Page 71 of The Incendiary

“You’ve definitely done that in your past life,” Shera observed proudly.

“Well, thank the gods for that,” I answered before submerging again. I opened my eyes under the water and saw the lake floor was made of brown rock. Broken tree branches sat at the bottom covered in green algae. There were no other signs of life.

“Still no fish,” I told Shera.

“They’re asleep. My guess is they’re hiding inside the eastern wall below that grotto over there.”

The giant shadow would have been moving along that wall all morning and very well could be what Elias’s clues alluded to.

“Wait… what do you mean ‘over there’?” I resurfaced and looked up to the top of the cliffs. “Damn it, Shera!” Bright violet eyes peered down at me. Sunlight caused iridescent light to gleam off her silver fur. Sometimes, at certain angles, I swore her ears glowed, too. “Are you out of your mind? We’re in broad daylight. Anyone could see you!”

“See me, maybe. Catch me, never.” She sat back on her haunches. “And I need to make sure you don’t drown.”

I ground my teeth. “The moment I’m out of this water⁠—”

“I’m gone, I know.”

I sent her a final glare of disapproval and swam toward the eastern wall, but I wasn’t very fast. If flesh-eating fish woke up and found me milling about in their territory, I’d be eaten alive. I just needed to withstand my fear long enough to find those rings.

Coming up for air when needed, I searched every inch of the ravine’s eastern wall. About two-thirds of the way through, I started to lose hope. If I wasn’t right, how much time had I wasted? What if someone else found the rings somehow?

But then my heart stuttered at the sight of glinting silver. And behind them, the black banner I needed to retrieve to win the challenge.

“I’ve found them.” I peered closer to confirm. “I’ve found them.”

The hole they were in was deep, but too narrow for anything larger than a petite arm. I wondered if Elias sent one of his female friends down here to hide the rings, because gods forbid his pretty face get chewed up by murderous fish.

I resurfaced for one final breath before diving back down, thankful these waters were still rather than flowing, or else the tiniest rip in the current would have my wrist bumping the rock. The rocky outer edge of the hole swallowed my arm up to my elbow, blocking my view of what was inside as I felt around.

When my fingertips brushed metal, I snatched up the rings, chain, and a black banner before smoothly withdrawing my hand, barely brushing the stone. I threw the chain around my neck where it belonged, memorizing the rings’ indent on my skin so I could never forget again. After securing the banner into my belt loop, I searched the wall for any signs of life or movement, but there was nothing.

My shoulders relaxed in the silent stillness, and I began rising to the surface, wondering if these flesh-eating fish existed or if Shera was mistaken. I was halfway toward the other side of the ravine when I spotted a ledge just above the water’s surface. It wouldn’t be tough to climb onto.

But there was a shift in the water. A faint sound behind me.

And terror in my umbra’s inner voice as she shouted, “Ary, swim faster! Now!”

NINETEEN

ARYELLA

Fragile men have at least two soft spots: their ego and their cock. Strike one, and they’ll make you their enemy. Strike both, and they might try to kill you.

—FROM THE BUTCHER OF NYRIDA’S LAST KNOWN LETTERS TO QUEEN ARYELLA I

Stupidly, I didn’t swim right away but spun and froze to see hundreds of fish darting toward me, a mesmerizing mix of greens, blues, and grays, each roughly the size of a man’s palm with sharp teeth too big for their mouths.

There were so many of them. And at the speed they were moving? I only had seconds.

“Water!” Shera screamed into my mind. “Use the water!”

I had never wielded water while in it, but it was my only choice. I envisioned sunlight streaming in through iridescent stained-glass, stood at the center of the temple wheel and reached for cerulean blue.

“Rainar, save me,” I said down every mental pathway I could find.

“Ary!” Shera cried out in warning.

My hands shot up, wrists crossed to protect my face as I braced myself for thousands of needle-like teeth in my skin. A whoosh of power slammed into me, folding me in half and thrusting me backward. I steadied myself just in time to watch the fish slam into a wall of water that moved like a living barrier beginning on the lake’s surface and flowing down in a continuous loop.