Page 64

I raise a brow at Grayson. “I’m surprised you don’t already know the answer to that question.”

He shoots me a smirk. “Zaos only discovered that you were planning on stealing the artifact from Blythe, not that you would be one of the few who could translate its inscription.”

“Right.” I roll my eyes, then wrap my arms around myself, suddenly feeling the temperature drop. “Yes, it was my mother.”

“It’s uncommon to encounter someone who has knowledge of the old language, much less the ability to translate it.”

He’s edging toward unchartered territory. We’ve made a vow. No more secrets. No more half-truths. But this . . .

My throat starts to tighten from the emotion I’ve locked away for far too long. It bangs against the box I placed it in. Threatening to spill out and ruin all that is good in my life. Just as she had ruined everything back then.

Hoping that he sees the pain that is too great for me to bear, all I say is, “Yes, it is rare.”

I eye him, pleading for a respite from this conversation.

Thankfully, he doesn’t have the choice of giving me one as we turn another corner into a large circular cavern with more paintings on the walls, but whatever material was used in here glows silver instead of green.

Our attention is drawn to the wall immediately in front of us that shows an image we’ve both seen before.

“The box,” I whisper. Pulling the trinket from the inner pocket of my coat, I raise it up.

The image on the wall mirrors the one etched into the golden surface, only it’s much larger.

Carved into the onyx stone around the painting is the same writing illustrated on the key: Where the earth reaches for the heavens, secrets lie. Deep beyond, in darkness you shall see.

“I think we’re in the right place,” I say to Grayson.

Something sparkles in his eyes as he smiles warmly at me. “Indeed, Little Pearl.”

He rows us toward the edge, where a wide walking path of stone surrounds the cavern. Careful not to rock the boat too violently, I step out onto the path. Grayson tosses me a rope and I place it beneath one of the stones nestled against the wall to keep the longboat from drifting away

Once he’s by my side, we walk up to the painting lined directly across from the tunnel entrance. “It looks like an archway.” I gesture toward the lettering that starts at the bottom of the wall, then curves once reaching the top, only to dive straight back down the other side.

“And archways represent doors,” Grayson muses.

“That they do.” I beam up at him.

I scan the rock wall for any sort of keyhole when, suddenly, there’s a splashing sound from directly behind us. Grayson and I pause. Then, in unison, we pull our weapons. The steel sings against the near-silence, echoing through the cavern.

My heart races in my chest when I look down to find three creatures. One of them starts crawling up onto the pathway from the water, her large eyes are trained on Grayson while the other two—still in the water—assess me with blatant curiosity.

Water nymphs . At least that’s what I think they are, if my mother’s teachings were correct.

“Who are you!” My shout rings through the space.

Pointing my dagger at the closest one, I take all three of them in.

The two in the water have just their faces exposed, but I can see the long tendrils of white hair floating effortlessly around their bodies.

They look to be twins, as they both have the same heart-shaped face with small opalescent jewels encrusting their skin along their foreheads and down the sides of the cheeks.

Both of them blink their large eyes at me simultaneously as I shift my dagger to point it at them, but neither of them make a move.

Water drips onto the stone as the third rises to her full height a few feet in front of Grayson.

Her voice is watery as she says, “I am Seraphina. Protector of this mountain and all that lies within it.” She flashes a mouth full of wickedly sharp teeth in what I think is a kind smile, but I can’t be sure. “We have waited millennia for this moment. It seems the time has finally come upon us.”

I see her dip her head and bow before standing straight again.

Grayson lowers his weapon, but I keep mine directed straight at the other two nymphs, who’ve seemed to shift their attention onto Grayson.

Long pointed ears poke through silver strands of wet hair on the one who stands on the stone.

Pale blue silk drapes over the curves of her breasts and wraps around her right side, exposing pearlescent white skin that seems to shimmer in the dull light cast off the painting behind me.

Her legs and arms are long and willowy and as my eyes trail down her forearms, I notice her fingers are webbed.

She’s stunning and she catches me staring at her as she turns toward me. “Have you found it?”

“What?” My brows pinch together as I finally lower my weapon. Instinct and years of chasing after dangerous pirates tells me she’s no threat. At least not to us.

“The key to unlock the stone door.” There’s an excitement to her voice, as if she truly has waited thousands of years for someone to make their way through these caves.

I steal a glance at Grayson and he nods. Reaching into my coat, I take the box out as I sheath my dagger.

When I reveal the golden trinket, all three of them gasp at once, muttering how beautiful it is in their watery voices. I make quick work of the puzzle and the top clicks open, revealing the luminous Serpent’s Key.

“She has the key,” says one.

“The key. Yes! The key,” says another.

The two water nymphs in the water swim closer to the edge, but do not rise onto the stone.

“We couldn’t find a keyhole,” Grayson mentions to the female standing before him.

“What does it say?” she gestures to the key in my hand, then to the wall behind us.

“‘Where the earth reaches for the heavens, secrets lie. Deep beyond, in darkness you shall see,’ ” I translate the inscription aloud.

“In darkness you shall see” all three of them repeat at once, the symphony of their voices echoing off the walls in a soothing melody.

I look down at the key again. Streams of fire opal inlaid within the gold give off vibrant orange, yellow, and blue hues. The colors dance. Almost as if the key is alive.

Looking back at the water nymph, her eyes seem to widen as she gestures her webbed hand from the key to the wall.

I shove the box back into my coat pocket.

The column of Grayson’s neck works as I move past him with the key in my open palm.

Those flecks of starlight turn to molten silver in his eyes, moving about like a serpent slinking just below the water’s surface, showing the shiny scales of its back now and again.

