coming into focus. The water still had that subtle, glittery sheen to it. The terrain below us was not unlike a mountain valley, with cliffs, small plateaus, and dips in the rocky earth. Plant life flourished in places, some in thick groves of forests, others in wide swaths or long, swaying fields. A school of fish darted by and vanished. It looked like the surface of another world, and was shockingly expansive for such a small body of water. It had to be hundreds of feet deep. The view was so vast, I was momentarily stunned.

  I blinked to myself and pulled myself together, then squeezed Kadia's hand in reply. "Thanks."

  We moved along at a brisk pace, swimming downwards, but not too far or too fast. The crystal on my belt gave off just enough light to brighten my immediate vicinity. We swam around rocks and between stalagmites for quite a while. Kadia stopped every few minutes to inspect the terrain around us, trying to pick up the amulet's energy signature again. It seemed it could only tell us in what linear direction the gem was, not how to get there or how far down it was. Still, we were lucky to have it. Besides that, going the right way was a matter of gut instinct, which wasn't always the most accurate, of course.

  "What are we even looking for, exactly?" I wondered. "This doesn't look much different from other bodies of water I've seen on Emiarhia."

  Kadia swam a little lower and tilted her head, gazing at something below. "Well, it is different." She then dove ahead at an angle, keeping the amulet out in front of her.

  "So, we're not going to see, like...weird sea monsters, right? Or, I don't know, sea…elves?" I continued as I followed her.

  Morgina was to my left. "That depends."

  I eyed her for a moment. "Depends on what?"

  She grinned at me. "How long you keep talking."

  "I'm just saying!" I defended with a laugh.

  Reyshore chuckled a little. "Do not worry about monsters. Just keep your eyes open for the gem."

  Kadia stopped abruptly to peer over the edge of the cliffside nearby, her belt crystal shining down. "There."

  The rest of us moved over to take a look. About three-hundred feet below was a wide, that were growing in the rocky floor of a basin, as if it had been formed into a bowl. In the centre was an enormous rock that looked a bit like an altar, with a roof shaped almost like the dome of a gazebo. It had a tall, straight pillar in the middle that went from top to bottom. Surrounding this stone structure were massive columns, spaced out evenly around it in a wide circle.

  "A sunken ruin?" Tyrath questioned.

  "So it would seem," Thorne remarked. "How, though?"

  Ashkan squinted and adjusted his position to see better. "Maybe we'll find out once we get down there."

  We started descending as a group again. There was something unsettling about swimming down there in that encroaching darkness. Everyone's glow crystals shimmered around me in the blue-grey depths. My heartbeat quickened a little, even though there was no obvious threat. This was like nothing I'd experienced before, and my body knew it. Every nerve in me felt like it was on edge.

  "I thought I saw some ruins on the surface of the island," Shaye said suddenly, "when we sailed in earlier. They looked quite old and crumbled, all but covered by vines and moss and such."

  "There is always something beneath..." Reyshore mused.

  Morgina chimed in, "Wouldn't be surprised if Uneis fancied spendin' time here. A little archipelago with ruins that lead to the secret, underwater chamber where she stowed her shiny? Sounds like a real place of power to me."

  We swam closer and closer, passing rock formations on our way down. I caught glimpses of schools of fish and other tiny creatures, but nothing too large. At least, not yet. There wasn't much more vegetation besides the trees at this depth, save for some lone, jagged coral outcrops. The darkness and silence around us were starting to creep into my chest. My suit kept my temperature steady, but that didn't stop me from feeling a chill.

  The ruins appeared even grander at close range. The stone pillars were at least a dozen feet high. Their bases were flat and square, and their columns had some sort of curved, filigreed design in them that made them look like oversized seashells. The stone was pale grey and cracked, covered in patches of green algae. Some of them had long since broken or fallen. Others had crumbled into a pile on the ground. The domed structure's exterior had a pattern etched onto it, like ripples on the surface of water. I wondered if there used to be something atop it. Glass panes, maybe? A sculpture of sorts? I had no idea what function the building served, but it was elegant. Even though it had clearly been underwater for a while, there was a sort of ethereal grace to it.

