Page 168 of Tiger's Voyage

“Shoo. Go on now. Hurry up.”

The three of us took off at a run, slipping and sliding back through the tunnel to the lake. I heard the soft complaints of the mermaid whining about her tail not getting enough moisturizer. Then we turned the corner, and I couldn’t make out her words anymore.

Kishan threw off his coat and slipped out of his shoes while I used my heat to make a hole in the ice big enough for him to enter.

We could faintly hear Kaeliora shouting, “It’s gold! Shines in the dark! Can’t miss it!”

Kishan shook out his limbs, kissed me hard, and dropped straight down into the ice. He stayed down several minutes before his head cracked the thin glaze now covering the hole. Taking a deep breath he said, “Don’t see it yet.”

I stood there stewing, biting my lip, and trying to think of a rational excuse for why I didn’t act the same way with Kishan diving in the dangerous water as I had with Ren. I was soon able to convince myself that it was just because I hadn’t had the time to process my feelings.

Two more times Kishan surfaced. On the last time, he said, “I saw it, but it’s pretty far. I’m sure I can get it though.” His teeth chattered, and his lips were blue.

Kishan submerged again, and the mermaid called out in a loud but still-bored voice, “He won’t make it. He’s freezing to death. You can help him, you know.”

“How?” I hollered back.

“You alreadyknowhow.”

I let another few seconds go before ripping off my coat and yanking off Ren’s. He didn’t say anything, and he already seemed to know what I was going to do. I pushed up the sleeves of my shirt and threw my firepower at the lake. Ren pulled me back into his chest, pressed his cheek against mine, and slid his hands down my arms. I felt the hot flames lick my skin as golden fire burst from not one of my palms, but both of them. He twined his fingers with mine, and the heat intensified.

Steam rose from the lake and the hole grew quickly and began to expand across the entire surface. A head emerged halfway down and Ren whispered, “He’s alright. I can hear him breathing. Can you do more?”

I nodded and continued to warm the lake until I could no longer see ice and Kishan started swimming toward us in the milky water.

He got closer and shouted, “Hey! This feels pretty good. Almost like a sauna! Too bad you two can’t try it!”

Seeing he was safe, I jerked myself away from Ren, who raised an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing, and asked the Scarf to make towels.

Kishan stood up, waded out of the water, and shook himself like a dog. He grabbed me, gave me a very soggy kiss, and pressed the key into my hand. While Kishan stayed behind and changed into dry clothes, I ran down the now muddy path back to the fountain with Ren following along silently behind me.

I slid to a stop by the half-frozen mermaid, gave her a blast of heat, and then showed her the key. “We’ve got it. Now what?”

25

The Seventh Pagoda

“Good. Now listen to me very carefully. You obviously seek the Necklace and have Durga’s favor.” Kaeliora paused to delicately sniff the lotus blossoms again. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be helping you. Continue to follow this path. The tunnel will lead you back to the ocean. I suggest you move through the ice quickly, because some of the world’s most ancient creatures make this realm their home, and they aren’t too keen on intruders.”

“The white dragon didn’t tell us about that,” I commented as Kishan caught up to us.

“Yes, well, he hasn’t been down here in a long time, and what doesn’t faze a dragon can be deadly to a human. Some of the ocean’s most terrifying predators are mere pets to one such as Yínbáilóng. Once you arrive at the pagoda, use the key to open the doors. The Necklace will be found inside the shell of a large oyster in a pool of milky water so make sure only he,” she nodded at Kishan, “goes in to search for it. That’s the easy part.”

“Wonderful,” I muttered.

“The hard part is—” she wiggled her tail and softly grunted. “I seem to be frozen again. Would you mind?”

I sighed and lifted my hand but nothing happened.

“

“She can’t. She’s exhausted,” Kishan explained.

Ren removed his glove and caught my bare wrist before I could move out of range. Golden light surged out from my palm to warm the entire fountain. Steam rose from the water, and the mermaid sunk deeper, sighing with pleasure.

“Thatis absolutely lovely. You don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been truly warm. Thank you.”

“No problem.” I lowered my hand and tried to inconspicuously jerk my wrist away from Ren’s grip. Sheepishly, I took a step closer to Kishan, who seemed shocked. I glared at Ren, who just looked away. It’s not like I was exactlycheatingon Kishan, but I felt like I’d just been caught lip-locked with Ren. There was something different, something special, about the golden flame, and I didn’t want to explore the uniqueness of it.