her pace but slid, only a decorative railing keeping her from falling off the path into the bushes below.
Reaching the beach, she kicked off her sandals and sprinted down the sand to the water, the ocean blissfully cool against her feet. Removing her small knife from where it was tucked in the gold mesh of her belt, Lydia unfolded the blade. She stepped deeper into the water and watched as a wave rolled forward to slam against her thighs. As it retreated, she traced a circle in the water with her finger. “Hear me,” she whispered, looking up at the summit of the hill and praying the heat would keep any watching eyes indoors.
The waves surged, and again as they fell back she traced a circle. “Hear me.” She said it a little louder this time.
The water withdrew until only her feet were submerged. Then it gathered strength, froth and foam flying toward her. Squeezing the knife handle, Lydia sliced the blade across her fingertip. The wave retreated, and with the bloody finger she traced a final circle. “Hear me, Magnius, guardian of the deep,” she shouted, the bite of pain making her brave. “Hear my call!”
The blood from her cut dripped into the water, the red droplets staining the foam pink before fading into the vastness of the sea.
Heart thumping wildly, she waited, watching the sea expectantly. And waited. And waited.
But nothing happened.
Anger and frustration rose in her heart and, jerking the betrothal bracelet off her arm, she tried to fling it away. Except the bracelet slipped from her wet fingers, landing only a few paces ahead of her, lapis lazuli bright against the seafloor.
“Drat!” Lydia slapped her hands against the water, her spectacles slipping off with a splash. Vision blurred, she felt around in the sand for them, sighing with relief when her fingers closed over the metal frames.
Her relief didn’t last.
As she straightened, motion caught her eye, whatever it was blurry until she slipped her spectacles back on her face.
Lydia’s blood chilled.
A dark serpentine form slid through the clear water. A row of spikes cut through the waves.
Lydia tried to turn, tried to run, but her feet were anchored to the ground. She opened her mouth to scream, but only a faint whisper emerged. A tremble started in her hands, moving to the rest of her body, and she willed herself to move, but her toes only dug deeper into the sand. The sea monster approached, its greenish tail drifting from side to side, propelling it forward.
A wave crashed into the beach, the water rising up to her chin, where it remained, surface smooth as glass. Deep enough that the frills on the creature’s head brushed her arms as it circled. Lydia’s breath came in ragged gasps, her pulse roaring in her ears, and she clutched her tiny knife. For all the good it would do her.
The predator ceased its circling, lying motionless in the water. Lydia struggled against the invisible force holding her still, desperate to reach the safety of the shore, but all her body did was shiver and twitch. “Help,” she tried to scream, but it came out as an exhalation. “Help me.”
The creature lifted its massive reptilian head out of the water, jaws opening to reveal rows of sharp teeth. And it looked at her.
This … this was no mere serpent.
Black eyes stared at her, not with the blank glassiness of a snake, but with the endless depths of something that possessed a mind. A wisdom stretching beyond that of mankind. It had seen a thousand years and would see a thousand more. Its dark gaze swallowed her, and Lydia’s heart slowed, her panic fading.
The logical part of her howled that only a lunatic would converse with something capable of biting her in half. Yet as whatever force binding her voice released, instead of screaming, she whispered, “Are you Magnius?”
The monster dipped its head into the water, then lifted it again. Who summons me?
“I do.” She took a deep breath. “My name is Lydia. Lydia Valerius.”
The guardian hesitated. Why have you called me here?
Lydia opened her mouth, only the words stuck in her throat, her problems seeming small and trivial—unworthy of summoning this creature only to turn him into her errand boy.
The guardian shifted in the still waters. Ask.
Lydia swallowed the lump in her throat. “Will you tell Teriana that I need her help? Tell her … Tell her I need to escape the Empire. Please.”