  "These look old," Reyshore stated, "as if they might be the remnants of Uneis' temple."

  Tyrath peered up at the top of a pillar. "That seems likely."

  Kadia paused and glanced around us, the amulet clutched in one hand. She took in a breath. "This must be the place."

  "We should investigate," Thorne suggested.

  Everyone started to spread out a little. Tyrath went over to one of the pillars to touch it, while Kadia swam closer to the structure's base. The rest of us peered around or went off in our own directions to see what there was to be seen. The HUD display in my visor still showed me all the vitals I needed to know. It was so quiet and calm that I could hear myself breathing, alongside the quiet thrumming of my rebreather.

  Ashkan paused beside me, then touched the surface of one of the columns, as if checking its sturdiness. He tapped it a couple of times with a clawed knuckle and looked back to me. "Not as brittle as I thought, given its age."

  "You're a rock expert now?" I asked with a smirk.

  "No, but I do have experience with old stones." He crossed his arms. "But it's fairly common knowledge that Uneis built with very strong foundations."

  "Maybe," I said as I studied the pillar more closely, "but the years underwater must've taken quite a toll."

  "Well, she wanted them to be underwater. So... Maybe not." He tilted his head back and stared up at the building, squinting.

  Tyrath's voice boomed through my helmet. "Anybody found an entrance yet?"

  Kadia moved in closer, then went around to the side and slipped between two of the surrounding pillars, searching the gaps between them. She was muttering quietly to herself, sounding faintly annoyed. "Must be... If she didn't want just anybody getting in here..."

  Reyshore flipped onto his back. "There is evidence of doorways and openings around, but it seems they've long since collapsed and been buried under sand or rock or both. That, or we've been searching the wrong places." He was silent for a few moments before he swam over to help Kadia.

  The rest of us soon joined in. Some of us drifted up the columns to look from above, others maneuvered around the grooves between the pillars, looking for hidden panels, gaps, or holes. This massive pile of broken, carved stone had to lead somewhere. There was nothing else in sight except for this. The rest of the sea floor was nothing but a deep, blue-grey void.

  The only thing that caught my attention was a tiny creature flitting through the water at the corner of my vision. It had the wings of a moth, but a long, lizard-like body and fins, with barbs along its spine. Its tail curled and undulated in the water. I followed it for a while as it darted between pieces of rubble. I got distracted watching the little guy – so much so that I ended up bumping my head against a large chunk of stone.

  "Ow..." I put a hand up to rub my helmet.

  Morgina floated into my view from my right. "Whoops! You okay? Try not to knock this thing over on your own skull, all right? It'll make the treasure harder to find."

  "Sorry..." I went to rub my neck, and then noticed my belt crystal was missing. "Wait." I spun around to search, before glancing down.

  My light had fallen a short way from the spot where I'd been, shining right into a hollow beneath one of the pillars. The little creature from earlier was flitting about just above it. I moved closer. There was a crevice, maybe six inches across. I couldn't tell how far down it went, though. It might've just been an indent in the pillar. It wasn't until I grabbed the crystal and stuck it down into the hole that I realized there was an actual tunnel there, which went deeper into the seabed itself.

  "Found something," I called to the others. Before I could say another word, though, the little fish-thing grabbed hold of my glowing crystal, yanked it right from my hand, and darted into the opening with it. "Hey!" I exclaimed, watching it vanish into the tunnel.

  "What is it?" Shaye asked as she swam closer.

  "I found a hole. Something came and took my light," I answered.

  She peered down, her own light reflecting off the rock surface. "Oh. What did it look like?"

  I gave a brief description and moved my hand in a swimming motion, mimicking what it did with the crystal.

  "Might have been a spri'ler," Tyrath noted. "Cheeky buggers, those. Always stealing things from you, if they like them. Especially shiny things."

  "Thorne, can I have another lantern crystal, please?" I requested.

  With a nod, he retrieved one from a pocket on his leg, shook it a bunch, then handed it to me. It flared to life. I attached it to my belt and turned back to the opening.

  All eight of us were gathered around now, examining the crevice. Evidently, nobody was small enough to squeeze through. And we had to be careful about breaking or otherwise disturbing the ruins, lest they come tumbling down and bury the entrance. It'd be easy to just blast a hole in the foundation, but there were a few issues with that approach.

