Chapter Eighteen

DALLAS RAISED HER ARMS IN front of her, and the water at our feet rose with them. As she moved her hands gracefully, the water rose to form a towering diving platform that slowly solidified into ice. Dallas gestured at the ladder and met my eyes. "Princesses first."

Laughing, I climbed up to the top of the platform that stretched out over the deeper water. I closed my eyes and inhaled the warm, salty ocean breeze. The fresh scent of water sent a flurry of excitement leaping about in my gut, and without waiting another second, I ran . I ran and dove off the platform with my arms extended.

The moment my body broke the water's surface, I reacted the way I always had as a human due to pure instinct. I held my breath and kept my eyes closed as I waded beneath the water. Whispers and excited voices filled my ears, and with the sound, I was reminded of who I was. Slowly, I inhaled, and just as I breathed on land, I breathed now without issue. My lips turned up in a grin, and I opened my eyes to the beautiful world around me.

The water was the lightest shade of turquoise, and I could see straight ahead and below me for miles. Water Fae and sea creatures swam around me or splashed above me. Jayanna swam past me, waving as she did. I watched in pure wonder as she twirled in the water, her brown skin slowly changing and her body contorting until there was no longer a slim girl before me but a large, sleek Great White Shark. She circled back to me, and I held my fingertips out to brush them over her fin as she swam by.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Dallas asked as she appeared next to me, her lush red hair fanning out in the water around her.

My eyes widened. "We can even talk underwater?"

She laughed, and bubbles flitted up from her mouth. "We can."

Giddy with a sense of wonder, I whirled around in the water and arched my back to flip backward. This feeling rushing through me was light. It was rightness. It was freedom. And I needed to see more. With my hair and dress waving gently in the water around me, I pushed through the water, gliding through it effortlessly. Small pink and yellow fish darted by, circling up and around my limbs as I swam. A sea turtle made a point to glide by, waving a flipper as it went.

"Everything is so beautiful," I beamed to Dallas as we neared the ocean floor.

My bare feet sank into the soft sand, which surprised me. I'd expected a rough, almost gravel-like sea floor, but as I sank to my knees and slipped my hand through the white grains, it was as soft as velvet slipping through my fingers.

Vibrant green kelp, twisted coral in varying sizes and shades of orange and red, and seashells in every color imaginable surrounded me. So many colors I never expected to find under the ocean greeted me now with a beauty unlike any other. It was mesmerizing, stunning, and magical.

"This is just a small glimpse of all that the Ambrolia seas have to offer," Dallas noted from beside me.

A sudden shrill sound echoed in the water, and I quickly looked ahead as a massive Orca swam gracefully in our direction. Jayanna, still in her shark form, swam ahead to meet the Orca, and the two twirled and flipped about each other.

"I believe that's Khalani," Dallas guessed.

Smiling, I nodded. "I believe you're right."

Looking beyond the pair, I scanned the ocean floor and noticed what looked like old ruins scattered around the vibrant coral and marine life. They looked like structures, some fallen and mostly gone, others still relatively intact.

"What are all those rock formations?" I asked. "Are those old buildings?"

Dallas followed my gaze then nodded. "Those are old homes and shops from when Water Fae still lived in the water. They're structures that didn't get raised up to the surface when Sand Crab Fae raised our Kingdom."

"So they're abandoned?"

"Other than marine life that decided to take up residency there, yes."

Curious about the buildings, I got up from my knees and swam closer to the nearest one. Half of it had already collapsed, but I could still make out a corner wall and window. Stone and seashells littered the interior of the long-forgotten building, and among the debris, I saw tattered fabrics. On closer inspection, I realized it was clothing. After digging around the rubble and finding shelves and hanging displays, it became clear this was an old clothing store. Seeing something as ordinary as a clothing shop abandoned like this made my throat tighten with emotion.

"Look at all these dresses and tunics," I mumbled to Dallas as I gathered up the old fabrics. "Just forgotten."

Dallas took a labored breath from behind me, and the sound made me quickly turn in her direction. Seeing my alarm, she waved a dismissive hand while the other held her throat. "I'm fine. My time under here is just about up. I'm gonna swim back up and switch out with Imani. Don't move from here, okay?"

She didn't wait for my response. The water around her bubbled, and suddenly, she shot toward the surface like an underwater rocket.

I stared after her and mumbled, "Well, that's cool."

I turned back to the fallen building to continue looking around when a faint warmth brushed over my cheek. It was so miniscule, I almost thought I'd imagined it, but my skin buzzed where I had felt the whisper of a touch. I held my cheek and looked around me for any sign of someone or something that could've touched me, but there was nothing.

