“And what of those like Letharia?” Rizzala asked. “She swore to serve you, then planned to lead you astray at the first opportunity.”
“She was scared, and that’s where those second chances come in.” I shot her a wry grin. “Fear can drive us to do things we regret, but I can understand why she did what she did. When she put aside her fear to save us, that proved that there is more to her beneath her insecurities and anxieties. She may never be as strong as you, Irenya, or Arieste, but that’s not what matters. As long as she keeps trying to be better than who she was this morning, yesterday, and last year, she’s proving herself someone we can trust.”
“Your words have a great deal of wisdom,” Rizzala said with a shake of her head. “Yet even now, I find it hard to look past the potential threat in everyone we face. Perhaps it is the lingering effects of Emroth’s mind in mine.”
“It’s human nature to be skeptical of others,” I told her. “It’s our way of protecting ourselves from the very real dangers in the world. It’s not a bad thing, but you can’t let it shape your perspective on people.”
“I suppose my continued efforts to overcome that instinctive suspicion are the path,” Rizzala said.
“Definitely!” I grinned and pushed myself to my feet. “Now, let’s make sure our friends sleep comfortably.”
Rizzala helped me pull two heavy cloaks from our packs and spread them onto the stone floor like blankets. Gently, we moved the sleeping forms of Irenya, Letharia, and Arieste onto the cloaks, then covered them with two more cloaks and put rolled-up dresses under their heads as pillows. It didn’t do much to soften the hard stone, but at least they would be warm and as comfortable as possible.
An idea struck me as we were moving the women. “Rizzala, did you happen to see where the sleeping gas was coming from?”
“No,” Rizzala said, and her brow furrowed. “Do you think there will be more?”
“That’s what I want to find out,” I told her. “I figured that mechanical trap we tripped back there activated the gas, but what if there’s another trap that will flood the tunnels with more gas? We both need rest, but I know I won’t sleep easy until I’m sure we’re safe. Or as safe as it gets down here. I’ll detect the nagia long before they reach us, but I need to be certain we’re not going to be knocked out by more of that gas.”
“Then let us search,” she told me.
We divided the tunnel nearby into two sections and set about searching them for any hole, pipe, nozzle, or opening that the gas could leak through.
“You know, if Curym is as smart as Letharia says, we need to be ready for anything,” I said after a few minutes of fruitless searching. “After all, she was the one who conceived of the sneak attack through the aquifer. I wouldn’t put it past her to find some way to turn the tides against us. Literally.”
“What, like flooding the tunnels with water?” Rizzala asked.
“Maybe,” I said with a nod. “If she senses us down here, she could use her water magic to simply pour enough water into this tunnel to drown us. Trapped by earth, we would have no way to escape.”
“Then one of us should remain awake to keep watch,” Rizzala said. “I will take the first watch.”
“No,” I told her. “You’ve had as tiring a day as the rest of us, and--”
“And you are the one who will shield us if Curym does attempt something,” Rizzala interrupted. “I know my limitations, magical as well as physical. I am a warrior, and I know I will be needed to fight the nagia, but if there is a threat beyond our abilities to punch or slash, the burden rests on you. Thus, it is imperative that you regain your strength.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “Fine, I’ll rest first, but you wake me up after a few hours.”
“I will,” Rizzala said. “But…aha!”
I spun and raced over to where she stood bent over, her eyes fixed on the wall. “Did you find it?”
“Look,” she said and pointed to what looked like a tiny nozzle in the crevice between two stones. “That is what we seek, is it not?”
“Damn right it is!” I said with a laugh. “You’ve got sharp eyes, Rizzala.”
Rizzala grinned, and a hint of color showed in her cheeks. “Now that we’ve found it, what do you suggest?”
“We’re going to need a bit of magic for this,” I told her as I pulled out the black gemstone. “But I think it’s better that you do the honors.”