  "Any ideas?" Tyrath asked the group at large.

  Reyshore spoke up first. "There could be traps ahead. Even if there are not, we run the risk of breaking through into something else that might not survive a violent rupture."

  "Aaaand," Morgina chimed in, "there could be a giant monster that guards this place. Who knows?"

  Tyrath scoffed a bit at her remark but said nothing.

  "There's a way inside; there must be," Kadia said.

  I turned to Thorne. "I'm guessing kywolk acid is a no-go?"

  "It'd just float to the surface. Way too messy," he confirmed.

  Shaye paused to think for a few seconds. "Well... We could try moving some of the rubble from around the opening. See if it makes the gap any larger."

  "Does magic even work underwater?" I wondered.

  Ashkan made a 'so-so' gesture. "It depends."

  "Watch." Thorne extended his palm towards the boulders surrounding the crevice. He seemed to focus, and the rocks began to move and shake, but very little else. He closed his eyes and concentrated even more intensely. They slid back a bit, away from the entrance, and the opening grew larger by a couple of inches. "Uh, a little...help, please?"

  "Thorne, you're going to injure yourself," Kadia told him in an exasperated tone. Still, she swam closer to help.

  The other trainers quickly followed suit, and with all the stacked telekinetic spells, the rocks were moved out of the way with significant effort. It seemed underwater magic took more time and concentration than on land, but the results were about the same. The entrance was now wide enough for most of us to fit through...but getting separated wasn't a wise move on missions like these.

  Morgina folded her arms. "Well. My shoulders are definitely not goin' through that thing. And neither is Ty's big head."

  "At least my head isn't filled with air," he retorted, arching an eyebrow.

  She gave him an exaggerated glare. "It's called brains. Not that you would know."

  He rolled his eyes but chuckled a little.

  "Oh!" Shaye gasped. "...Oh. Wait. Nevermind. I thought perhaps a laser would work to cut away the stone, like Brielle did in Thenanari, but...the water would scatter the beam..."

  "Not bad logic, really," I assured her.

  "...Maybe that could work," Ashkan piped up, turning his head towards us. "Weapon enchantments are unaffected by external forces on an atomic level, including water... If we were to enhance our blades with a sort of laser edge or a cutting beam..."

  My eyes widened. "We could cut a wider entrance instead of smashing things open!"

  The two of us shared a look for a couple of moments, then we both smiled at each other.

  "Would that actually work?" Shaye questioned.

  Ashkan squinted pensively. "Possibly. Smiths sometimes use those kinds of enchantments on tools to carve into especially tough materials. We could test it on a boulder."

  I unsheathed my violet dagger and paused. Then, I took a breath and channeled my magic into it. Casting spells underwater felt like trying to focus through a thick, bubbly substance. But, the charm activated after a few seconds of mental concentration. I was familiar with conjuring both lasers and light-based enchantments, so the two melded together nicely, as I hoped. The edge of my dagger was bathed in a pale magenta light, the water around it shimmering like a heat haze. It had no effect on the spell otherwise.

  I heard Thorne click his tongue. "There's no way you three aren't destined to be a team."

  "Let's hope this works, then." I went over to a large, flat rock and slashed at it a few times. The blade didn't exactly slice through it like butter, but it did give the rock face some significant gashes.

  "Huh." Tyrath blinked a couple of times. "Would you look at that."

  Morgina grinned. "That's pretty slick."

  "Brielle, would you do the honours?" Reyshore motioned towards the small hole.

  "Oh, yeah, of course." I swam closer to the crevice and started outlining it with my dagger.

  It was a little awkward, because the knife's tip kept getting stuck in the cracks and such, and the water resistance made it hard to push through. Still, the rock was chipped away little by little. Soon enough, I'd scored two curved notches around the original opening that, once removed, would let us get inside without having to wriggle around too much.

  "There," I said as I brushed away some of the loose rock. "It's like cutting glass. If someone could just break these pieces out, we'd be able to–"

  Abruptly, Ashkan's right fist smashed into one of the notches. The section of rock I'd scored out popped free like a cookie cutter and sank down into the hole below us.

