The water was cloudy enough that I couldn’t see the bottom. Though I trusted the depth, I had no idea what lurked below.
Cormac must have had the same idea as me, because his hand hovered over his hip. Reaching for a weapon that was no longer there.
The room held no adornments, save for an open door on the other end. Four plain stone walls, the carvings long faded away. Through the door was another room just like the one we had left, and then another, and another. An endless corridor.
The robed figure took a single step and sank into the depths. A moment passed, and they didn’t surface.
“I think he wants us to follow,” I said.
Cormac gulped. “Losing my tail has become quite the burden.”
“Manannán mac Lir wouldn’t let us die. Would he?” My nose wrinkled.
Cormac shook his head and scoffed. “I think I’m a bit superfluous here, Princess.”
“Big words.”
“I know all the big words.” He grinned. “I’ve got some more if you’re feeling—”
The robed figure broke the surface. Unamused. “Follow me.”
I bit back a smile and dropped to my knees, sinking under the water.
Cormac followed, holding his breath.
Though the room had a floor, there was a hole in the center of it. Though I didn’t know how deep.
Worry pinged in my chest, like the string of a fiddle.
Will Cormac be okay?
The robed figure dove into the hole. It was wide enough that Cormac and I swam side by side. Darkness swallowed me. Fear stole the breath from gills. The world turned on its head. One moment, we swam downwards, and then we broke the surface. My head spun and my eyes blurred as I tried to comprehend how the floor had become the ceiling. But no answer made sense.
We climbed out of the hole.
Our clothes were dry.
The sky stretched as far as the eye could see, but it was neither the darkness of the Night Court nor the blue, clear sky over the lagoon.
Clouds rolled and tumbled over each other, shades of unforgiving grey. Angry as they clashed. A fissure of blue lit up the sky, zigzagging through the tumult. Dark and stormy, but still light enough to be day.
Cormac gestured toward the strange lights. I nodded, but my eyes were wide with disbelief. I had never seen lightning quite like that before.
We were no longer in a building, but on a beach of shale. A lake surrounded by mountains, coated in green trees.
A single figure stood in the middle of the lake, on the water. Our robed attendant gestured toward the lake. Cormac stepped forward, but the attendant held out an arm at chest height.
“The cursed one remains.” He stated.
Cormac sucked his lips between his teeth, and though he clearly disagreed, he nodded and stepped back anyway.
My stomach churned. “Who—”
Our escort disappeared in a wisp of smoke and ash.
I shook out my arms, ignoring the chill that raced over my skin. “If this is an ambush...” I let the threat hang in the air.
“Better hurry, Princess.” Cormac jerked his chin toward the figure. “Before he walks off into the ether.”
