All of us stopped. Asher’s face beside mine was tense. My power churned, teasing across my fingertips as I readied myself to use it. The ripples in the lagoon grew stronger, and I blinked as water spiraled out of the wall beside us, swinging arcs of color and pattern. It was not clear, as one would expect water to be when separated like that. The strings were teal and purple and red, and as each wound around and through us, I felt them sliding across my skin and down my arms. The water left just as fast, and I looked down to find a teal mark—a perfect match to my hair color—twined across my arm.
Like a water tattoo.
It was not the same as an Atlantean tattoo, this one slightly elevated above the skin. Rubbing a hand across it didn’t move it though.
Asher got the same aqua mark, but the dragon shifter brothers had red swirls across their thick forearms. Rayge’s was a dark navy color, the most intricate mark of all, spanning almost his entire right arm.
“What does this mean?” I whispered, as the remaining water fell away and we were back to standing in the middle of the never-ending lagoon.
“We were processed as we walked,” Asher guessed, “and now we have been placed into … categories of some sort.”
Asher and me. Braxton and Maximus. And Rayge was on his own.
“Don’t let them separate us,” Rayge said, pushing in closer.
We didn’t have much of a choice in the matter though. No one can truly fight nature.
Not when she’s ready to take you.
Chapter 27
Darkness crashed into us at the same time as the water. It didn’t squish me flat like I expected. A ball of aqua wrapped around me and Asher and we were jetted off through the side of the path, out into whatever lay beyond.
I heard the angry roars of the dragons, before each of them disappeared in their own ball of water, colored to match their marks.
“The colors have to refer to sections of this land,” I said to Asher, holding on to him as the world flashed past. Everything was dark outside our bubble as we zipped through the underworld. We could have broken free if we wanted, no doubt, but I decided to play this out. See where we ended up.
“I’m guessing it separated us by race and power,” Asher said, eyes tight. “They kept us together because of our energy. Brax and Maximus for the same reason. And Rayge, he’s not one easily classified, and I’m guessing that wherever he’s going, it’s probably a place that very few venture.”
This was all great, except we were losing track of the reason for being down here.
“I need to get to the Hellbringers,” I reminded Asher. “Those guys will find their mates, I’m sure. Their determination was spectacularly obvious. So, for now, let’s not worry about them. We have a job to do, Asher Locke. We cannot let the gods destroy the world.”
The golden glow of his magic hit me in the face. “Why does it always have to be you?” he growled. “Every single fucking time we deal with this shit, you’re the one who has to step up and take the hit.”
I laced my fingers with his, and we moved toward each other, as much as we could in this bullet of a bubble. “It’s notalwaysme. It was you once, and then it was Axl. I have been hovering in the backgroundnotdoing all the things I should be. We’ve run out of time. I can’t procrastinate any longer. I have to step up and do what I was born to do.”
“All of us, Maddison. All of us can control the Hellbringers.”
I wanted so badly to keep Asher and Connor out of it. Asher because I loved him, and would not risk him, and Connor because I didn’t trust him. There was no lie in what Asher said though.
“Yeah, and there’s a lingering worry inside of me, because everyone kept harping on about how we have to work together. I wonder if we will fail once more because we didn’t force a true and strong bond with Connor.”
I admitted it out loud, because he was already hearing it in my thoughts.
I breathed out my frustration. “Connor should be here.”
Our bubble was starting to slow, more light filtering through the water around us.
Asher spoke quickly, since we appeared to have reached our destination. “Let’s just take it all one step at a time. Firstly, we’ll find out where we are. Secondly, find out how to reach the Hellbringers. And thirdly, figure out if it will require all three of us to control them. Connor lost our trust. This is on him, not you, and I find it hard to believe that we need him to take out the gods. We’ve done everything without him so far, and we’re all much stronger since Sonaris. We can do this.”
I nodded, desperately hoping he was right.
The bubble was all but stopped, and for the first time the water filled with an abundance of light and sea creatures. Creatures I could see through as they moved…
“Souls,” Asher said. “These are the souls of animals.”
I swallowed hard. “How … how many animals have died through the years? It must be billions and billions. Surely they couldn’t all be here?”
