I swim past her, prepared to slice whatever creature dares to come near my queen, only to stop in my tracks as I see a blue tail flick to the side, propelling them further.
A steely black crystal suit comes clearer into view. Shock reverberates through my soul. I push toward Estela, now having a clearer view of the body. Two arms, two legs, and old Enduar armor.
“Stop!” I call out.
In response, a sea-worn sword riddled with holes slices through the water.I recognize the style of the blade and the tarnished golden hilt.This is one of my people.
“We are Enduares!” I call out in my language, careful to enunciate each word with painstaking clarity.
The sword's sharp edge freezes mid-swing, a glint of bioluminescent light bouncing off its jagged, holey surface as the Enduar approaches. His towering figure looms closer. The intricate details of his armor catch the eye, each piece crafted with a level of sophistication surpassing our own suits.
The crystal is more clouded than ours, just barely hinting at his ragged, muscled physique and deteriorating clothes.My mind races as I gaze out at a lost member of my people. Is he alone? How has he survived down here this long?
“You are Enduar?” he repeats, his helmeted head turning toward Estela and then returning to me. “You speak my tongue, yet I do not recognize this figure.”
He releases Estela, and I grab her crystal suit, pulling her closer. “I am King Ma’Teo, son of Teo’Likh and your former crown prince.”
The Enduar continues to point his sword toward me but doesn’t move much further than that.I hold out my hands, but Vann and Thorne flank my sides, weaponsdrawn.
“You are a troll?” Vann calls out.
The Enduar nods his helmet, tail moving behind him to help him tread in one place.
“Where do you come from?” the Enduar calls.
As I look at him, I feel the tension fill the water.
“We come from Enduvida in search of the palace ruins,” I respond. “Are their others with you?”
The man ignores me.
“You travel with many different… creatures,” he says, pointing the tip of his blade at Thorne and Estela.
The attitude is old—as old as the civilization we once lived in. The mistrust of others is familiar, like my father’s backhand.
“You even bring an enemy into our midst,” he says.
“That elf is no enemy,” I say, though I am not sure I fully believe it. It would take too much to explain, so I try a new question. “Do you live down here?”
The Enduar pulls back gracefully in the water as a large fish with a body as wide as a bear comes before him. It glows insistently in the inky water with brilliant blue and green dots of light that highlight the pattern of its body and fins.
“Come,” the Enduar commands.
I can hardly believe what I see, but the fish carries him quickly. I grab onto a fin and hold Estela in my arm.
As we cut through the water, my mind races with more questions than there will be time to answer.
He brings us to the red light with surprising speed, and then he dips toward what I now recognize as a large bubble.
He stops the enormous creature and then leads us forward. We head to the floor, and then he pulls us in.
Air and gravity resume as water slides off our frosted suits. I peel back the helmet, walking forward with purpose, only to see not one, not two—but dozens of Enduares around us. All men. They look at us with hateful glares, and I keep my matetucked close to my shoulder when their cruel silver eyes trail to her.
What the hell is happening?Estela asks in her mind.How did all these men get here?
I don’t know,I say, following behind the warrior. The man before us is no hunter. His eyes speak of war—of domination and bloodthirst.
Of shameless conquest.
