Malnaloch rises slowly from beneath the water, his three huge eyes coming into focus as he glares at us. His tentacles are kept beneath him for now, but I have no doubt they could whip out quickly and try to drag us down.
“Wait. Does he talk?”
“No, not as such.”
“Oh, then how do we …” I use my hand to make a talking motion.
Solano’s eyes light with amusement. “I’m connected to the roots of this realm, including many of the oldest creatures. Malnaloch is one of them.”
Once it’s far enough out of the water, it opens its mouth of a million fangs and roars. The stench of its breath almost knocks me from our perch, but Solano holds on tight to my waist.
“Is he still mad?” I whisper.
“Definitely.” Solano closes his eyes, and his crown of flame glows so brightly I have to turn away. “Let me talk to him.”
He falls silent as I stare at the bulbous eyes. All three of them. Beneath the waves, black tentacles wave and tangle like wisps of ink. I can only wonder how many have fallen victim to Malnaloch’s sweet song.
“Asshole,” I grumble.
One of his eyes flicks toward me. “Oh, heard that, did you?” I point a finger at him. “You know what you did. Don’t play innocent.”
The second eye focuses on me, though the biggest one remains on Solano.
“I mean, how will you even get to the border? You can’t swim there.” I sigh and wait for long moments.
“The border is close. He’s strong enough to get there, though he prefers to remain here.”
“Tell him he’s an asshole.”
“Shh.”
I can’t believe he shushed me.
Finally, Solano opens his eyes.
“Well?” I ask.
“He refuses to fight for us.”
“Why?”
“He’s still angry about what I did.”
“Did you explain to him that he tried to eat your mate?” I glare at the middle eye as the beast slowly begins to sink beneath the surface.
“I did, but he lost his mate long ago and barely remembers what the bond felt like.”
My mouth drops open. “He had a mate?”
“Yes. Come, we can’t afford to waste any more time.”
“Wait.” I have an idea.
“No.” Solano reaches for my hand, but I dart away from him and open my wings, diving down to land on the creature.
It lets out a roar as Solano blazes in pure white light.
“Wait, don’t do anything!” I shout before he vaporizes Malnaloch.
