Page 35

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FOUR

Oralia

The descent was more treacherous than I had originally assumed.

No one commented on our location or what might be waiting for us on the other side of the churning water. We merely conferred about the best way to get across and agreed swimming was our only choice.

“These are waters you have never seen before,” Samarah said, gesturing to the wreckage below. “No boat or craft will float. It must be crossed by will and will alone.”

Caston was the first to descend after her ominous pronouncement. Aelestor followed before Drystan and Samarah insisted they were next until I was the last to climb down. The waves roared in my ears as I struggled to find handholds on the damp rocks, sometimes so brittle they shattered between my fingers. Each foothold was perilous, and I was blind, even looking down was impossible when hanging on to tenuous ledges.

“Almost there,” Caston called, but his voice was distant beneath the waves.

By the time my boots hit the black sand, my arms were trembling, and my fingertips ached. But there was no time for rest. Even now, the tide was rolling in and less of the beach was visible than when we had first begun. Aelestor shucked off his cloak. Caston and Drystan secured their weapons tighter across their chests while Samarah observed with pursed lips.

“Your blades will be no match for what we will encounter next,” she said, gathering her hair up onto the top of her head. “Best to leave them behind.”

The three men stared incredulously at the God of Nightmares, but none of them removed their weapons. Nor did I—I was loath to part with Ren’s weapons. Samarah merely shrugged, turning back to the water with a click of her bone corset, and I wondered how she would manage swimming in her heavy skirts before she walked into the water as if it were merely a corridor.

“Come then, children. Let us see what horrors they have in store.”

“What a wonderful way to begin this next adventure,” Aelestor muttered.

I shrugged off my cloak and left it beside the others.

Caston huffed a laugh, and Drystan murmured his agreement while he fell into step beside me as we edged our way into the waves. Samarah was already a few feet out, her head bobbing and ducking below the higher swells as they rolled in. I was sure this was not the right moment to mention I had never really swam before—unless one could consider wading in the small pond near the palace of Aethera swimming. But then Drystan was there beside me, hand extended.

“Let me help you,” he said, low enough for the others not to hear.

My chest ached with affection for him, and I moved closer as he curled his hand beneath my arm. There had been a time before I was bitten where he’d tried to teach me to swim in the deep lake near the palace grounds, but the daemoni attack had stopped any hope of learning.

As the sea deepened, so did my dread, the waves crashing over my face and shooting up my nose. But Drystan’s hand did not stray from my arm, dragging me above the surface again and again.

“Kick with your legs,” he instructed, moving his grip to the baldric around my back. “Good, now use your arms to push the water away.”

I tried my best, able to at least tread water as we pushed farther out toward the island, even as the tide tried to drag us back to the rocky shore we had just left.

“Oralia!” Caston called, turning around to ensure we were following.

I could not answer, but Drystan raised the hand on my back quickly to grab his attention before holding on once more when I fell below the waves.

“It is calmer here,” Aelestor encouraged, swimming back and pausing to wait for us alongside Samarah.

Already, I was panting, embarrassment heating my cheeks as I struggled toward them. We were barely past the shoreline and into open water. I could not imagine how long it would take me to cross.

“You should have told us you cannot swim,” Samarah chided, wrapping her hand above Drystan’s to give him a break from holding me up.

“I did not…” My voice trailed off.

She guided me forward, tugging me a little faster than Drystan had. “The only one who suffers when you do not speak up is you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, hating the truth of her words. “I did not want to appear weak.”

With a hum, she nodded, the skirts of her gown trailing behind us, occasionally brushing against my leg. “Weakness is believing that one must be someone other than themselves in order to be strong.”

“Oralia…” Caston called.

I sighed, turning, ready to see Caston and Aelestor far ahead of me, but my blood ran cold. They were not looking at me at all but at the water ahead. Giant bubbles broke free from the surface, flicking up into the air and twisting around themselves. We paused, and I struggled to keep my chin above the waves, even with Samarah’s help.

“Back! Back!” Aelestor cried.

But a crash echoed through my skull as a creature exploded from the water. It flew high into the air, claws encircling Drystan and ripping him from the surface along with it. Its body was long, fluid like a snake’s, with wide, arcing wings pushing it higher. And yet, I could not see any true shape beyond, the body all but transparent and shimmering in the sun.

“Ah, serapha ,” Samarah observed.

“ Drystan!” I called desperately as the creature flung him higher into the air, only to catch him again in its tail.

Spluttering, we swam forward, only for three more creatures—or serapha as Samarah had called them—to burst from the depths. A strange, garbled screech ripped through the world. They were identical, save for the shape of their snouts, some long and curved and others short and rounded. But each possessed wide wings, their sinuous bodies weaving across the sky.

One dipped low toward Caston, who dove beneath the waves to avoid the creature. Beside me, Samarah tightened her grip, pulling me faster toward the opposite shore which was drawing farther away with each passing moment.

Water filled my mouth, and I spluttered, wincing at the strange taste coating my tongue. This was not salt water as I knew most oceans were, and yet, it did not taste fresh either. But the first pass of water into my mouth made my lips and tongue tingle, and my power stretched within my chest.

The serapha holding Drystan descended toward the surface, and I pushed forward to make my way into their path. Samarah appeared to understand, dragging me into the line of the monster as it dipped low.

“Hold me above the water if you can,” I instructed a moment before I raised both hands, focused my attention fully upon the creature, and surrendered to my magic.

Flames burst from my palms, colliding with the serapha right as its jaws descended on me. A screeching wail ripped through my ears before the fire consumed it, leaving merely steam in its wake, and Drystan crashed to the surface.

“ Aelestor! ” I yelled, gesturing to where Drystan had fallen.

I accidentally gulped down more water, and my magic shivered. But I turned toward the next creature, who deftly avoided the flames, another right on its flank. Samarah laughed beside me, the sound slightly mad, but I could not turn to look at her. Instead, I spread my arms wide, pushing the fire out in opposite directions to hold back the serapha , even as the third closed in.

“Oh, Belinay, you have grown torturous with age.” Samarah’s voice was amused as she reached out to drag her fingers over the belly of one before it twisted away at the last moment.

A wave overtook us as one crashed back into the ocean—the force so powerful Samarah’s hand slipped from my baldric. I kicked, pushing my arms through the thickening water, the glimmering surface only a few feet above. My head spun even as magic prickled at the back of my neck, tapping on my temple and sparking through my mind. But embers burned within my chest, and black spots bloomed within the corners of my vision.

I took an involuntary breath, more water filling my lungs, only to find the burning begin to wane. Slowly, I forced my limbs to relax, allowed the ocean to cradle me as Asteria had that long-ago night when I had first been bitten.

This is not water , I said, though no one could hear me. This is magic.

And the last thing I heard before I was dragged to the murky depths was a woman’s voice laughing in my ear, saying: Yes, it is .