Page 38 of Claimed By the Depths

Silence enveloped us, our booted footfalls echoing off the masonry as we slipped from above ground to whatever awaited us below. Expecting nothing but darkness on the descent, I was surprised when the sudden glint of night’s fall became visible overhead—a colossal circular window of fractured stained glass offering a view of the field of stars overhead. Within its shattered design, celestial figures sat etched, surrounded by constellations I assumed were long forgotten.

Awe briefly consumed me before annoyance resurfaced, and with a scoff, I stomped down the rest of the stairs. But as soon as I stepped into the clearing, the archive sprawling before me, my poor mood vanished once more.

What remained of a once-grand hall was a collapsed maze of broken galleries, flooded chambers, and crumbling vaults. Massive roots split ancient stonework apart, while moss and pale subterranean fungi clung to every surface. Bronze censers hung crooked from the fissured ceilings, their holes blackened by the incense that once plumed through them.

Running my finger along one of the few standing tables, I carved a path through the thick layer of dust that blanketed what did not belong to nature. I stepped over a pile of rubble, books half-buried beneath, their pages fused by moisture and age. Most of the shelves had long since rotted away, leaving behind mountains of scattered parchment and tomes.

“Holy shit,” Syoran breathed as he examined the vast space. “This is…”

“Otherworldly,” Kael finished for him. “I’ve been in many grand archives, but nothing compares to this.”

“The God of Luck and War harbors an equal fascination with knowledge, for one cannot be strategic if they do not know how to wield their mind.” Lorelie motioned to the stone tablets and disintegrating scrolls. “Many of his devotees spent time down here, dedicating their existence to writing his story. When the Others discovered such valuable materials, they did their best to destroy everything his followers had dedicated their time to. Clearly, they didn’t succeed, but what they ultimately failed to do was scour for the artifact tied to the god.”

“He left it behind in the place most assumed would be too obvious,” I mumbled, more so to myself than in contribution to the conversation. “And that’s exactly what happened.”

Lorelie nodded. “Yes. Seems the god himself has luck on his side, because had the Others learned of this piece of mystical connection, they would’ve destroyed the strongest way to link himself to his Child.”

Head swiveling, Syoran spoke, “Are you aware of what the artifact is? Or are we just as in the dark as the Others were when they learned of this place?”

“Seven coins,” Lorelie answered without pause, “with a ship etched in their center.”

“Let’s hope they aren’t all individually scattered.” Running his fingers through his hair, Kael peered back at the stairs we’d descended. “We are already running on borrowed time, and there certainly isn’t much more we can waste. Not when we have the Others summoning creatures from their realm, alongside polluting the entire continent of Wraelira.”

A half-hearted smile tugged at the corners of Lorelie’s mouth. “Well, lucky for us, they all rest in these archives. As for where… I do not have a precise location.”

“Seems my mother didn’t provide you with everything,” I muttered, taking a step back. “Probably best we separate to start our search then, considering we have a lot of ground to cover.”

Not waiting for their commentary or rebuttal, I pivoted on my heel and started toward the furthest corner of the archive. Stepping over spilled shelves, I did my best to avoid defiling the scattered parchments. Worn journals—leather casings dotted with wet spots and cracked from the heat—were tossed just as haphazardly, the sight of them shifting my thoughts back toward Caspian.

Ever since our engagement in the palace, he had become a plague on my ability to focus. The glint I’d caught in his crimson irises continued to haunt my dreams, and his shouts of affliction wove through my already fitful sleep, plunging me into nightmares that left me sweat-laden and breathless. With each daunting night came concern, distress that challenged the hatred I believed I harbored for him.

It was as if my stacking animosity toward him had been curated while I was steered by something I couldn’t decipher. But when I’d locked eyes with Sorva, I knew, without a doubt in mind, that she had twisted the strings of fate. Which left me with one question—had every threat and lashing of Caspian’s tongue been guided by her influence?

A sharp spike of anguish shot up my spine with enough of a bite to make me lose my footing. I tripped, my palm slapping against ancient stone as I struggled to fight the growing affliction. Pressing my other hand to the center of my forehead, I groaned and closed my eyes, only to be greeted by what felt like a memory… or perhaps a flash of the future.

Lips crested mine on a shared breath, sunlight dancing over our tangling bodies. Tracing the sharp lines of his chest and the scars that littered it, I released a soft hum as I tucked myself closer to him.

“If you keep doing that, we will stay in bed all day,” Caspian said, the depth of his voice extending to where I rested my head.

I smiled softly. “Is that all that awful?”

“Every second with you is a blessing, little siren.” He trailed his fingers up my bare back, planting a gentle kiss on the crown of my head. “For you, my queen, are the reason why I continue breathing.”

Peering back up at him, I admired the cut of his jaw and the facial hair that blanketed it. He met my gaze, and where I expected crimson, a deep blue threatened to swallow me just as the seas I commanded had. But that was not why my breath caught in my throat; it was the tapered point of his ears, their tips sitting far higher and cut far sharper than usual.

“Rohen?”

“Rohen!”

Gasping, I blinked twice as the imagery faded and the archive spanned before me again. My chest rose and fell frantically as I struggled to draw in another inhale, seafoam irises locked on mine as terror rippled across them.

“Hey! Hey…” Kael cupped my heated cheeks. “Where the hell did you go?”

“I-I…” The pain returned, robbing me of my ability to speak. Crying out, I grabbed Kael’s arm and squeezed to try to ground myself.

“Lorelie!” he screamed, panic making his voice waver.

“C-Can’t… I…” I heaved, doubling over as he struggled to keep me upright. Coughs racked my frame, the tang of my blood coating the back of my throat before its crimson hue splattered against the floor. “K-Kael…”