"Water, was that you just trying to say hello?" I asked the sea around me.

She's here.

Smiling at the voices in the water, I nodded. "Yes, I'm here."

She's here.

Right here.

Follow.

A flash of movement caught my attention from the corner of my eye. It was like a flicker within the water, almost like light reflecting off fish scales. I whipped my head around to follow the flash, but I found empty water. I nearly shrugged it off, but another blur of motion caught my attention farther along the seafloor, leading through the old ruins.

"Hello?" I called, swimming after the flicker of movement.

This way.

I drifted closer to where I'd last seen the movement, and as I did, the water's pull got stronger, almost like it was trying to lead me in a certain direction. I let the water guide me to where it wanted me, weaving in between old buildings and homes until the pull suddenly stopped. All was calm, and there were no more flashes of movement.

"Is this where you wanted me to go?" I whispered to the sea as my gaze drank in the sight before me.

A large stone building sat in the sand, abandoned. With how clear the water was, the sunlight spilled all the way down here, despite being hundreds of feet below the surface. Even with the rays shining here, this building felt cold and dark. It was like a soul that had been forgotten yet still held the promise of so much life.

Steps led up to its double doors, and when I swam up to a window to peer inside, I realized it was a library. Dozens upon dozens of shelves lined the walls and open floor of the building, and while many of them were empty, some shelves still had tomes tucked away in their shadows.

"Bria! Bria!" Imani's alarmed, frantic tone sounded in the distance.

"Shit," I hissed, remembering that I was supposed to wait for Imani. I looked back the way I came and yelled, "Over here!"

A great white shark suddenly appeared at the end of the road, and it swam quickly in my direction. Imani was right on its tail, and I realized that was probably Jayanna.

Imani clutched her chest when she reached me, and her black tank top and cargo pants hugged her body while my dress still billowed softly in the current. "You scared the shit out of me! What are you doing over here?"

"The water brought me here," I explained, gesturing to the library. "I think there's something here that it wants me to see."

Imani glanced over my shoulder through the window. "I'm not sure what. When we went above water, we brought all the legible books with us. The only ones left here were the books written in our old language, which won't be of any use to anyone since we can't read them."

"Our old language?" Curiosity sparked, I turned back to the empty library and swam through the open window.

Some creatures like small crustaceans and fish had made the forgotten library their home, and they shied away from me as I drifted over to the shelf that seemed to hold the most books. Their covers seemed to be made from some sort of leather with silver writing on the spine and cover. I grabbed one from the shelf and opened it.

The spine cracked as I peeled the pages open, and the first thing I noticed was the worn edges of the otherwise pristine paper. If you could call it paper. It was more like seaweed that had been bleached and stitched together to create a book. Then there were the words—lines and shapes thrown together. Every page was littered with the odd writing, which meant Imani was right. There was no reading this.

"What did you want me to see here?" I whispered to the water around me.

A warm pull weaved through my hair fanned out behind me, and I turned just in time to see a flash of movement right by a table where a large, lone tome sat. Raising a brow, I eyed around me, studying the water closely for another sign of movement, but I saw nothing.

I glided through the water to the book. It appeared worn with age, and it had the same old writing inside. I flipped through the pages, looking for something that was possibly tucked away inside, but there was nothing . I worried my lip with a groan. If there was no hidden note or object in the book that meant the water wanted me to see something that was written in the book, which posed a problem.

"I told you there was nothing in here," Imani said as she appeared at my side. "Just old, useless books."

I wasn't sure how I'd manage to read the book, but something had brought me here. Something wanted me to see this book for a reason, and even though I couldn't read it, maybe I could find someone who could.

"I think I'm gonna bring this one back with me," I said and hoisted the book into my arms.

Imani gave me a look that questioned my sanity, but she shrugged. "If you really want it, I won't stop you."

We left the library with my treasure tucked in my arms. Imani and I looked around the abandoned underwater city a bit longer with Jayanna and Khalani swimming close by. I was fascinated by everything I was seeing here beneath the waves, but a somber cloud also hovered overhead.

This used to be our home, the place to where all Water Fae could come back. I could almost pretend to see and hear Fae swimming up and down the streets, traversing the different shops, and exploring all the beauty that the vibrant ocean had to offer. Yet here our old Kingdom sat now, forgotten and in ruins. It made my chest ache for our home and also for all the Water Fae who couldn't come here anymore. I hurt for the Water Fae who lost or never had the ability to breathe beneath the waves like they should have.

As much as I didn't like Angus at times, it was as I looked around the fallen homes and the Water Fae swimming and playing above my head that I realized he was right about one thing.

We really were broken Fae.