Page 117 of Winds of Ruin
I nodded, though still wary of dragging him into this. I’d gone so long with little to lose for myself—another exception.
“Repeat after me,” I said and whispered a Brennac charm Fenris had taught me many years ago.
Emmerick obliged and looped an arm around me to light the wall; he put out the sunlight in his other palm to unsheathe his sword. My hand settled on the hilt of a throwing dagger as we concluded the charm and the seashell glowed sapphire.
The ground quaked as the wall shifted upward and retreated into the ceiling above.
His other arm braced, cocooning me and barring me from stepping forward. “I’ve got your back,” he said, his breath caressing the lobe of my ear.
This protective streak would lead to trouble. He’d put himself in harm’s way for me—that sort of chivalry had never excited me before. But now...
I shook that thought away as I gently pushed his arm aside and took a step into a cave strung with sharp sea glass. He stayed close and kept his sword at the ready despite there being no immediate threat.
“Down, puppy. Usually any traps, magical or not, need to be triggered. We’ll tread carefully.”
Wind hit the back of my neck again.
Onward,it implied.
The shards of glass hanging above swayed in the fresh breeze. I took a deep breath and tried to step forward, but Emmerick caught my arm and walked ahead of me.
“I’m not taking chances with your life,” he answered. I rolled my eyes but smiled at his eagerness to shield me.
Following him deeper into a beautiful chamber of glowing green and blue, illuminated by the golden light in his palm, I turned on my heel, assessing our surroundings.
No other openings, no cracks or windows into the world outside. I withdrew a throwing dagger as Emmerick’s back met mine.
“Do you think it’s a ceremony site? Maybe of Aquas’ making?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure, so instead of answering, I bit my lower lip and rubbed my thumb across the dagger’s leather hilt. This certainly wasn’t a tomb, or like any ruin I’d ever traversed before.
“It may be,” I said. “Can you shine the light brighter?”
The glow from his palm grew and extended to the walls. They, too, were made of shining, jagged sea glass. In the far-right corner, a large pool of water gently bubbled.
My intrigue heightened, and I stepped away from the warmth of Emmerick’s back and toward it.
“Else,” Em warned, clearly unhappy with my giving up our defensive stance. I heard his boots scrape as he pivoted.
Something lurked in the dark pool. My curiosity never allowed me to walk away from a potential discovery.
“A moth drawn to a flame,” Fenris often said.
The bubbling grew more rapid, seeming to boil, before a head breached the water. I fought my instinct to retreat and tightened my grip on the dagger as the form’s shoulders emerged.
“Sources,” Emmerick muttered, having taken my side with his sword raised.
Covered only by a thin robe of green kelp, which draped into the water, our foe floated atop the rippling pool. His barnacle-laden feet found solid ground on the salted pool—no mere Water-wielder couldwalkon water.
He faced away from us and appeared a few inches taller than Emmerick—which was a feat in itself. The skin below his kelp robe matched the deep green of the weeds that had washed ashore, and more barnacles clung to his arms.
Salt stung my nose as Em ushered me backwards with the elbow of his sword arm, still illuminating the chamber with his other palm.
This guard-dog act amused me.
The sea-formed man cracked his neck and turned to us, revealing eyes of crystal blue that contrasted against his sunken, dark lids.
“Why do you seek me?” His voice boomed, and the sea glass above us swayed. A few pieces broke off, narrowly avoiding us, and shattered at our feet.
