21. Tahlia

Chapter 21

Tahlia

T ahlia was free from the dark hole and back in the labyrinth.

But Marius was gone.

Damn . If she had her Weaver magic, she might be able to track him. But she'd tried the four-count breathing as Fara had instructed, in and out, with all the ridiculous holding and everything. But no magic had sparkled over her head or eyes or whatever. No, she'd found a rope though, and she was out of the hole. She assumed Marius had made the rope out of his clothing because his scent had drawn her through the inky darkness to the rope's braided fabric.

She lifted her nose, trying to scent Marius again, to see if anything led her the way he'd gone. But no, her nose was good, but not full-Fae-blood good.

"I really hope I don't run into a minotaur right now. My ankle and ribs are still killing me. At least my head is feeling better."

Lija's voice mumbled through Tahlia's mind. Tension tightened Tahlia's shoulders and neck. She couldn't stand to lose her aural connection to Fara and Lija when Marius was missing.

"I couldn't hear that," she said quietly, hoping the mythological beasts roaming this madhouse wouldn't be alerted. "Can you speak up or toss some more of that herb into the mix?"

"Rider, do you hear me now?"

"Ah, much better, yes."

"Lady Fara is threatening the visiting herbwitch."

Oh, no. "Why?"

"She said if this connection fails before you catch up with Marius, she'll, and I quote, ‘String your yarrow-scented intestines over the castle walls.'"

Tahlia bit her lip to keep her laugh quiet. "Tell her to behave. She might ruin her chances at becoming a full-fledged Healer if she does too much eviscerating."

Lija's chuckle was music to Tahlia's ears.

Wait. "I heard music while I was climbing out. Did you hear any of that? It was very faint. Felt off."

"I didn't," Lija said.

"Me neither," Fara said, her voice coming back and overlapping Lija's. "And don't you worry about me and my situation back here. Not your business, you wonderful, death-wish-having maniac. You are my priority."

"Thanks, Fara." Her heart warmed and she walked farther into the labyrinth. "I think that space under this labyrinth was cloaked in a spell because I couldn't even see the opening I was climbing out of until I was nearly free. And the music…"

A chill swept over her. "Oh, no."

"What is it?" Lija asked.

"The music I heard," Tahlia said, "I bet it was the siren."

Fara was swearing before Tahlia had finished her sentence. "…and that cock-brained arse with?—"

"Fara. Calm down. Please. I need to think. If Marius was here setting up the rope for me…" Tahlia absently touched the two blades she'd untangled from the rope's end knots. "And the siren appeared." She exhaled slowly, trying to feel anger rather than fear. "Well, I guess we know where Marius went."

"I can help," Lija said. "I've lived near sirens. Long ago, during my youngling stage."

"I had no idea. I thought you were born in the Shrouded Mountains like the other mountain dragons."

"I was born near Dragon Tail Peak, but Seabreaks usually visit the sea to swim before reaching adulthood. It's a rite of passage."

"Fascinating." Lija's information helped Tahlia keep her panic at bay. "Tell me more."

The labyrinth met the wall of the massive chamber then turned to the left. In the wall, an opening the size of a double doorway shimmered.

"Wait. There's a magical opening here. It could be a portal. It's definitely been created with magic."

"That will be her entry to the sea. Sirens can remove stone like a splash of water clears mud if they are motivated to do so."

Black sand lined the ground beyond the hole in the labyrinth wall. Two sets of footprints marked the sand. One was a slender barefoot print about the size of Tahlia's foot and the other showed what had to be Marius's boot print. The sound of the ocean whispered down the sandy, cave-like corridor.

"All right. I'm following footprints. I'm fairly certain one set of these is Marius's."

"Whatever you do, rider, make certain the siren doesn't see you. They won't smell you in the water. Their sense of smell is one of their weaknesses."

"That's very good to know."

The sand crunched beneath Tahlia's feet as she hurried down the black sand and into a breeze that grew saltier with every step. The corridor opened up to a rocky beach. Pale cliffs towered behind Tahlia and the foamy waves lapped the shore at the toes of her boots. The waves were growing larger and wilder, like gray hands clapping and grasping at the lowering clouds. Lightning cracked overhead and thunder shook the beach as the smell of rain filled the air.

"I don't see them anywhere."

"She has taken him under already?" Lija asked. Voices spoke in the background.

"Yes. Unless I'm wrong, and he hasn't been swayed by her at all. Maybe he's back in the labyrinth. Yeah, perhaps I should head back inside and make sure he isn't just around another corner or two."

"If she has claimed him, you have very little time to catch up to them before they disappear for good."

Tahlia gritted her teeth and fisted her hands. "But he isn't currently drowning if he's down there with her, right? Please tell me that, at least."

"No, she won't let him drown before she entertains herself with him."

And then she spotted Marius's boots. A chill rocked her and she bent halfway, bracing herself on her knees. Swallowing against the lump in her throat, Tahlia tried not to panic.

"All right," she said, her voice shaky. "I'm going in. But it's not as if I swim regularly. I wish you were here, Lija. For many, many reasons."

"I do too, rider. I do too. Now, shake that despair off your shoulders, knight, and look around the shoreline for a palm-sized stone that has been smoothed from years of seaside existence."

"Why?"

"I'll explain as you search," Lija said.

The beach was a sea itself with pebbles stretching for a mile, maybe more. "Any palm-sized stone?"

