“I see it,” I say, guiding the hair from her face as the current gently pushes us upright.
“It’s so beautiful,” Rosalina says wistfully. “I wish we had time to visit.”
The lost city is a kaleidoscope of color and movement. Schools of vibrant fish dart between the coral buildings, their scales catching the light. Illumination shines from the depths. Magic? Deep sea plants? I’m not sure, but an ache of longing pangs in my chest. I wish to see it up close, to explore and learn the stories.
I pull Rosie tight to me, our tails entwining. “We’ll come back. We’ll explore all the sunken ships and the city and attend a siren ball.”
“You promise?”
“I promise,” I say. “If for no other reason than to figure out how to access my siren cock. Surely, it must be here somewhere.”
“Dayton!” she chides, laughing.
“I’m serious, Rosie.” I gesture to the smooth surface of my tail. “What did you do with it?”
“Ask a siren—”
I tug her close, bodies pressed together. “Maybe this will help.”
She doesn’t push me away, instead letting her hands hang loose over my shoulders, her lips pressed close to my skin. I can feel the smoothness of her pearl top against my bare chest, her delicate curves, the silky feel of her tail against mine.
That’s new, and not entirely unwelcome.
“There’s so many dangers on the surface,” she whispers. “It feels safe down here.”
“I know, love. I will never let anything happen to you.”
She pulls away slightly, brown eyes reflecting all the ripples of the ocean. “Because of the vow you made to Ezryn?”
That should be the reason, shouldn’t it?
But the truth is, I wasn’t even thinking of the vow I made to Ezryn when I jumped in after her instead of my mate. Wasn’t even thinking of her being the Queen’s daughter and what that meant for the Vale. I was thinking of the woman I first saw in the hot springs, who blushed when I introduced myself. The woman who looked so at home in the Summer Realm and conned me into buying her anything she wanted at an overpriced market. The woman who saved the man I love from his own darkness. The woman who took the haunted stories of my heart and held them like a treasure. The woman I know I can’t exist in this world without, even if it means living a separate life.
All those things flash through my mind, but I pull away from her and smile.
“It’s only fair, after all. Ez is looking after my sister.” Then, because I can’t bear to see her reaction, I turn and follow one of our siren guides. “Come on, we aren’t far from Hadria, and the games await.”
CHAPTER 59
Keldarion
There’s no way to tell time in the labyrinth. The purple haze that permeates the Below never changes, and the temperature is always cool but never cold. The only two signs that the hours have passed are the comings and goings of my wolf’s form and George’s insistence that Anya feels closer to him.
I walk a few steps ahead of him, following a long, straight stretch of the maze. The walls tower around us so high, they’d be impossible to climb. I only let George walk in front of me when we come to a junction and he must tell me which direction to go. At all other times, I keep pace protectively in front of him; I don’t want him walking into a trap. My shoulder still stings from a grazing spear that shot past us a few hours ago.
So far, we’ve survived every obstacle lurking in this horrible place. We outran the statues that came alive, their axes held aloft, ready to swing. We avoided the floor that opened up to a pit of snakes. George had been caught in the stare of a mask with sapphires for eyes, but I’d been able to rip him away. Every step, every turn, every wall we pass, could hold the next danger.
I pause and wait for George to catch up. He hurries to my side with a smile. No amount of danger seems to dismay him. Farron had warned me to watch him carefully; George had been so sick only last week, deep in a slumber he couldn’t awaken from. He seems strong now, never asking for a rest, and quite capable of maneuvering the trials we’ve faced so far.
And yet …
“Did I tell you about the time Anya scaled Mythispire and walked the whole mountain range? She told me the story whenwe were climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Said the trek was similar in elevation. Now, she never needed to take a breather—”
I peer down at him as he talks, giving only minimal grunts to show I’m listening. His stories … They’re all mixed up. He combines fae lore in with places from the human realm. He retells stories of Anya’s life in the Vale. But he never knew Anya was actually Aurelia.
Though his body seems strong, it’s as if what he’s learned about the Enchanted Vale during his adventures across the Autumn Realm with Farron’s little brothers is getting confused with his memories.
“Quiet,” I say suddenly, placing a hand on his chest. In the distance, I see a silhouette up ahead.
