Setbacks are not failures; they give you a different perspective. Everyone says sink or swim, but what if we do both? What if, when we desperately swim, we accidentally swallow too much water, allowing the weight of our mistakes to pull us down?
What then?
Why is it sink or swim? Why not both? Why can’t I sink, but then choose to swim, to kick and scream out all that water and fight, swim again, and again?
Death can’t stop me. It didn’t stop my brother.
That’s what it’s going to take. Failure to succeed. Sacrifices, as Everett always alluded to.
Hector’s exhale signals relief. His steps heighten to eager stomps. “Hurry up!” he shouts at Titus.
“Are we close?” Sofia whispers. She’s brave. I believe Hector would cut out all of our tongues.
“I sense the metal… it’s different,” he mutters more to himself. A mage light floats out like a buoy into the darkness, bobbing in the stale air. “More light, Sofia!”
Sofia throws out half a dozen more mage lights that sink into the larger room. A few gemstones on her necklace lose their sparkle as she uses the magic she stored in them.
Titus looks over his shoulder at me, masking his worry with a warrior’s stare. I force a smile, one I wish he’d grab and own.I’m fine; please believe me. I’ll get you out of this mess. I will myself to believe it, as well.
His feet halt, and Sable runs into his back. It’s like an IV has been infused into us all. A jolt runs down my spine. Magic is ahead, but it’s different.
Titus holds up his hand, warning Hector to stop. Hector does because what we hear makes us all pause.
Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum!
The sound is as deep as thunder and static-like lightning. Pulsing in warning. Repetitive, scarring yet calming because we all know that sound, for it resides within all of us.
“That’s a heartbeat,” I whisper through hesitant lips.
The mage lights that entered the room pulse from each loud thump. Light travels, showing us a glimpse of the room ahead: carved stone hollows out a large cavern. Directly across the space is another tunnel entrance, the slope leading up, but the roof has caved in.
Does that lead to Caldera’s castle?
I peer over my shoulder at our exit, which must lead outside. No one but Torin used this passage, and now us.
“Why is there a beating heart?” Sofia bends down, picks up the ends of her dress, and steps back.
Metal flashes in front of me. Hector comes to my side, his sword raised high. He’s the only one with a weapon. Glaring down, I look at my outfit. All silk. I look at Titus. Buckles. Can Hector fashion them into deadly weapons?
Then there’s Sofia, but she’s scared. She’s used to running through her portals rather than fighting. I can take her down. Hector and Sable are the biggest threats.
It’s okay. I’ll think of something. If I can get Hector away from his sword, we might have a fighting chance.
“My twin is going to betray you,” I whisper to Hector. Our eyes clash, and I widen my stance.
Is that a smile or a snarl?
Sweat drips down his temple, over his tattooed skin. So many runes… where did he find them?
“You helped the wrong person,” I add.
He leans closer. “Sable helped me,” he hisses.
Why did he admit that?
He pulls away with a grin that stretches wider than the known lands.“Enter,” Hector orders Titus.
Titus holds up his hands. The mage cuffs slide down an inch. “Take these off. I give you my word I will not attack.”
