Water pressed around me from all angles, shifting currents ripping me in opposing directions.
I could no longer tell what was up and down, rendering it impossible to draw air from the surface. My lungs burned, heated bubbles caressing my lips like a kiss of death reaching for me.
Salty water prickled my eyes, irritating my cornea as I cracked them open in a desperate attempt to see if the contrast of light and dark could point me in the right direction of the surface.
Every image was blurry. The only detectable light streamed in sparse clusters from unidentifiable sources everywhere around me.
It couldn't be the surface—maybe the rocks reflecting the surface's light. No. Whatever light shone upon us before by the might of the Moon had been shrouded by darkened clouds and heavy rain. The only light currently raging above the surface was lightning and the lanterns surrounding the ship, neither of which could burn with this continuous brightness.
Cursed blood.
I didn't have time to contemplate these curious thoughts. I needed to find my way to the surface before the last specks of air filling my soon-barren lungs were gone. I had less than a minute left in these frigid waters.
Adrenaline pumped through my veins, my heart jolting when I noticed a shadow moving in the corner of my eye—an enormous shadow.
It was so silent down here that I could hear my heart drum faster as fear sunk its talons deeper into my flesh, scraping against my bones. The Lagyssal was still down here, circling me like a predator observing its prey.
No. I couldn't think about that now. If the Lagyssal didn't catch me between its teeth, the lack of oxygen would end me before the minute had passed.
"You have traveled far, young one."
What was that? A voice. The echo of a voice, low and coarse.
"She awaits you. She needs you. Do not fail her."
I looked around, but the blurry world and dimmed light revealed nothing but shifting shadows. Suddenly, darkness wrapped me from behind.
At first, I counted the seconds before the Lagyssal's fatal teeth crushed me, mentally reciting the prayers I'd learned as a child. Then, I realized it wasn't teeth closing around me; it was claws as long as my entire body, encasing me, but the deadly tips never pierced my skin.
Instead, I felt my lungs fill with a beautiful breath of air. We hadn't breached the surface; we were still far below the stormy weather, but I could breathe, not a second too late.
I sipped the air in short gasps, my throat burning with each inhalation. I couldn't cling to awareness much longer; my body was too exhausted, and my eyes were too heavy.
"Stay alive, young one," the voice said again. "Your time has not yet come."
I drowsily angled my head upward, glimpsing through a small crack between two claws, the enormous head of the Lagyssal surging clean through the water.
It hadn't killed me, nor did it appear interested in my demise. I should've died, yet it appeared that I had once again been saved by another creature that I'd previously considered an unfavorable enemy.
***
My chest hurt.
No. Scratch that. Everything hurt.
It hurt to breathe; it hurt to move; it even hurt to think through the pain.
A cool breeze swept over my beaded body. It felt good—as if my powers delicately sought to assure me that everything would be okay once the pain faded and the marrow of my bones stopped screaming.
I faintly wrinkled my brow as a shadow stepped in front of the heated light, gilding my heavy eyelids. An annoyed groan pressed past my numbed lips at the sudden difference.
"I think she's awake," a familiar voice said before the warm light again blinded me through the thin skin.
"Stay back, Eos," a voice I definitely recognized said. "We don't know in which state she'll wake. Stay behind me."
Faint steps and skipping stones sounded next, leaving me bitterly aware that the risky temperament the voices spoke of was mine.
I sucked in a deep breath, clenching my teeth as another wave of pain cascaded through my bones from my ribs to the tips of my fingers.
My ribs. The storm. Oh, spirits... Caiden.
Tears welled behind my heavy eyes as I slowly blinked them open against my better judgment. A blue sky greeted me, a wave of white slowly rolling in from my left to soon consume the exposed sun.
The voice from before had been Art warning Eos not to be near me because—
"Caiden," I said, my voice coarse and broken as if I'd been shouting for hours on end.
Please, benevolent spirits, let him be okay. Let everyone be okay.
"Let me pass, Uncle. She said my name. The mist has released its hold on her."
That was Caiden's voice. He was okay.
A warm hand suddenly wrapped mine, and brown waves fluctuating in the gentle wind blocked my view of the shifting sky. "Willow," Caiden said, halting his hand inches from my cheek as if fearing the contact would break me like a frail porcelain figurine. "How are you feeling?"
Like I've been dressed in metal armor that is two sizes too small. Like I've spent countless days in a box that could barely fit me, as if peaceful sleep was a long-lost acquaintance I hadn't had the pleasure to greet in ages.
I couldn't say all that right now, so I settled. "Terrible," I said, my lip trembling at the thought of Caiden's wide eyes and frightened face. "I-I almost k-killed you, C-Caiden."
