I shrug. “It’s nothing to be concerned about. Won’t kill me.”
At least . . . I don’t think so.
Odi folds her arms across her chest, squinting as she digests my words. “How in all eight seas did you manage that?”
“Brushed up against some soulberries a while back.”
“Why haven’t they affected me?”
I shove my hands into my trouser pockets. “Poisonious toseafolkonly—especially sirens—land dwellers figured it out ages ago. Used them against us whenever steel alone wouldn’t cut it.”
“So why didn’t you say something before?”
I shrug again. “Didn’t recognise them until it was too late. We eradicated most of the vine years ago. I wasn't expecting to see it here.”
“Rune . . .” Her voice is laced with concern, stoking the embers inside my chest that still burn for her.
“I’ll be fine. Just ignore me if I say anything odd.”
She doesn’t respond, but I don’t miss the way she looks at me. Like she wants to say a million things, but instead she says nothing.
Water laps against the edges of the cavern, black and bottomless, encircling everything but a single strip of land that cuts straightdown the centre.
I take a step forwards, but don’t miss the sound of Odi’s breath escaping her lips as we near the edge. One wrong foot would have us in the water, and who knows what creatures lurk in the inky depths below.
Despite the undeniable tension between us. My hand still itches to reach for hers. To lace her fingers through mine so she feels a sense of peace. To assure her that we’re going to get through this, no matter the cost.
But I can’t do that.
I pause as I glance over my shoulder. Odi stops behind me, brow pinched. “Have you seen something already?” she asks, flicking her gaze around the eerie space.
I huff a soft laugh. “No. I just wanted to remind you, that if there’s water, don’t forget you have Soraya’s sea stone.”
Her brown eyes travel over my face, as if she’s searching for what used to burn bright between us. The crimson vessel in my chest aches and my fingers twitch once again. But I force them to stay by my side. It’s better this way.
Odi nods, and we resume our walking. The pathway is narrow at first, just wide enough for two feet side by side. It spreads wider the deeper we go until it broadens into a platform pressed against the far wall.
My head spins, stomach pitching, as the effects of the soulberries set in, but it’s not enough to obstruct my plans. I’ll push through it like I always do. Besides, it’ll wear off soon.
The platform is paved with old, moss-covered stones. On the wall are symbols etched into the rock, similar to the ones on Odi’s map—the water elementals. Every heartbeat sends a wave of heat through me, tipping the world on its axis. Ishake my head, trying to free it from the blurring that creeps into the corner of my vision.
“Are you alright?” Odi asks, her voice soft, but concerned.
I nod. “I’ll be fine.”
Two plates sit before the wall, similar to the last temple, their carvings clear despite the years of wear. One bears wavy lines of water, while the other, swirling strokes to represent air.
It’s not hard to figure out who will stand where. No doubt the minute we step onto the plates the wall before us will open.
I point at the plate with the air symbol. “I’m going to take a stab in the dark, and say that’ll be for you.”
Technically, anyone who can shift from sea to land could take the place, but if she were to take the one with the water symbol, something in my gut tells me it won’t work out well. These temples were built by sirens and water elementals after all.
Odi steps around me, and it takes all my self control not to let my knuckles graze against her. I have to remember who she is. What blood she shares.
She peers down at the symbol, then looks to the plate nearest to me. Before I can stop her she plants her boots firmly on the flattened stone.
“Odi—”
