I hold Odi tighter, one arm around her waist, the other reaching for the blade at my hip, half ready for the fight of our lives.
But then a voice blooms inside my head, as calm and deep as the Adamaris sea.“Be still young ones. You stand in the heart of what is sacred. It’s not often I see a child of the surface co-existing with one born of this very water.”
The dragon’s golden gaze sweeps over us, not cruel, not kind—simply knowing. She is no nightmare beast, but something older, revered. Her teeth are sharp enough to tear us in half, yet her presence hums with a strange grace, a weight that makes me bow my head without meaning to.
Against my chest, Odi trembles, but she doesn’t pull away. And I, for once, have no words.
“Did she talk to you in your head?” she whispers.
I nod slowly, not wanting to alarm the giant, radiant creature in front of us.
Her voice floods my mind once again.“What is it that you seek?”
Finally, I manage to find my words. “We seek the hidden key.”
“Ahhh, I see. And what shall you give me in exchange?”
I relax my hold around Odi, only slightly. The desire to have her as close as possible is too strong, besides if her air runs out, we both know I’m going to have to . . . help out. “What is it that you wish for?” I ask the dragon, like I have everything to offer her.
Smooth timbre cocoons my mind.“Do you know the riddle that belongs to this temple?”
Odi straightens her back, squaring her shoulders. “I do. Balance the scales, feather to stone, heavier still, the guilt-sown bone.”
The cavern trembles once again as the dragon chuckles.“That is only the first half.”
I angle my head to the side, looking at the breathtaking creature. “There’s more?”
She nods.“Give something not given. Nor something that’s made. Something to lose, forever to fade.”
Odi twist to look up at me. “What does that mean?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
The cavern shakes as the dragon bends down so that her face—a hundred times the size of mine—is level with me.“This part of the riddle is for you . . . prince of the sea. There is little the land might offer that would flourish here.”
My brow furrows. How does she know? Perhaps the markings shimmering on my chest, or the golden royal circlet around my right bicep has given my identity away.
Odi pulls out of my grasp, eyes wide with wonder. “Even with a sea stone I don’t think this key could be obtained without the help of theseafolk. Whoever made the map . . . they didn’t want land dwellers to be able to get to it alone.” She looks to the dragon. “Or by force.”
I release a light chuckle. “Perhaps we make a good team after all.”
She huffs and rolls her eyes before she mumbles the riddle again. “Not given, not made . . .”
“Coin’s no good. Blood maybe?” I mutter, though the thought makes my stomach knot.
She shakes her head. “Blood is made. She wants something else. Somethingyoucan’t get back once it’s gone.”
The dragon's golden eyes watch us drift back and forth as we try to figure out the rest of the riddle. “We’re on borrowed time too, Odi.”
“I know,” she murmurs.
I swim back and forth. Digging through every crevice of my mind to find the answer.
Something to lose.
Then it cuts through me like a halberd through kraken tentacles. I twist to face the dragon.
“She wants a song.”
