I trusted the cliff more than I trusted the Savak wings. My stomach tightened as I tiptoed back to the edge. I couldn’t just hide. Not when the crown was so close. And this was so obviously an Indiana Jones leap of faith moment. I might die from it, but I doubted it. It was only about a skyscraper high. People had jumped from higher cliffs before. And I needed the velocity to reach the bottom of the spring.
I knew this was a risk, probably a daft risk.
But Bluebird was waiting for me, and if I hid or waited until they could catch me, the window of opportunity to grab the crown might draw its blinds. If we didn’t get the armor, I’d never get back to her.
I let out a breath and stepped off the cliff.
My body arched like I was an Olympic diver. Not on my own skill, mind you. I was more like an Olympic belly flopper. My robes shook from the wind, and I knew this moment was making the most amazing cut scene. My heart thundered as I fell. My stomach flipped. I breathed until the fear faded, leaving only exhilaration behind. Falling was like running, like a rush of joy and freedom and victory.
The cleric shouted as I fell, the others creeping out to watch.
I felt alive in every centimeter. The wind rippled my robes and pulled at my cheeks, but I would not give in to fear. I was a bird, breaking the rules of flight. I pointed my fingertips above me in a perfect V.
The pool rushed closer.
I let out a steady breath and counted for the moment of collision with the water.
Three. The fish scattered, and my shadow shrunk on the surface of the water.
Two. Deep inhalation of breath. The air was sweet and the visions already blinding.
One.
I broke the surface. The impact sent tingles through my whole body, but they weren’t painful. Underneath the water, the spring was even more beautiful than the falls that crashed into it, the water crisp and cold, the light scattered through it glittering. Stark white fish swam away through the pure water, like they were flying in a rippling nothing.
Gorgeous.
Another carved hand reached from the polished sand, and at the center of the palm was a crown. Silver and sparkling in the water, more a diadem than a crown. The orange stones were vivid color against this pool of white.
A circle appeared at the corner of my vision, like a timer slowly draining as my air ran out. I just had to grab the crown before the circle emptied.
A shadow ran over the crown—long, thick, and slithering through the water.
Bloody underwater levels.
23
DAGNEY
There were woods everywhere, a rocky mountainside, and a ceiling full of sky, but we stood like the trees had crowded us tightly together. The branches left eerie shadows and stripes of darkness through the muddy ground. My shoulder pressed against his chest, my skirts brushed against his legs, my bag dug into his hip.
He was my personal space.
I’d gotten so caught up in Ryo I’d lost track of my brother.
“We’ll see Grigfen again,” Ryo said softly. But that wasn’t something he could promise. We couldn’t know how much time we’d have left.
I pressed my palms against my stomach. But no matter what words he said or pressure I put on my stomach I couldn’t smooth the tangle of worry inside me. He wrapped me in his arms and held me tight.
He was strong and steady. I could almost believe him that we’d make it out of this, or that Grig would be fine out there on his own.
Almost.
“Where to next?” I stepped away and he let me go.
“The Axes of Creation and Destruction.” He glanced above me. “Are you hungry? Your stats are dropping.”
“I’m fine.” That was a blatant lie. “We should go.”
“Are you sure? I can make you something. Might be good to press pause and regroup before we travel to the Kneult.”
I ran a hand up my arm. “Do you even know how to cook? You are a prince.”
“True. Prince Ryo has never cooked a meal in his life, but I can.”
“That’s confusing.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Who is real? What are you really like?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m still me. Except, well … I play football.” Great. “I’m lousy at math, but my mom sent me to a school with a STEM focus, so that sucks. I lost my dad, and