Behind her, guards began to move the coral doors aside. The current stirred with the motion, revealing a narrow passage disappearing into darkness.
The tunnel up.
“My father has kept his word,” Nali said. “No escort will follow.” She lowered her voice, adding, “And I’ve done a bit more than that. When the tunnel ends, you’ll surface far to the north. The tunnel’s currents will know where to take you. It’s the closest I can put you to your destination.”
“Thank you,” I told her gratefully.
“Ready?” Rydian asked, rejoining us.
“Let’s do it,” Keres said.
“You know,” Slade said, eyeing the tunnel like he might size up an enemy, “I was just thinking I haven’t nearly drowned yet today.”
Keres gave him a look that could have frozen steam.
“Time to go,” Daegel chirped.
Thorne was already moving.
We entered the passage single file—Rydian first, shadows brushing the walls like they recognized the stone. I went after him. Keres followed, then Daegel, Thorne, and Slade trailing last with a muttered, “If I drown, tell the naiad from last night that I love her.”
Keres snickered.
With one last look behind me at the three figures standing on the platform, I left the river court and Amanti behind.
An hour passed. Then two.
Slade and Thorne told stories, recounting parts of the party the previous night. Daegel went on about the city we’d seen outside the palace walls. The naiad metropolis that no other fae had ever seen before. Keres let them chatter, clearly uninterested in anything to do with the river kingdom.
Rydian’s hand brushed mine as he pressed in beside me.
“She’ll be all right,” he said quietly.
I nodded, not sure my words would reflect agreement.
“We’re almost there,” he added.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Light.” He pointed upward, and I squinted, noting the watery light that shone through from far above us.
I exhaled in relief.
Up ahead, Slade yelled out, “Something’s happening.”
The tunnel walls narrowed, the water on both sides beginning to shrink in around us. The tunnel darkened, the river on either side rippling past like predators. From the sandy floor, water began to rise, covering my boots, then rising quickly to my knees.
“What in the Seven Hels,” Keres breathed.
Daegel’s shadow shield flared, encompassing us all, but it couldn’t do anything against the element of water. From beneath our feet, the river continued to rise, bringing with it a strong current.
The current caught my legs and pulled, light at first, then stronger. My boots were swept off the ground.
“Don’t fight it,” Rydian said, whipping along in front of me.
“I don’t think I can,” I said, breathless as the cold water soaked me and pulled me onward.
Slade called out, and Keres flailed her arms, trying in vainto shove against the water’s strength. The pull quickened, swirling, roaring. My hair whipped around my face. Thorne swore behind me. Slade whooped like a man on a death ride.