  "Be gentle, Ashkan!" Shaye exclaimed. "Don't go punching it! We need to go underneath these ruins, remember?"

  "I'm only breaking the rock that needs to be broken," he replied as he flexed his fingers. His glove had a glowing orange enchantment around it. "I think I know how pressure points work, Shaye."

  "Just...be careful," she urged him.

  "Yeah, yeah." He moved to the second piece and gave it a couple of light taps, as if trying to figure out how much force was needed. Eventually, his knuckles connected with the rock, and that panel popped out just as easily.

  "It looks like we've made a small cave for ourselves," Morgina quipped.

  Kadia kneeled beside me and examined the perimeter of the entrance. "Good work. Everyone, be cautious and follow me. We are likely trespassing holy grounds now, and I imagine it would not do well to disrespect them."

  "That's what you're worried about?" Thorne commented with a half-grin. "Not what might be waiting in here for us?"

  His girlfriend was unamused. "Don't jinx us." She slipped down into the opening without another word, her suit glowing dimly in the shadows.

  Thorne gave the group a look that I couldn't quite read, then shook his head and followed her. Morgina, Ashkan, and I went after him. Then came Shaye, Tyrath, and finally Reyshore.

  I descended through the entrance, careful to keep my head on a swivel. It looked as though we'd broken through a ceiling panel into an actual hallway of sorts. The walls were a mishmash of jagged, irregular stone, held up by more of the shell-like columns, all of it covered in patches of algae, coral, and barnacles. There were even small, green, jellyfish-esque creatures bobbing about in the open spaces between the rocks, lighting the hallway dimly. Some of the gaps in the ceiling and walls were blocked up with chunks of rubble, but they'd clearly been originally carved by people, given the angles and smooth surfaces. It was kind of hard to imagine anybody actually living down there, but I supposed being able to breathe underwater made it much easier. Really, everything was rather pretty if not dilapidated. The temple in its heyday must've been something to behold. We were essentially in its basement now, so the floors above the seabed had either long since eroded away or fallen apart, buried under the sand and sediment.

  The underground labyrinth seemed to go on for a while, regularly branching off into separate hallways and rooms. Kadia stopped at each intersection to check around before continuing in the direction the amulet pointed. Our glow crystals helped tremendously at keeping the darkness at bay. Every so often, we'd pass by a row of with dozens of sodden volumes left behind on their shelves. Most of them were so brittle that the covers had rotted off. Others had been picked clean of their pages by curious fish or crabs or other organisms over the centuries. There were also plenty of statues, carvings, and effigies of Uneis, her priests, and her followers scattered about the corridors. A lot of it seemed to be made out of marble. Most of them had cracked and crumbled with time. Other than that, there was little decor of note.

  My helmet beeped softly, and an orange light appeared at the bottom left of my HUD. The minerals in my air reservoir capsules were at fifteen percent capacity.

  "Hey, when should I swap out my air supply?" I asked the team at large. "My capsules are getting low."

  "What's your indicator at?" Ashkan questioned.

  I glanced down to check the orange bar again. "Fifteen."

  "I'm at eighteen," Morgina spoke up.

  Thorne's voice echoed through our comms. "Mine's at fifteen as well. Probably be good to swap out before they hit ten. Can't be too careful down here." He opened a small pouch on his belt and withdrew a couple new electrolytic crystals.

  "Are there enough to refill everyone?" Kadia asked. "We might as well change them lest we forget."

  He approached me and checked the reservoirs on my neck. "Plenty. Okay Brielle, just keep breathing normally. I'm going to swap out the crystals. I know they make a bit of a 'fwoomp' noise when they start working, but it shouldn't last longer than a couple of seconds."

  I felt Thorne fiddle around with the left capsule first. There was a click, and a red warning symbol appeared on the left side of my visor. The air in my helmet began to grow thin. Then, there was a brief burst of air against my cheek as he slotted in a new mineral, and the warning vanished. After the same process was repeated on the right side, my HUD informed me that the air capsules were back up to a full charge.