A rogue tear rolled down my face, soon followed by another as I slowly recalled everything that had happened before that unbearable pain had brought me to my knees.
"Hey," Caiden said, finally brushing his hand against my flustered face. "You didn't kill me. I'm still here."
"I hurt you."
"You didn't mean to," he continued, leaning in to press his lips against my brow with such affection the gesture nearly burned a permanent mark. "Besides, I'm a healer, Will. Bruises like that are the least of my worries."
A strained chuckle pressed past my parched tongue at the sound of Caiden's laugh before it drowned in a series of pained groans.
"Take it easy," Caiden said, gently stroking my hair. "Piper and I spent hours healing you. We managed to repair the worst of the damage, but you were too weakened for us to heal you fully. You still have a good amount of bruising around your ribs that'll likely hurt for a little while."
Dread crawled down my spine. "Piper?" I whispered, clenching Caiden's hand tighter. "Where is she? Did I—"
"I'm right here."
Another shadow fell to its knees on the other side of me, her wild, blond hair stuck in impossible knots and blue blood still staining her greasy skin. "I'm so sorry, Piper," I whispered as a new wave of tears threatened to fill my eyes.
"Please," she said, snorting and rolling her eyes. "Your weak punches barely even broke my nose."
I smiled, but the blood she hadn't succeeded in wiping off her face begged to differ, and so did the image of Caiden's busted face still fresh in my memory. He didn't look like that anymore, though. Perks of having healing powers, I guess.
"How are you faring, Willow?"
Art stood a few inches from my feet, staring down at me with worried eyes. I tried straining my muscles to sit up, but the pain refused to let me. So I didn't object when Piper and Caiden placed their hands on my back and shoulders to help me.
"I've been better," I said with a crooked smile, masking the camps behind short breaths and clenched teeth. "Is everyone okay?"
Art nodded. "You certainly took us by surprise, but no one was seriously injured."
"We thought we'd lost you," Caiden whispered, leaning close enough for his lips to linger inches from my ear. "When the Lagyssal pulled you into the sea, I swear my heart jumped with you."
"You would've jumped after her if it hadn't been for the Lagyssal spearing the ship with his tail and dragging us through waves before you had the chance," Art added, slapping the back of Caiden's head with a soft tap. "Reckless brat."
"Water is my element, Uncle. I could've tamed those waves and pulled her back to the ship," he hissed through gritted teeth.
"That storm was too wild, even for you."
Alia stepped closer, Eos tailing right behind her. "It would've swallowed you both."
"Then what would you have me do? Left her at the mercy of the heartless sea? We were lucky that the currents brought her to this island and that she—by some divine miracle—survived with air still left in her punctured lung!"
An image suddenly flashed past my wearied eyes. Not a miracle. The Lagyssal.
"It was the Lagyssal," I whispered, turning to view the calm waves smoothing the rocky shores.
"What?" Art said.
"The Lagyssal," I repeated. "He brought me here. He saved me from drowning and brought me here. I think he— I think he spoke to me."
Art's mouth pressed into a thin line, his brows pinching as traces of pity settled in his eyes. "As much as I would like to believe that impossible tale, we can't be sure what you think you saw was real," he said, squatting to stroke my cheek. "Your body was lifeless, and your eyes were clouded when we found you—a very distinct clue that you were poisoned by the mist. The Midnight Tear, fortunately, was able to bring you back when we fed it to you; neither Caiden nor Piper's powers could do it."
"You kept yelling 'Tarkan' at Atlas as if you thought he was there when you first woke up," Eos added, peeking hesitantly at me from behind Alia.
My cheeks heated.
So, Tarkan had never really been there. Everything I saw had been a result of that horrible mist that the riddle from Inferno Castle had warned us against. I guess that made sense. An Illusionist that powerful had yet to walk among us.
"Regardless, I am pleased to see you sensible and alive again," Art said, standing up. A faint smile tugged my lips as Art turned his back to me. That stubborn bonehead refused to lose that royal mask in front of everyone, but I could see through it. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same for our ship."
I twisted my neck, defying my aching muscles to view the wreck leaning against a lonely pillar of rocks in the distance. Half of it lay sunken underwater, the sails torn and caught on various protruding tips on the sturdy pillar. The deck lay in ruins; half of the cabin was missing, replaced by a gigantic hole left behind by some kind of massive spear.
I swallowed. "How did you survive that?"
"Miracles," Piper said, grimacing as if recalling the horrors they must've been through. "And a beast that deemed us unworthy of its stomach."
Funny, Piper.
"So," I said, searching our surroundings. "Where are we?"
