“I understand.” I swallow with some difficulty. “All we can do is try our best, right?”
“Right.” He dips his head in approval.
There are a lot of assholes in this realm, but I keep meeting the good guys. Maybe there is more good in the worlds than bad. The thought gives me much-needed hope and motivation. This realm might be worth saving.
With a determined nod, I throw my token at the pillar and squint at the flash of blue light. Then I run headlong toward it and splash into the other side. I ignore the icy shock of the cold water and swim like mad toward the underwater city.
I can’t tell where it’s coming from, but morning light streams into the water. And the frenzied flailing of the dark tentacles has grown slow and sinuous over the dome. If I wasn’t already holding my breath, I would do so now, praying the Amheuk doesn’t sense me right away.
I kick and swim, calling on the speed of my fox without shifting. The huge breath of air I took at the Kingdom of Sky depletes much too quickly, and my lungs catch fire.Just a little longer.I grit my teeth against the dizziness whirling through me and propel myself forward.
I clap my hand over my mouth when bubbles seep out of the corners. Hugging the jug against me with my free arm, I swim on with just my legs. More air slips past my lips, and I press my hand harder against my mouth.
All those people in the Kingdom of Water need my help. I have to get as many of them through the portal as possible. My mind grows foggy. I tighten my hold on the jug of enchanted water and fight to stayalert. But my lungs scream with pain, and my consciousness begins to slip away.
Ethan.
A muscular arm wraps around my waist as my eyes slide closed. My hand slips off my mouth, and my body grows limp.I can’t lose the jug.Even as everything turns dark, I hug the jug tighter against me, curling my upper body around it.
Then, suddenly, the water pressing in on me from all sides disappears. My back arches as I draw in a heaving breath, coughing and convulsing. I should open my eyes, but I’m so weak I can hardly feel my body.
“Sunny.” Someone shakes me hard enough to make my head loll and my limbs flap in the air.The air?The person shaking me is also carrying me in their arms. “Stormy.”
Haesan.I don’t want him to be worried, but my eyelids weigh a ton. Still, I force them open and focus my bleary gaze on him. Or at least, Itry. But he’s nearly nose to nose with me, making me go cross-eyed.
“Move back, you big oaf,” I croak.
“Thank gods, you’re okay.” Haesan draws back, and I can finally see his smiling face.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’mokay.” I choke on some residual water I swallowed and cough raucously. “Thank you for coming for me. Now, let me down.”
He immediately sets me on my feet, but I sway and almost drop the precious jug of enchanted water. Haesan quickly takes the jug from my limp hold and props me upright with his free arm. I give myself some grace. Almost drowning twice in less than twelve hours would take a toll on anyone.
“I need to see the queen,” I rasp. When thein’eomoves to pick me up again, I growl, “Don’t.Just help me walk to the queen’s chambers.”
He basically ends up carrying me with one arm around my waist, my floppy feet barely touching the ground. The steady motion of being half carried is almost soothing. My eyelids grow heavy, and my head droops forward.Jesus.I’m nodding off like a granny.
“We need to find someone who can harness the power of the waves,” I blurt too loudly, jerking awake. “There is no time.”
“You don’t need to scream.” Haesan cringes, drawing his head back. “And you’re in luck, because I have the power of the waves in my veins.”
No. Not him.
“It can’t be you.” I shake my head and push away from him. Luckily, my legs don’t give out. “We have to find someone else.”
“But you just said there is no time.” He scratches his head. “There are others, but not many. It is a rare power.”
“The queen might know someone else,” I say stubbornly.
Keeper Bae didn’t need to explain to me that holding the portal open with the power of the waves would be dangerous. The keeper would draw from the pond to hold his end open, but the person here would have to draw from their own life force to harness the waves. With so many lives at stake, Haesan won’t stop until he has nothing left to give. I can’t ... I can’t lose another friend.
I walk on my own two feet the rest of the way, and the Queen of Water rushes down the steps of her inner chambers to meet me.
“Thank gods you’re okay.” She takes both my hands in her own. “Did ... Will the Kingdom of Sky accept my people into their kingdom?”
“Yes.” Keeper Bae and I actually have no way of knowing what the Queen of Sky will decide. But once we get everyone in, we can fight to have them stay. “Are they ready?”
“Nearly. I managed to evacuate many nearby cities,” the queen says wearily. She must have worked all night. “Now I have to extend the dome to the more distant villages.”