  It only took a few minutes to replace the crystals in everyone else's reservoirs as well, after which we continued on down the hall. The amulet kept us moving forward at a good pace. We occasionally ran into a school of spri'lers. They darted out to investigate the glowing lights on our suits, only to scurry off again once we shooed them away. The ones in groups seemed to be bolder in their efforts to investigate us. I watched one or two get tangled in Kadia's long braid, and I had to help pick them out.

  We emerged into a large chamber after about half an hour. A cluster of spri'lers swarmed out to greet us, and Kadia stopped to swat at them in a very irritated manner. A couple of them floated after me. I tried shooing them off, but they were stubborn, and I soon found myself swimming around in an attempt to dodge the tiny things. It wasn't exactly very dignifying.

  "They're trying to take your belt again," Thorne chuckled as he helped brush them away. "Always on the hunt for the perfect bauble for their hoard, aren't you, you little scamps?"

  "There are far too many of them for my liking," Kadia muttered. "Let's proceed as quickly as possible."

  Ashkan was glancing around, examining the chamber. It was slightly more intact than the previous rooms and halls we'd traversed through. The ceiling and walls were composed of much more polished, pristine marble, as were the decorative pillars lining the perimeter. Strings of rusted chains, ornaments, and chandeliers dangled down, swaying lazily in the water. There were more bookcases here, some filled with tomes and other odds and ends. The floor tiles all bore the symbol of water – a teardrop – in various patterns and sizes. And in the centre of the back wall sat a surprisingly intact bust of Uneis herself atop an ornate pedestal.

  Kadia glanced down at the amulet, then headed towards the goddess. "We must be in the right place."

  The rest of us congregated around the statue and admired it for a bit. It had either been carved from various materials or painted, because its pieces were either white, grey, or blue. In spite of its obvious age and mild wear and tear, there was something about it that radiated a kind of...dignified beauty. Her features were delicate, soft, and smooth. There was a hint of melancholy in her gaze, though. She was looking up towards the unseen surface. Her eyebrows sloped downward, and her lips were parted very slightly, as if she was about to sigh. Her neck, chest, and ears were covered with elaborate jewelry carved right into the piece. On the pedestal below her, a line of glyphs had been engraved in an old language, worn down by time.

  "The Goddess of Water. The Blueguard... Spearhead of Life..." Tyrath said in a low voice, almost reverently. "I know her stories well. And yet..." His brow creased, as if he was trying to piece together a complicated thought. "...It's strange to be face to face with her like this."

  Morgina turned to look at him, and a small, bemused smile appeared on her face. "What, you don't believe in gods or something?"

  "That's not it. It's more like, when you know them from mere ink and text, they almost start to seem smaller, less important. Standing right in front of her... Sort of, anyway. We owe a lot of our strength to them, don't we? They're the reason why elemental magic exists in the first place. Y'know, it's like you meeting Jeprus, or Reyshore meeting Gavphine. The creators of our disciplines we've spent so many years studying. Almost like magic isn't ours at all. They just kind of...gifted it to us."

  Reyshore slowly crossed his arms. "Hm. I must admit, your philosophical tangents are...somewhat rare, my friend."

  "Yeah, are you okay?" Morgina asked in a slightly joking tone.

  "I'm perfectly fine!" Tyrath put his hands on his hips and eyed the two of them somewhat haughtily. "What, a lieutenant isn't allowed to get spiritual once in a while? Just 'cause you're a heartless goon doesn't mean I am."

  She tapped the visor of her helmet and winked. "You know you love me, Ty."

  A familiar look of exasperation appeared on his face. "That remains to be seen."

  "If you two are finished," Kadia remarked dryly, "it's time we move on. We are on a time limit, in more ways than one. The amulet has led us here. Perhaps there is a clue somewhere nearby."

  The group began fanning out and searching the room. Ashkan and Reyshore started poring over the bookshelves with intrigue. Thorne swam up to a few crystalline fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Kadia joined him to inspect the ceiling itself, while Morgina and Tyrath made a few passes around the place in different directions. As for me, I found myself standing in front of the sculpture, studying it quietly. There was something about Uneis that tugged on my attention. I figured it was her expression. Her placid, sorrowful face almost beckoned me to approach her, like she had a secret that I needed to understand.