He’s excited. I’ve waited a long time for this and he’s waited . . . forever.

This is it .

Raven’s death. Leaving my crew behind. The risk of Blythe’s vengeful rage.

All of it has led to this one moment.

Thaeto’s treasure—unimaginable wealth and the key to our freedom—may very well be locked behind this door.

Standing in front of it, I raise the key, letting its luminous jewels shine upon the onyx stone.

The key’s light is so bright I can see the blurry image of my reflection in the stone as I move the key up and down.

I feel Grayson move to stand behind me, his large hand splays against the small of my back.

“I don’t see anything,” I whisper to him.

“It’s okay. Keep trying.” His words are calm. Steady. An anchor to my rising excitement.

Moving the key’s light to the right, I run it over the long line of words trailing down to the floor. Still nothing . Then I start moving it to the left again, to where the image of the heavens and the old gods’ stars are bright from the silver paint.

The fire opal’s light seems to pulse wildly the closer I get to the stars. My mouth drops open and I feel my chest nearly bursting with energy as I move it toward Thaeto’s star in the constellation. The key’s light flickers so quickly, it almost hums.

My breath catches and I hear Grayson release a sigh as we both see it at once. Right at the center of Thaeto’s star is a keyhole. Small and insignificant. But it’s there. When I withdraw the key’s light from the wall, the keyhole disappears.

“She found it.”

“Yes, there it is.”

“The keyhole.”

All three of the water nymphs ring out their thrills behind us. Glancing at them over my shoulder, I bow my head. The one standing at the edge of the stone pathway smiles, revealing her razor-sharp teeth. She somehow still looks beautiful, despite the deathtrap set within her mouth.

Turning to look at Grayson, I extend the key toward him. “Here. Show us what’s behind that door.”

A muscle ticks along his jaw as he stares at the key in the palm of my hand. Then his gaze shifts to meet mine. “You were the one who got us here, Little Pearl. This honor is yours.”

Taking in a deep breath, I just look at him and smile. “I can’t believe this is it.” I shake my head, in awe of the moment.

Grayson threads his fingers through my hair, cupping the side of my face. Bringing his lips down to meet mine, he hovers there for a moment. “I wouldn’t want to share this moment with anyone else.” Then, he kisses me, slow and tender, before he pulls away and I’m standing before him, breathless.

Fluttering my eyes back open, I miss the feeling of his palm against my cheek when he retreats his hand and faces the wall.

The key’s light pulses to that flickering hum once more as I bring it to Thaeto’s star and slip it into the keyhole.

Turning it to the right, the air around us starts to vibrate with the same crackling energy we felt outside the mountain and my heart rate kicks up in anticipation of not being able to breathe.

But my lungs stay full as a cloud of dust puffs toward us and the sound of grinding stone bounces off the walls around us. A smooth line forms just inside the edge of the scripture written on the wall as the large arched stone starts to move backward.

Grayson bars his arm in front of me and I look up at him. “Afraid of booby traps or something?”

When the sound of gears grinding into motion begins, the door shifts to the right, revealing a dark alcove with a single stone pedestal in the center.

“Or something,” Grayson mutters, his arm dropping. “Let me go in first, just to be sure.”

“I think that would be wise, given your special talents.” I huff. “But that’s the only reason why.”

He tosses a rogue smile over his shoulder as he steps past the entryway and into the darkness. Chills line every inch of my skin and my heart feels like it’s about to burst from my chest. The door is open, and just beyond the threshold is?—

“Come on,” I hear Grayson say then I see the outline of his arm gesture for me to move forward.

Steeling myself, I close my fist around the key and walk to him. The moment I step over the threshold, the alcove illuminates, washing a bright silvery light over us. Grayson and I peer up to see some sort of mage light floating toward the domed ceiling.

I slip my empty hand into his as we look around. The light makes the onyx stone reflect like a darkened mirror, just as the key had on the outer wall. Our reflections are warped against the striated stone, making us both appear much taller than we are.

“Look,” he says, pointing to the pedestal centered in the room. “There’s another keyhole.”

Stepping forward, I run my fingertips along the keyhole settled in an intricately designed lock at the top base of the pedestal. The filigree matches the key with beautiful swirls and flecks of fire opal that ignite as I draw the key closer to it.

“But there’s nothing on top of the pedestal.” I turn toward Grayson. “What if we’re too late and someone has already taken what was here?”

He seems to mull over the question for a moment. “Let’s see what opening the lock does before we let our hopes dwindle.”

I nod. With a shaking hand, I slip the key into the stone lock and turn it.

Like a mirage dancing along the horizon’s edge, a golden image blurs to life on top of the pedestal.

A gold tablet about seven inches long appears as if it were there all along and we just couldn’t see it.

It lingers in the air just above the stone pedestal, held there by some ancient magick, no doubt.

“Another clue,” I say, reaching for it. Grayson’s hand settles at my back as I grasp the tablet. The metal feels cold to the touch, but it gives no resistance as I pluck it from its resting place above the pedestal.

Grayson’s hand trails up my spine as his head dips to take in the piece. “The old language is inscribed upon it as well.”

“Yes.” I tilt the tablet to the side, trying to avoid the glare off the shiny surface from the light above. “It says, ‘ When three become one. Where it all began. A curse. Not just of a god, but of the land.’ ”

Turning toward Grayson, I look into those bright oceanic eyes. A smile plays on his lips.

“Where it all began,” I whisper, a grin splitting my lips as well.

“Not just of a god, but of the land.”

“Fucking hells,” I breathe, feeling a maniacal rush soar through me. “The treasure is buried in The Barren Wastelands.”