We worked in silence. My insides were still twisted as I chewed over everything we’d been through in my head. Finn was brooding too, because that’s what the merman seemed to do best.
After what felt like hours, night had deepened around us. My hands were raw from scraping rock, and my legs were aching from treading water. I chewed my lip, eyes trailing the endless caldera. “I wonder,” I murmured.
“What?” Finn snapped his head to me, a muscle tightening in his brow. His mood had grown increasingly darker, suggesting he found this just as monotonous as I did.
“Well, when I visited Akrotiri today—”
“You did?” He shot me a quizzical look, but I waved him off.
“There was a sign for a beachcalledCaldera. Could it be that instead? If we’ve learned anything so far, it’s that the old man likes to mess with us.”
He pushed the hair out of his face. “The calderaofCaldera... It’s worth a try. Nice work, shifter.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“You never used to mind.”
“Well, that wasbefore—”
“Before what?”
“Forget it.” I shot him a glare. “Let’s go.”
Caldera Beach lay on the opposite end of the island from Oia, but we made our way along the rocky wall, palms pressed to stone until we reached it. The bay was composed of ochre sand and framed by small cliffs that rose on either side, as if someone had bitten into the earth.
“Let’s take a side each,” I suggested, and Finn nodded.
The water lapped at my waist, a deep cerulean under the moonlight.In the silver light, the cliffs glowed rust-red.
I pushed my aching palms into the stone over and over again. Nothing. I didn’t even know what I was supposed to be feeling.
I reached a section where the rock face thickened and curved inward. Goosebumps prickled along my arms as I moved into the hollow, water sloshing at my waist. Pressing my hands to its rim, I eased forward, and a vibration began to radiate beneath my palms. I paused at what looked like solid stone until my webbed fingers brushed its surface, and my breath caught in my throat as the Runes of the Ocean shimmered to life.
“Over here,” I called.
A splash sounded behind me, and Finn surfaced, diving in and out of the waves until he reached my side, slicking dark hair from his eyes as he took in the glowing runes.
“What do they say?” I asked, throat tight.
“To pass, you must face the shadow within,” he said gravely. “Un intras asphere skios intos.”
A chill skittered down my spine as he repeated the passage in the old tongue of the sea and the dark rock face shifted, parting slowly to reveal a gaping crevice.
“How do the runes work?” I wondered aloud as I watched the glowing symbols fade.
“When they were carved, they were imbued with magic. Reading the words in the old tongue of the sea awakens it.”
My thoughts were interrupted by a melodic hum rising like a seductive Siren’s song from within the dark cave, drifting out to swirl around us as if carried on the swell.
“That can’t be good.” I brushed my sopping wet hair from my face and felt for my dagger, now strappedagainst my hip.
“Remember, it’s a test of the mind,” Finn said, his brows furrowed as he observed the dark crevice before us.
“Right.” I released my dagger and swam toward the doorway.
We moved cautiously into the cave, the water lapping against our torsos and emanating a low, whirring sound as if whispering. The entrance vanished behind us, swallowed by the rock, and we were alone in the darkness.
“You okay?” Finn’s fingers grazed the small of my back, but I flinched away from his touch.
