“I shared my air with you until I could find an exit. You were wet and too cold, so I used my body to warm you up. The agual venom is not deadly, but it does do some damage. How is your head?”
“It feels like John Bonham used my skull to practice on instead of his drum set.” Caspian’s brows furrow in confusion, and I realize he likely has no idea who that is. “He was the drummer for Led—you know what, it doesn’t matter. It hurts.”
He nods knowingly. “Usually I would give someone corixa leaves to help with the head pain, but unfortunately I do not have that here.”
I’ve never heard of corixa leaves. Sometimes I think Caspian forgets we have no knowledge of his culture, but I choose not to comment. I guess I just did the same to him.
He helps me to sit up, and I rest my elbows on my knees with my head on my forearms for a few moments before speaking again. “How long was I out? Where are Madi and Phoenix?”
“They’re still back in the cave room, assuming they didn’t try to leave on their own. I do not know Phoenix well, but my mate doesn’t strike me as the type to sit and wait. If those monsters gave up on getting through the door, I have a feeling she would venture out.”
I groan because he’s right. We should have come up with a plan for if we were separated for too long. Hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that. “Will you go back and get them?”
Caspian looks between me and the canal he dug me outof. “I can… but I also don’t wish to leave you here on your own while you’re still recovering.”
“Where is here, exactly?” I ask. It looks like we’re inside another building, albeit a much larger and more ornate one.
“If I were to guess, it’s a receiving chamber.” Caspian shrugs. “It looks similar to the one we have back in Tythas. It’s where my mother allows citizens to approach her with questions or problems. Though she passes that off to my older brother more often than not these days.”
So we’re talking like medieval times here. The use for this room, according to Caspian, doesn’t quite match up to what you would imagine an old castle to look like. Instead of cold brick walls lined with spears, crests, and candelabras, this room has more modern touches. I can’t tell for sure, but there seem to be sconces on the walls that currently do not emit light. We can only see due to the veins of glowing ore that are present throughout this city. The floor is a high-end tile instead of the rough surface of concrete or stone. The canal we entered through curves to the front of the room before disappearing under the far wall.
It looks abandoned, but not destroyed. There don’t seem to be any animal nests or remains, and even the doors and large tables are intact. I turn back to Caspian. “I think I'm safe here. Go get Phoenix and our omega. I’ll stay and look for more clues.”
The merman eyes me hesitantly, so I insist. “Go.”
He nods and slips back into the water, disappearing from view.
41
The journey back to the little waterfall room is much faster than before. I suppose that’s to be expected when I’m not weighed down by another body. I keep my eyes peeled for more agual, but thankfully see none. When I finally pop my head above water, panic seizes my heart. My Madi is not here.
“Madi,” I yell. “Mate!” I climb out of the water, scooting along the foliage because I can’t wait for my legs. “Phoenix.”
There’s no answer.
After dragging myself up the stairs, my tail finally shifts. I stand and run down the hall, calling Madi’s name. At the window, I look out, searching for any sign of them. All I see are the angry creatures still pacing below. I would have expected them to give up by now, their persistence makes me wonder if their food source is limited.
As I watch, one flings himself at the door again, and this time there’s a creaking, scraping noise. I lean as far out the narrow opening as I can in order to see better. Thedoor is cracked open. It’s not enough for the animal to get through, but it won’t be long before it is. I need to find my mate.
“Madi!” I scream at the top of my lungs this time as I fling myself down the stairs to the next level.
“Here,” her voice calls back, sweeter than any song, but the relief is short-lived.
“Where are you? We need to leave.Now.”
A panel opens in the wall, and Phoenix and Madi step out. “We found something. Well, it’s not much really. We were hoping for a passage out of here, but it’s more like a closet of sorts. And there are a bunch of those little harmonica things.”
“Harmonica?”
“Yeah.” Phoenix holds up the little metal thing he’d found before Hunter and I left, then points to the shelf full of them. “We think this place might have been a shop, some kind of store where people bought these, but we still can’t figure out what they do.”
“This might help, though.” Madi shows me a tiny book before shoving it back in her bag along with a few of the little devices. “I think it’s some kind of instruction manual, but I can’t read it.”
“We don’t have time.” I look over my shoulder. “The animals have opened the door.”
“What?” Madi squeaks.
Phoenix grabs several of the metal things off the shelf, shoves them in his pocket, then takes Madi’s hand and runs. “Come on, then. Time to go!”
