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Vahly’s nerves sparked. What if she was leading Nix and Arc on a wild ferret chase? One that led to a death by either thirst or rogue Jades?

Built by her ancestors, a crumbling stone bridge reached to the far side of the river. Arc went across first, the endless night sky making him look small, and Nix followed, the edges and hollows of her wings collecting starlight like jewel dust.

The small stones of the bridge crunched beneath Vahly’s boots. “I’m seriously worried I’m dragging you two into an unending nightmare.”

Nix snorted a laugh.

Arc turned, frowning. “I assure you, I’m fully awake. My nightmares involve a great deal more drama.”

“More drama than following a leader who has no idea where she’s going?” Vahly asked.

Arc glanced at her. “I know where we’re going.”

“I don’t mean the trail. I mean, I’m not at all sure about this whole follow-my-gut thing.”

Nix’s wing brushed her arm. “What are our other choices? You don’t have your full powers yet. We need to wake your magic completely or we have no chance against the Sea Queen.”

“Indeed,” Arc said quietly.

Nix spread her hands. “And anyway, I was bored.”

Vahly rolled her eyes. This bravado was a mask.

Nix just didn’t want to stay around the ciderhouse where the imaginary ghosts of Dramour, Kemen, and Ibai haunted every corner.

Nix needed time away. So did Vahly. Their loss was an avalanche waiting to start.

If the details of whom they had lost crept into her immediate thoughts, if she indulged in any intimate memories, the whole mountain of grief would bury her.

She simply could not think of Dramour’s laugh, Kemen’s conspiratorial nod, or Ibai’s intense gaze as he mixed potions for healing.

Her eyes burned with hidden emotion as they came to the end of the bridge. She could almost hear her heart cracking, preparing for a life-altering fall. She cleared her throat of the thickness that had gathered there.

“But how long do we give this?” she asked.

Arc stopped to move his bow to his other shoulder while Nix and Vahly stood by the rippling water.

“What if we wander for an entire year?” Vahly asked. “An entire lifetime?”

Nix raised the scales above her eyes. “We’ll be dead by the Sea Queen’s hands long before any of that. Remember?”

Vahly crossed her arms. “Your bedside manner used to be much better.”

Nix opened her mouth to say something, but the water churned at their feet.

Heart beating a tattoo on her chest, Vahly stepped back and hauled Nix with her.

Could the sea folk have somehow reached this fresh water?

A shimmering light like a blurred moon rose from the silver-tipped ripples. A voice tripped through the air, a singing, notes warbling and numbing Vahly’s senses.

Shaking herself, Vahly stepped between the light and her friends.

“Be not afraid,” the light said, the sound reminiscent of wind chimes.

Arc knelt beside Nix.

“What are you doing?” Vahly drew her sword as Nix growled at the being.

Head bent, Arc spoke quietly. “Earth Queen, Mistress of the Call Breakers, I present to you the Spirit of the River.”

Vahly and Nix exchanged confused looks.

Vahly narrowed her eyes at the Spirit, trusting that Arc was not simply acting gullible. “A pleasure to meet you.” She copied Arc and knelt in the sandy rocks beside the river’s edge.

Nix took a knee as well. “Just how many secrets are you keeping, elf?” she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

The Spirit rose higher in the water. Silver scales glittered around the edges of the Spirit’s circular form. Vahly’s breath caught at the beauty and strangeness.

“Don’t fault the elven lord,” the Spirit whispered, the words dropping slowly like honey from a summer comb. “Of the sparing few who know of me, I ask that they hold talk of my existence to themselves.”

“With all respect,” Vahly started, “why do you now present yourself to us?”

“The world needs you, Earth Queen, and I must do my part to aid you on your journey.”

Vahly glanced at Nix, who shrugged. “Thank you. How exactly can you help?”

The Spirit dipped beneath the water for a moment, and a small wave lipped over the rocks to wet the toes of Vahly’s boot. “I am no warrior, but I helped your kynd build this bridge, and I came to love them.”

Images flickered to life at the far side of the bridge.

Vahly stared in wonder as the ghostly shapes of humans accepted smoothed stones from a light that brought them to the surface—the Spirit was aiding them.

There were at least a dozen humans, no, more than that.

Males wearing hooded tunics digging a trench for drainage and laughing—the sound muffled and distant.

Females with light hair like Vahly’s stacking rocks and creating short walls.

Youths shoving one another into the river playfully and bearing the lectures of their elders.

Vahly put a hand to her cheek and realized she’d been crying. She wiped the tears away quickly, cheeks hot and her heart aching like a starving stomach.

The faint images faded, and Vahly battled the desire to run after them, to beg the Spirit to show them more.

Not noticing Vahly’s secret longings, the Spirit spoke on. “When Astraea rose to power in the salt water realms, her aura tainted even my waters. Indeed, her foul ocean blacked my fresh currents during the flooding that took the last of your family, Earth Queen.”

The Spirit spoke the Sea Queen’s name like a curse. Vahly was with her on that sentiment.

Silver light surrounded a river rock deep under the current, then the Spirit seemed to lift it above the water. “Take this. When you need aid, press a kiss onto its surface, and I will do my best to rally the creatures of fresh water to your banner.”

Vahly took the rock and grasped it tightly. The damp surface chilled her fingers, and the scent of algae and metal found her nose. What would it look like if this being rallied its creatures? Water snakes, spotted frogs, and salamanders racing over land to join Vahly at the coast?

A new thought sprang to mind, a child of the first.

What if Vahly could call up the creatures of the land? Was that already within her power? If so, she had no idea how to do it. Swallowing, she rose from her knee and stepped forward.

“Thank you, Spirit. May I ask how you summon your creatures? Is that something an Earth Queen should be able to do?”

The Spirit tipped to one side before righting itself. “I don’t have the knowledge of what an Earth Queen can or cannot do.”

Vahly frowned, disappointment tugging at her like a deep fatigue. “Oh. Of course. Thank you for the gift.”

Nodding once, the shimmering light lowered itself under the river’s dancing surface.

With a splash, it was gone, and Vahly was left with the uncomfortable knowledge that there was so much more to learn about the world she was meant to save.

And yes, some discoveries might prove beneficial like this river being and this special rock, but other revelations would hold threats she hadn’t prepared for, evils lurking unseen.

If she didn’t figure out how to wake her magic in full soon, what she didn’t know might kill her before the sea had its chance.