  Shaye came up beside me. "Any thoughts?"

  I frowned a little at the statue's face. "Do you think Uneis actually looked like this, or is this just an artist's rendering?"

  She tilted her head. "Well, if this is as old as the temple, I'm sure her followers would've been quite familiar with her. Of course, the gods were known to shift into their person-forms only to interact with us, so it can be debated whether or not they actually have true appearances... But they apparently remained mostly consistent. I suppose they each took a liking to their chosen visages."

  "She looks..." My lips pursed briefly. "Maybe she's just tired, or world-weary, or something. But it seems like a sad expression to me."

  "I am no art critic. Perhaps some of her worshippers liked the mournful look to her. Or... Now that I think of it, many depictions of Uneis bear that same look, don't they?" Shaye narrowed her eyes a little. "She weeps for us... Supposedly. That was her unique ability. Gavphine could turn completely invisible, Iton could fly with ease, Jeprus could walk through any material... And Uneis cried protective tears that could guard the vulnerable from illness, famine, cruelty... There is always a degree of exaggeration to such fables, however. Perhaps it was merely part of her personality."

  "Have you found anything?" Kadia inquired, approaching the two of us. Her braid floated behind her like a long, purple snake.

  "Nothing yet," I replied.

  Shaye gave a casual wave of her hand. "Just idle thoughts, truly."

  "Neither have I, other than this vial." She held up an empty glass container for us to see. It was cylindrical with a pointed end and had fancy silver filigree crawling up its sides.

  I blinked. "Where'd you find that?"

  "Lodged in the ceiling, right where Uneis' gaze is aimed," she answered. She then turned her eyes up to the point of interest on the ceiling, which seemed entirely indistinct and nondescript to me. "It was in a small hatch of sorts. Clearly intentional. I wonder if it's something vital, or just an ornament that has already served its purpose."

  "We should definitely bring it with us," Shaye said.

  Unfortunately, that was as far as anyone had gotten. The amulet had only brought us to the doorstep of the gemstone; its directional mechanism was still locked onto the bust. We scoured the chamber for ten more minutes but uncovered nothing of note. In the interest of not becoming trapped in a watery grave once dawn hit, we decided to backtrack and explore more of the temple complex. There had to be some crucial piece to the puzzle we were missing. It was just a question of where to look next.

  There were more hallways and doors connecting the various sections of the temple together. We managed to find a giant spiral staircase that likely once led to higher levels, a crumbling ballroom of sorts, a rather neglected study lined with shattered windows and torn books, a decayed dining hall with tattered banners lining the walls, and the remains of several unidentifiable rooms. Everything was rife with debris and algae.

  Finally, the eight of us entered an area that looked like it might've been an inner sanctum of sorts, or at least more of an office. Fluted columns spaced out a grand, vaulted ceiling decorated with intricate carvings. Smaller prayer rooms extended out to our left and right. The floor had a tessellation of tiles forming all kinds of abstract patterns. Many of them had been broken or flipped over. Half-melted candles clung to sconces embedded in the columns and a few desks, as if ready to light themselves and work again at a moment's notice. Here and there were pieces of fine pottery with various cracks and chips in them. I was also fairly certain I'd seen a skeleton lying amongst the piles of rubble at some point, but I didn't want to get close enough to properly confirm.

  "These might be the religious leaders' quarters," Ashkan commented as he opened a drawer, "or maybe a throne room."

  Reyshore swam to the back of the room to examine a tall door. "It is locked," he called out upon testing its handle.

  "Interesting. We had yet to encounter a locked door in here...or many doors at all, really," Kadia replied.

  Thorne rubbed the chin of his helmet, thinking. "It wouldn't take long to check what's behind it. Should I try to pick it?"

  "There is no keyhole, I'm afraid," Reyshore sighed. "It may simply be fused shut."

  "Damn. Well, I guess that's what unlocking spells are for..." He raised a hand towards the wood of the door. Nothing happened. After a few seconds, he dropped his arm, frustrated. "Huh. That's never not worked before."

  Tyrath frowned at his brother. "Sure you're doing it right?"

