Her breath catches as the stone shifts, sending a puff of dust into the air. I lunge for her, grabbing the outstretched hand she’s using to steady her balance. The moment our skin makes contact, I regret it. Because the pleasure of itis too much to bear.
The plate settles, and Odi remains upright. “You worry too much.”
I roll my eyes, then reluctantly drop her hand, stepping sideways to the stone with the water symbol. My gaze finds her, I take a breath in, and then step forwards, setting my full weight on the stone.
For a heartbeat, I think I’m right—that a hidden door will split open in the wall before us, granting passage deeper.
Instead, the floor shifts.
There’s a sharp crack, then the stone drops away. Odi gasps, arms flailing as her plate tilts, and before I can reach for her, the ground gives way beneath my own feet.
“Rune!” she cries out, her voice strained.
Heat spears through my body. “Odi!”
We’re swallowed whole, each of us sliding into separate tunnels carved smooth by ancient hands. The stone is slick, rushing me downward in a violent plunge, the roar of the cavern above already lost. My stomach lurches, heart hammering, and the last thing I see is Odi’s braid whipping out of sight as the darkness takes her from me.
Fuck.
The tunnel drowns me in icy-cold, black water before I can catch my breath. My chest lurches, panic spiking, and instinct claws its way up my spine. In a heartbeat, my body shifts, siren form ripping through me, fins cutting the current, my darkvision spilling open to the gloom.
“Odelia!” I call out, hoping she can hear me.
The muffled sound of my own voice bounces off the walls. I spin around searching for her. But I’m met withnothing but the darkness of the tunnel. My throat burns with the thought that she might’ve dropped into the deep just as I have. All I can hope is that she’s remained calm, she has the sea stone afterall.
Water elemental markings are carved into the surrounding walls. The most I’ve seen on this treasure hunt so far. I should be excited. I should etch each one to memory, but the moment Odi disappeared from my sight, something in me broke.
I rake my hand along the marking, darting for the tunnel on the far side of the wall. It slopes ahead, deeper into the gloom. Panic presses at my chest like a weight, heavier than the body of water I’m encased in. I push myself harder, swimming down.
The tunnel is like every other siren ruin I’ve crawled through—ledges that rise and drop, ramps where humans would’ve cut stairs. No straight path, no mercy, just the sea’s own labyrinth.
I shove forwards, every beat of my heart hammering her name. If Odi’s down here in the dark—if she’s fighting for her life—I have to reach her. It’s not supposed to end like this.
The tunnel bends sharply to the right, spilling me into another room. Shadows dance across my vision. Blonde hair, blue eyes, laughter I’ve not heard in months. Dash? What is my little brother doing down here?
I lurch forwards with a grasp, but he slips out of my fingers. On second glance, it's not him anymore, it’s Selene. Her perfectly poised hair piled high on her head. Precious stones glimmering on her ears and neck. The royal jewels.
“Selene?” I call to her, but her figure slips into the inky waters.
They aren’t there, I tell myself. Just a hallucination. Get a grip.
I shake my head as blue tendrils wrap around me, their touch so light they can’t be real either. Right?
The tunnel stretches ahead, and it feels like I’ve been swimming for hours. Nothing but stone walls with markings. Every now and then, the tunnel bends left or right, I just keep following it.
I dart into another round room. I’m seething. The water is endless, curling around me like a prison, taunting me. This ocean that I love, has become my enemy. Shadows slowly sway, teasing me with their secrets. How am I supposed to find Odi if there is no way out?
Something brushes past me. Light as a whisper, gone before I can snap towards it. My skin crawls. I grit my teeth until my jaw aches. I spin again, but nothing. It’s just the berries—my own head trying to undo me.
But as I twist around, I see it. A shadow sliding just beyond the next tunnel entrance. Long. Low. Too solid to be nothing. My stomach knots as it circles me. Yellow, soulless eyes track my every move.
Whatever this is, I’m its next meal.
With a flick of my wrist, I reach for the bone blade at my side, but the creature is faster.
The thing bursts from the dark with a snap of its jaws, long and skeletal, ridges curling down its spine like broken stone. Its body is eel-slick, gator-thin, andfast—too fast.
Instinct takes me.
