Page 73 of Lore of the Tides

Still trembling from her near-consumption by the Nikoryxia, Lore couldn’t think of a way to further oppose the queen and prince without resorting to whining or crying or, gods forbid,both, so she’d relented before fleeing the council chamber, desperate for her cot and sleep.

And now here she was, surrounded by her enemy, a prince, a barkeep she couldn’t keep her hands off of, a palace aide, and (in her opinion) far too few siren guards.

Lore stumbled over a boulder hidden in the sand and flapped her arms against the current to keep upright. She was, once again, ambling in the dark. Always in the damned dark. Lore made a promise to herself, as soon as she returned to the palace, she would seek out a spell in the grimoire that would allow her eyes to see in the dark.

If such a thing existed.

Though it wasn’t so bad this time as she followed the attractive outline of Finndryl’s expansive shoulders, which were cast in relief by the orb clasped in his hands. Lore was thankful that he had volunteered to hold the lantern—she didn’t think she could stomach the view of the slimy slugs that writhed inside the glass. Their slime was nauseating but useful, as it glowed blue and cast offalmostenough light to see by.

Behind her she could hear the quietswish swishof Syrelle’s footsteps.

Cuan, Prince Hazen, and six siren guards swam above and around them. Lore could neither see nor hear them as their finely evolved forms cut through the water, silent as spirits. But still, knowing they were there... it was comforting.

The only guard she recognized was Jade, who, Lore had learned yesterday, was of the highly admirable echosmith class—who was there not to help with the mission to the volcano, Mount Vatraol, Great Hearth, to restore life and magic to Lapis Deep, but was there to ensure Prince Hazen’s safety, and only that. She’d made it very clear, multiple times, that nothing mattered to her except her prince’s well-being.

The prince was something special to inspire such loyalty in his subjects. And not just Jade, but all of them.

All the royalty Lore had ever heard of were generally awful, synonymous with tyranny and cruelty. It was a revelation, refreshing—and somewhat healing—to discover that there existed royalty who truly cherished their empires and subjects, fostering a reciprocal love and loyalty within their realm.

The farther they ventured toward the volcano, the more Lore’s human eyes allowed her to see.

The water was gradually warming, not too hot for Lore’s skin. Not yet, anyway. She imagined that had to do with the Puallas Kiss. It protected her from the cold. From the heat. She pressed a hand to her forearm, thankful for the life-giving magic that now swirled on her skin. She hoped the kiss of the jellyfish never faded; the purple swirls looked beautiful. Lore had never had the guts to get a tattoo herself with permanent ink—not just because the process was painful, but because in Duskmere, one tried to avoid all things that could lead to infection and death.

But she had one now and wanted to keep it forever.

Now that she could see, she noted the gradual changes in thelandscape around them. The closer they got to the volcano, the more evidence of its immense power shaping the earth. There was no coral here, no curious fish nipping at Lore’s fingertips when they paused for a rest or to hydrate. Nothing could survive here, evidence that their god may have a temper. The earth changed too often for life to form.

Here the ground was barren, uneven. The magma had hardened into hexagonal shapes of varying size, thickness, and height. Swimming above it wouldn’t be an issue, but Lore, Finn, and Syrelle were forced to navigate the jagged terrain on foot.

Another two hours passed, and pockets of glowing, molten rock began to appear underfoot. The heat of the water was becoming oppressive, and the tattoo on Lore’s arm began to glow lavender as the power of the Puallas Kiss worked overtime to combat the warming water.

Though Lore knew: One wrong step, and no magic could protect her from instant, searing pain.

Lore turned her head to the left, squinting her eyes. In the distance a Nikoryxia’s undulating, shifting body could just be seen. This one had been following them for some time, but it stayed on the outskirts of Lore’s vision, appearing and disappearing in intervals but never gone for long.

Drawn to Lore’s magic, hungry for it no doubt, it did not dare come here, where the volcano could decide to erupt at any moment. Agitation twisted Lore’s insides.

Stay away, Nikoryxia, please.She didn’t want to be within a hundred feet of one again. Not ever. Not for the rest of her life.

The glowing pockets were becoming more numerous, and Lore feared that at any moment, the hardened shelf of lava beneath her feet could crumble, give way, and she could slip through. She could not feel it, as she was underwater, but she knew that she had begun to sweat—from both the oppressive heat and the fear that was slowly eating at her resolve. People needed her help, she reminded herself. She couldn’t turn back.

“There’s a new one,” Syrelle stated from behind Lore.

“Where?” She whipped her head around.

“Just there, behind that spout.” Syrelle pointed.

Lore squinted her eyes in the dim, reddish glow of lava. Indeed, behind a tall rock formation pumping out swirling clouds of steam was another Nikoryxia, larger than the original one that had been following them.

“Great. If we manage to get to theSourcewithout being burned alive, we will surely have a horde of them waiting to eat us when we are done,” Cuan said from somewhere above Lore.

Gods, she wished she had a tail. It would be much easier to evade their wriggling tentacles.

“We won’t have to worry about them soon, my grimoire will awaken any moment. We timed this perfectly; night is upon us.” Lore tugged a ribbon from her pocket and pulled at her hair, twisting and pushing the braids into something that almost resembled a bun. “And if...” She bit her lip and wrapped the ribbon around three times before double knotting it. “If our plan works...” On second thought... she might as well... She twisted the strings of the ribbon and pulled them tightly once more. Maybe three knots would hold. “TheSourcewaiting to be harnessed in the radiance swell...” She could worry about extricating the knots and her braids from the ribbon later, when she survived. “...will be more than enough to protect us.”

“Right, of course,” Cuan said. They did not sound convinced. Lore tried to ignore their apprehension; she had her own dread to contend with.

Magic, which had been skittering on the outskirts of her vision like the Nikoryxia trailing them, began to swirl, as if alerted to Lore’s presence.Deeping Lunebegan to vibrate as it woke from slumber.

---