  He huffed in response, raising his hand again. "'Course I'm doing it right! You want to try?"

  Kadia snapped her fingers to grab our attention. "Ahem. You're making bread out of sand. Not going to work. Either this door has an extremely strong ward that dispels unlocking charms, or it has no lock at all. We must find another way."

  "I bet I could just..." With a low mutter, Tyrath backed up a few feet, then broke into a strong kick right against the door. A loud crack echoed through the sanctum. Alas, the door remained staunchly in place.

  "Tyrath, you will refrain from destroying the relics of our history," Kadia chastised sharply.

  He bristled, but lowered his foot back onto the floor nonetheless. "Captain, it isn't as though we can do anything more. Using magic would be destructive. I'm simply advocating for a hands-on solution to the issue. I don't see the problem with–"

  Just then, a hidden panel slid out from behind us to cover the entrance we'd come in from. Everyone jolted, startled, and instantly reached for our weapons. We formed a circle as we turned to face the rest of the room. At first, it seemed empty of threats, but that soon changed. Sparks crackled through the water around the edges of the room. Large, horizontal pipes lodged in the walls began to emanate thin streams of pale bubbles. A high-pitched tone whined in my ears, making me flinch. The small display in my helmet's visor notified me that the temperature of the surrounding water was slowly increasing.

  I turned to see Kadia poking her dagger at the exposed conduit piping with disdain, or confusion, or maybe both. A few sparks spat in response, forcing her to move back. "We must've activated a trap. Quickly, find an exit!"

  We began searching in a panic, swimming around, examining the walls for any cracks or hidden compartments, but we quickly found ourselves running into more obstacles. As the room heated up further, the pressure started to become oppressive. I watched helplessly as my visor's temperature readings began to tick upwards.

  "Can't we break through the ceiling?!" Morgina exclaimed.

  "We don't know what's above us; we could easily be crushed," Kadia retorted. "Tyrath, Morgina, try to cool those pipes with cold water and ice. The rest of you, see if you can find a weak point. At least one of the doorways must be functional, or the temple's builders wouldn't be able to escape should the trap trigger... Unless that failsafe has eroded away as well..."

  Tyrath grit his teeth, trying to keep the frustration from his voice. "I'll...see what I can do."

  "Ice magic doesn't really work that well in water; you know that," Morgina griped, before yelping loudly upon touching the nearest pipe with a hand. "OW! Bloody–! …Yeah, that's hot all right!"

  Reyshore was still pushing on the door to the other room, hoping for a miracle, while the rest of us swam around, inspecting every detail of the area for anything we may have missed. It seemed we'd run into a dead end. A well-calibrated, fatal dead end. It now felt like I was swimming in a giant hot tub. Sweat started to bead on my face, making the helmet feel very claustrophobic and stuffy. The others looked to be feeling similarly. We couldn't keep this up much longer.

  Tyrath and Morgina managed to slow the heaters down slightly, but it only made a minimal difference. Thorne was now trying alongside Reyshore to shoulder the door open with their combined strength, much to Kadia's protests. Shaye was growing pale from the heat. Ashkan swam in wide circles around us, examining everything in his sight for clues. I'd gone to check the integrity of the stone panel covering our entrance, but it wouldn't budge an inch. We were well and truly stuck.

  My gloved fingers slid across the uneven stone wall in front of me. Something about its texture felt familiar. It was...rough. More natural than not. Less modified than the rest of the temple. A few seconds later, it clicked. Magic was the default solution to getting stuck, but for explosive or destructive spells, precision wasn't really attainable. The target's surroundings were always simultaneously in the line of fire. But if that powerful energy was harnessed and applied to a very precise tool...

  Ashkan swam by me, and I grabbed his arm to stop him.

  His eyes locked with mine. "What is it?"

  "Give me your dagger," I ordered, my words hasty with adrenaline. "Please."

  He immediately handed it over. I grasped the handle firmly, and channeled some energy through my arm and into the blade, until it lit up with a faint magenta glow. I then gave it back to him.

  A look of realization dawned on his face. "Of course...!"