"No clue," Caiden said before Art had the chance to open his mouth. "Likely on an island in the Lake of Talons, but since few travelers have lived to tell the tale of their findings in this place, we have little information to go on."
Well, isn't that just our luck?
"We should search the island," Art said. "We might find something we can use to get off this barren place and continue our search for the Golden Cave."
"Sure, Arthur," Alia added sarcastically. "I have no doubt that we'll find an abandoned boat able to survive the storm that the Lagyssal summons or build one with all the rock that stretches for miles and miles on end. You said it yourself: this is a barren place with little life to sustain."
Spirits. Only Alia would dare speak with such a sharp tongue directly to a golden descendant.
"Actually," Eos said, stepping out of Alia's shadow. We all turned to watch her. "The island may look like a barren landscape of rocks and sprinkled sand from here, but just beyond that steep hill is an entirely different view."
What?
Eos nodded when we all kept looking at her with indifferent eyes. "Trees and waterfalls covered the entire island from up there. I just didn't say anything because you were so focused on ensuring Willow was okay."
We looked at each other for a few long moments before Alia took the first step toward the hill. Eos followed right after, and Art went along too.
"Do you think you can stand?" Piper asked, placing my arm around her neck. Caiden did the same so that I would have support from both sides.
I wasn't sure of anything. Each shift made my ribs sing in agony, but I needed to see what hid behind these barren mountains. "Yes," I said determinedly. "It'll hurt, but I want to see what we're dealing with. I promise I'll let you know if it's too much."
The last part of that sentence was meant for Caiden. He only cared for my safety, but cradling me like an infant would get me nowhere.
Piper and Caiden looked at each other and nodded as if reading each other's thoughts.
"Ready?" Piper said.
I inhaled a breath as big as my aching lungs allowed and nodded.
It took everything I had not to scream as they pulled me to my feet. It felt like fire settled between my ribs, charring the flesh right off the bone.
"Are you okay?" Piper asked, pinching her brow as fresh beads of sweat formed across my temples.
I nodded, biting my lip to push through the pain. "I will be," I said, pulling my tensed lips into a forced smile as I bit back a grunt.
"You shouldn't push yourself, Will," Caiden said, clenching my wrist a little harder. "Your injuries still haven't—"
"I need to see this, Caiden," I said firmly. Something about the thought of a hidden landscape as vast and rich as the Wandering Mountains masked by this cruel, desolate environment enthralled me. I couldn't articulate what or how; I just knew I had to see it.
Deep lines formed on Caiden's brow, but he didn't object. "Tell us if we have to pause," he said instead, his voice stern. "There is no need to rush it."
I would've told them to pause every thirty seconds if the stabbing pain commanded my actions as we climbed the hillside. The pressure they put on my back to make sure I didn't fall was nearly unbearable. Gravity pulled me harder against their palms, and anguished screams lodged in my throat. I swallowed each and every one of them, intent on reaching that peak before I let the distress consume me.
Fresh air didn't as much as graze my tongue until curious green patches of moss sporadically began covering the grayish rocks. We weren't at the top yet, but I let go of the tireless breath to taste the humid wind slithering across the peak.
"Look at that, Will," Piper said, wonder filling her widened eyes while she craned her neck to view the scene unfolding before us. "Eos was right."
I squinted my sensitive eyes as the lowering sun tossed its blinding rays at me. The sounds of water sloshing and rushing down cliff-sides echoed before my ears shortly before my eyes adapted to the sharp light. Then, it all hit me like a fist of unspeakable beauty.
Trees, in all shapes and sizes, formed a massive forest in the valley below, rivers crossing the landscape like countless scars from once-open wounds. Pillars of rock and thriving vegetation shot from the ground higher than the tallest tree as if the—
"Piper!" Eos shouted, approaching us with hurried steps, and her hands cupped around something resting in her palms. "Look at this."
My chest clamped around my heart when her foot caught on a stray root. For a moment, I feared she might tumble to the ground, and the edge we stood on would leave her falling down the steep hillside before any of us could save her. Piper and Caiden tensed, too, so I could only assume I wasn't alone in that assumption. Luck had not been on our side these days, so I wouldn't put it past the spirits. However, Eos managed, her balance proving painfully reliable—nothing like mine, according to Art.
"That was close," Eos muttered in a relieved breath, continuing her path with less reckless steps. "But look, isn't it curious?"
She opened her folded hands, revealing a rock hovering inches from her cupped palm.
A rush shot through my stomach as she lightly tapped the edged surface, and the rock floated away from her, descending with the hillside but never falling to the ground.