"Yes. If it doesn't work the first time, we can try until it does."

"Try what?" At Tahlia's feet, a smooth, light brown stone reflected another strike of lightning. She picked it up. "Got a rock for you, my mysterious dragon."

"Good. Do you have a blade?"

"Several."

Lija's chuckle was dark and full of promised vengeance on those who went against them. "You'll need to carve four runes on the stone."

"But I don't have magic. I have no Unseelie blood." Some Seelie Fae did have Unseelie blood and were just recently being open about it. After discovering the link between Fae King Lysanael and the Unseelie realm, the stigma had faded somewhat. Only the humans' Witch and the Fae's Druid could do full magic in this realm—the world of Seelie Fae and humans.

"This is sea magic and you are bonded to a Seabreak, rider. Trust me."

"Do the other knights know about this magic of yours?"

"They've seen some of it in battle with Donan and Lady Maiwenn, but they know enough not to ask too many questions about dragon business."

"Understood."

Lija began detailing the lines and shapes of the runes Tahlia had to carve. They went one by one, Lija explaining and Tahlia etching the magical symbols as clearly as possible on the stone.

"It's finished," Tahlia said, feeling shaky for a thousand reasons. The rain was cold. Marius was missing. Durniad would be claiming the crown and using it to wreak havoc on the entire world in a bit. She had injuries that burned and pulsed with pain. Oh, and she was about to hunt a siren.

"Sit as Lady Fara instructed you earlier. Hold the stone over your chest."

Tahlia didn't argue, but she did take a minute to strip off her boots as well as to remove her belt and Fara's letters. When she was in position with the stone against her chest, she checked in.

"I'm ready."

"Imagine that I am beside you and your hand is on my scales. Pretend as though we breathe in and out like we are the same creature."

A warmth traveled down Tahlia's head, shoulders, and chest. Her lungs, mouth, and nose tingled like they were going numb.

"Do you feel the magic, rider?"

"I do."

"Then you can enter the sea without worry for air. Leave the stone on the beach and let us begin our hunt."

Tahlia waded into the chilly, storm-tossed surf. The cliffs curved around the beach like a scythe. The tide tugged at her legs.

"Will the runes also help me swim in a storm like this?"

"You're stronger than you realize. Your bond with me has altered your body and your blood."

The water deepened and Tahlia began to swim. Maybe she truly could find Marius and help him escape the siren. Maybe Lija wasn't being insane.

"How does this hunt begin?" she asked, trying not to let fear roll over her like one of the sea's massive swells.

"Stop lollygagging and get on with it. Dive in, rider!"

"Bossy, aren't we?" Tahlia did as Lija ordered.

The water enveloped her and she parted her lips. Would she drown? No, Lija would protect her. She knew that.

Tahlia opened her mouth and inhaled. Her lungs expanded, pressing against the pain in her injured ribs. But the rune stone worked. She was breathing under water. Miraculous. But could she speak to Lija like this? She hadn't been able to speak inside the mind as she and Lija usually did. Communicating out loud had been an intuitive decision that had held. But maybe…

Can you hear me, Lija?

Tahlia swam forward and the water parted around her limbs like she'd been born a fish rather than a half-Fae. Wow.

"Can you see any bubbles as if something large is exhaling into the water?" Lija asked, her voice quiet but clear in Tahlia's ears.

Hoping this was going to work, Tahlia opened her mouth to speak. "Can you hear and understand me?" How could she? Tahlia's words were strangled by the water and she couldn't pronounce anything correctly.

"Well enough, rider. Well enough."

"Good. I see many bubbles."

"Keep swimming, my lady Tahlia," Lija said. "Look for a trail of bubbles in the shapes of feathers."

Feathers? Tahlia kept her eyes open, shocked that she could see clearly. Granted, the flash of lightning and the twist of the water altered the look of the sandy ocean floor, the waving kelp, and the two schools of fish—one silver and one poppy red—that swam by. But still, the details of a round coral bloom showed clearly despite appearing one hundred yards or so away.

She reached out her arms and kicked her feet in the cool water, her eyesight far sharper than it had ever been under water. The sea floor dropped, and a break of seagrass with bright gold flowers that shimmered with their own illumination ran in a curving path along the deepest cut in the ground. At the end of the seagrass, a line of elongated, soft-looking bubbles danced through the water toward the surface.

"Found them," she said as best she could with water chilling her mouth and salting her tongue.

"Good," Lija said. "The entrance to her lair is likely decorated in a way you won't miss."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"A fitting attitude when dealing with sirens. She is extremely dangerous, rider."

"Let's say I make it into her lair—what do I do then? I assume hand-to-hand combat isn't my best choice of action."

"No, unless you can break the hold she has on Marius. You two could probably best her physically. But not just you. She'll use him to get to you. And that's if you manage to surprise her before she can sing to you."

"So I am susceptible."

"Maybe less so because you find males attractive, but her power remains a definite threat."

"This whole saving Marius from an evil female is getting old, if I'm honest."

Lija huffed, dark amusement coming through their bond. "Let's hope you are saving him and not just tossing yourself into the tragedy."

Tahlia blew out a mouthful of bubbles. "Yes, let's hope for that," she said wryly.

They weren't so deep that light didn't penetrate the water here. Flashes of lightning danced through the salt water and helped Tahlia see.

She said a silent prayer and swam forward.