Titus circled around again, gaining more control of his dragon.
“Are dragons fireproof?” I shouted across the volcano to Titus.
“Nothing is fireproof… only fire resistant, but lava- proof, no, they can tolerate it for only a short amount of time. I will shield you both. Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, his voice splintering atthe edges. The words sounded like they scraped their way out of him, thick with regret, heavy with a self-loathing he couldn’t quite hide, as if he despised himself for allowing this.
“I’m doing this with or without your approval.” I yelled back across the embers, unsure where all of this bravery had come from.
A hush fell between us as he held my gaze like it was the last safe place left in the world. In his eyes, love burned bright and unguarded, threaded with a quiet, devastating fear of losing me. His gaze lingered, studying my face as if he needed to memorize it, as if this might be the last time he ever saw me. Then, as if it took everything in him, he nodded.
“The chamber is deep at the base of the volcano, once you get to the bottom, the enchantment should let you pass, you will be safe in its barrier until you leave.” He explained.
Then a large iridescent orb, swirling with energy, formed around both me and Zephyros.
I took her high into the sky before I ordered her to dive straight down into the mouth of hell itself—Mount Orid.
I held my breath as the force of our impact collided with the thick liquid rock. I opened my eyes and we were alive!
It was so bright.
I squinted at the pulsating orange and crimson light. I felt claustrophobic; there was no visibility apart from the blinding glow. The ominous similarity to a coffin was a thought I tried to push out of my mind.
Titus’s shield was holding. Our combined weights allowed our protective bubble to sink—sluggishly, it carried our bodies down into the belly of the volcano.
I stroked her scales to keep her calm; well aware the motion soothed my nerves just as much as it did hers.
I chanted to myself internally, “I believe in him, I believe in him.”
My heart clung to the words as I watched the orb closely, eyes scanning methodically, checking for any cracks or imperfections. One crack in Titus’s shield, and Mount Orid could swallow us whole. But to my relief, it held strong.
It felt like an eternity, submerging slowly in the lava. At some points, I couldn’t tell if we were still lowering. The maddening anticipation had me stroking Zephyros’s scales more rapidly, knowing that the deeper we sank, the further away from Titus we were, the harder it was for him to hold his shield, and the less likely we were to survive.
A sudden jolt told me we hit the base of the volcano.
I didn’t know where to go. All around me, all I could see was liquid fire. I had no sense of direction down here, and I didn’t want to wait too long for fear it would strain Titus and cause his shield to falter.
Zephyros moved carefully across the volcanic ground. Keeping close together, I stayed saddled until a flicker of a color that didn’t belong caught my eye.
In between the swirls of burning liquid, I could see a flicker of blue.
Using only my mind, I guided Zephyros toward the oddity. The pressure from the lava over heads was beginning to strain the shield, we needed to be quick.
An archway carved into the rock appeared, with a blue shimmering wall of magic blocking its entrance.
The thick magic of the blue wall felt gummy as we passed through, with the same invasiveness of the library upon entry. It held us for a moment in suspension before finally letting us pass.
There was no lava in the cave, but our shield remained intact. The only light was from the glow of the lava outside the blue barrier, but that was plenty, because the cavity in the rock was quaint, barely enough room for both Zephyros and I, and empty.
Where was the dagger?
Did I come down here for nothing?
Titus said he had seen the chamber, but had he ever seen the dagger to confirm it was here?
Had someone else gotten to it before me?
Zephyros let out a nervous rumble that vibrated the pebbles on the ground. Then, as if in answer to her, I got the overwhelming sensation that we were no longer alone. An eerie whisper echoed in the small cave, like death himself.
“Who dare disturbs me?” The voice hissed as a gray mist swirled around us.