"A floating stone," I muttered, raising my widened eyes to once again gaze at the forest valley. It wasn't obvious; I could only tell because I knew what to look for—how the clustered rocks moved and how the vegetation grew to surround it rather than reach for the sun.
Those pillars weren't all attached to the ground; some were floating—wandering—breaking trees and branches in their path when the wind blew currents strong enough to carry them.
This island was like the Wandering Mountain, but not quite. Not everything floated, and gravity still felt normal. So, what was this?
"We need to get down there," I said before Piper could reach for the floating stone.
"What?"
I tried forcing my wobbly legs to step forward, dragging my two helpful guards with me, but Caiden remained unyielding. "Slow down, Will," he said, pulling me back before I could release myself from their grip. "We have no idea what's down there. Let's assess the situation first and devise a plan before diving head-first into the next potential nightmare. Please."
Heat stung my cheeks at the sight of the desperate plea in his eyes. "Sorry," I whispered, falling back to ease the strain I put on them from wanting to hurry forward. "I-I didn't mean to cause you more worry."
Caiden sighed, leaving his mouth twisted in an adoring smile that made my stomach clench. "I know you didn't. You're an adventurer, just like I told you you'd become when I first showed you the Room of a Thousand Worlds. I love that about you, but I would also like to see you live past those adventures."
I chuckled, remembering how I'd yelled at him for kissing Piper. The thought still stung a bit, but I now realize he had little say in that matter.
"I think you're going to have to put a leash on her if you hope to live past your thirties, Atlas," Piper added, adjusting my arm across her neck with a teasing smile. "She's not as well-mannered and quiet as she let everyone believe during the Trials."
I snorted. "You're hardly the one to talk, rule-breaker," I said. "How often did you get Calla and me into trouble with Mrs Evelyn?"
Piper's smile stiffened, and her eyes quickly found an interest in anything but my face.
"Let's join Uncle Art and hear his thoughts on this place," Caiden said, huffing a muffled laugh as Piper whistled. "I'm sure he has a plan for our next move already."
I nodded, and they started walking toward the peak where Art and Alia stood, scouring the view of the grand valley between mountaintops.
My feet dragged across the ground every time I stumbled, my body still too exhausted to even lift them appropriately. I would probably have rolled all the way down to the foot of the hill if I'd had it my way back there. Thank the spirits that Caiden still walked with a sensible mind as opposed to mine.
"Hey, Willow," Eos said behind us, causing Caiden and Piper to stop before we'd even made it halfway up the peak.
"Yeah?" I said, barely able to twist my head in her direction.
She looked at the ground behind us, worry straining her wide eyes. "I-I think you might be bleeding from somewhere."
I looked down, surprise etching lines along my furrowing brow as I saw the trail of gold my steps had left behind. However, it didn't look like puddles of blood. Instead, it looked like I'd scratched off a crust concealing some sort of—
"A golden vein," Caiden said, taking the words directly out of my mind before I'd even thought of them.
"Uncle Art, Alia, get down here," Caiden shouted when Eos squatted before the gilded rock, brushing off moss and dirt to reveal more of the jagged structure permeating the ground.
"What is that?" Alia whispered behind me.
"I-I think this might be the island Jonathan mentions in his memoirs," I said before I'd thought the statement through.
What were the odds that the island we'd randomly ended up on was the very place where the golden cave lay—the same cave that no professional explorer had yet been able to locate? Then again, I'd never heard of any other discovered island with such abnormal landscaping.
"But that's—" Piper swallowed, tightening her grip on me. "Should we follow it?"
Art stepped past us, squatting in front of the golden vein. He trailed a finger across the surface and smelled it. A wrinkle formed across the bridge of my nose when he tasted it, too. "This isn't gold," he ascertained, turning to stare into the valley.
I held my breath. It looked like gold, but it wasn't gold. There was no longer any way to deny it. This was the place where we'd find the golden cave.
"But Jonathan never mentioned an island in his writings, did he?" Eos asked. "He only ever mentioned a cave."
"Not directly," Art said, dusting off his soiled hands, "but those writings are very old and may have been changed by politics and translation. It wouldn't be the first time such atrocities have happened in the name of false security, or the terrain might have looked different back then—submerged even."
True. The Pavo family had changed the written word before to protect the location of the golden cave and even lied to the public about the real reason why the heir is always ensured elemental powers; however, this was a curious detail to change. Submerged cave or not, this place did exist.
Art looked behind him toward the stretching sea. "It seems that one direction leads straight back to the sea, so I suggest we follow the vein to the valley."
He summoned a wind and manipulated it to tear the moss away from the golden vein.
"Let's go."