  With that, I left him to start carving out chunks of the wall, just like I'd done earlier, and headed for Shaye, who'd drifted closer to the ground in an attempt to stay as cool as possible. "Shaye, are you able to go help Ash?"

  "With what?" Her voice sounded strained.

  Kadia whipped around. "Help? What are you doing?"

  "The laser enchantment," I said to her. "It should work on the stone down here, shouldn't it?"

  Her eyes widened as she recalled the idea, and then she nodded vigorously. "Right! Thorne, Reyshore, go and assist with this new plan. I'll try to freeze the pipes for a bit longer."

  Once I finished augmenting my three teammates' respective blades, they immediately got to work on the wall alongside Ashkan. I glanced around nervously as they carved away. The pipes' output was steadily increasing, and it was starting to look like it was getting close to boiling the water around us. My entire body felt uncomfortably hot, like I'd been stuck out in the sun too long. Tyrath's and Morgina's faces were twisted up in visible frustration from their continued efforts to try to cool the pipes down, even if only briefly.

  Finally, there was an audible crack of the stone in front of me.

  Thorne gave a victorious whoop. "These look like deep enough gashes. One good punch should do it."

  Kadia was at my side in a flash. "We are running out of time. Hit it!"

  He didn't hesitate to follow her command. His fist became engulfed in orange wisps before he rammed it right through the weakened wall. A spiderweb of cracks quickly spread out from the point of contact. There was a pause as he pulled back to do it again...and then the middle of the panel broke apart in a burst of rubble. A surge of cool water rushed in to fill the void.

  Shaye, Ashkan and I were hurriedly ushered through the circular hole. My helmet's readings now indicated the surrounding temperature had plummeted dramatically. Everyone else followed us shortly. Soon, we found ourselves floating in the hallway just outside. We took the opportunity to cool off and catch our breath. The bubbles and whining from the pipes died out behind us, as if the trap was satisfied with having gotten rid of the chamber's occupants.

  "Morgina, your hand..." Tyrath spoke suddenly. "Is it all right?"

  She grimaced down at the offending limb. A small trickle of blood had begun to float off the exposed skin of her palm, mixing in with the surrounding water. "Oh. I guess I got burned a little. I'm fine."

  He huffed, then gently grasped her arm to inspect the wound more closely. "No, that has to be second-degree at least. Reyshore, can you heal it?"

  "Don't be so overbearing," she complained.

  Reyshore nodded, swimming closer. "I would need more time than we have to treat it properly, but I can certainly halve the damage now." His palm became engulfed in soft gold light.

  Morgina looked at the injury again, then shrugged. "If you insist..."

  As Reyshore treated the burn, Thorne fished out some water-repellent bandages from a pouch on his suit. "Here, at least we can protect the wound in the meantime." He began wrapping it up once Reyshore's spell faded. "And for the record, Morgina, you have a higher tolerance for pain than anyone else I know. That was definitely worse than 'fine'."

  "Aw, you know me so well," she joked.

  A little bit of casual discussion about the recent events followed before Kadia ordered us back into work mode. There were still a lot of ruins left to explore. And now, not only had the traps of the previous room shut off, but we also had a way to safely find out just what was behind that wooden door.

  Ashkan floated at my side as we returned into the sanctum, with Kadia taking the lead. I saw him cast me an appraising look. "Nice thinking back there."

  "It's nothing," I murmured, smiling slightly. "I don't know why I didn't remember it sooner."

  "Well, people don't tend to think clearly under stress. Better late than never," he reasoned.

  I couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. "Gee, I'm flattered. Thanks, Ash."

  "Just giving credit where it's due," he replied with a wink, then moved ahead.

  Goddamn it. Now was really not the time for my feelings to come rearing up again. I watched my heart rate monitor spike on the HUD inside my helmet.

  I didn't get long to be frustrated with my emotions, though. We approached the wooden door to find Reyshore had already given the same laser enchantments to his and Thorne's daggers. The room had cooled off by that point, though there was a noticeable bubble or two still rising off the top of the hot pipes. The wood of the door quickly became charred. A few minutes of careful effort later, a chunk had been removed from the middle. After some more whittling and careful slicing around the hinges, the entire thing came clean off, leaving an open doorway.