She tilted her head so I could press the stone to her neck, and a gasp escaped her lips as I forced the ice magic through the stone into her body. It took a lot of effort to push past the pain of the ice, which felt like it was freezing every nerve ending. My head was pounding by the time I shut off the flow of magic and removed my hand from Rizzala’s neck.
The warrior woman stretched out a hand toward the opening in the wall and summoned the power. To my surprise, she managed to create a surprisingly small, concentrated dome of ice that fit like a plug into the nozzle.
“You’ve got a lot of control over the power, even on your first day of using it,” I remarked.
“Perhaps it is the result of my close bond to my altar,” she said in a quiet voice. “I could always feel the magic more keenly, which was why Emroth could summon so many ghoulins. Now, being so close to you, I can still feel the magic.”
She turned toward me now, and her face lifted up toward mine. Her lips parted as her dazzling green eyes fixed on me.
“It is not the only thing I feel, Ethan.” The way she said my name sent a shiver down my spine. It had the same sultry tones as Nyvea, with the fierce passion of Irenya, but a respect that only came from warriors that had fought together on the wall. “What you did back there, risking your life to save mine, that is something I can never repay.”
“It’s nothing,” I told her. “It was the right thing to do.”
“Be that as it may,” Rizzala continued, and her hand ran up to where my fingers rested on her neck, “coming that close to death made many things clear to me. Things like what I want in life, what I want from you.”
She stepped closer, until her full breasts were just an inch away from my chest. “When I was in the quicksand, for a moment I truly believed I would die, and all I could think was how sorry I was that I would never see any of you again. I feel a true bond of kinship with Irenya and Arieste, and I believe I can come to feel the same about Letharia. But my greatest regret was that I would never be able to do this.”
“Oh my, hero.” Nyvea quickly whispered. “The powerful warrior finally admits to her cravings. I am going to enjoy watching this.”
Rizzala reached her arms around my neck, and I pulled her into a kiss. The moment our lips touched, I could feel her magic shifting the cells in both of our bodies at the same time. The mingled power was like nothing I’d ever felt, and the sensitive nerves in my lips crackled with a spine-tingling energy.
She broke off the kiss after a long moment, and there was a smile on her face as she stared into my eyes. “I saw one of the White Guards doing this with his wife before he faced the murlocs on the wall. I thought it looked truly pleasurable, and I am glad to see I was right.”
“The pleasure is just getting started,” I told her, then pressed my lips to hers again in a fierce kiss. I felt the strength in her arms as she wrapped them around my back and pressed her well-toned body against mine. Our kiss lasted nearly a full minute before she broke off, breathless.
She tugged at my shirt with enough force that it nearly ripped, and I quickly unbuckled my belt before she tore it from my body. A smile played on her lips as her eyes roamed over my naked body and my erect penis.
“Yes,” she murmured in a breathy voice. “I can see how enjoyable this will be.”
She pulled the gauzy dress over her head and dropped it to the ground beside her bare feet. My heart pounded a furious beat in my chest as I drank in every inch of her nude form. My eyes roamed from her beautiful face down to her powerful shoulders and arms, over her full breasts to he
r toned abs and her well-formed hips and legs. She had the body of a professional athlete, and there was an undeniable power in her frame.
I stepped toward her, pulled her into my arms, and kissed her again. She let out a little gasp as I pressed her back against the stone wall. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she jumped to wrap her legs around my bare waist. With one hand, she reached down to guide me inside her, and I couldn’t help moaning in pleasure at the warm wetness that awaited me.
“Ethan,” she whispered into my ear, “I need you, Ethan!”
Her teeth grazed the skin of my neck as her arms and legs tightened in pleasure. A shiver ran through her powerful body as an orgasm swept over her, and her cries of pleasure echoed in my ear.
She thrust her hips harder and faster as her desire increased, and I obliged by meeting her stroke for stroke. I could almost feel the stone wall shuddering beneath the impact of our passion, and Rizzala’s voice echoed loud in the tunnel as we fucked. She was a true warrior, a woman of fierce bravery and wild desire, and she felt no shame in getting what she wanted. Her back arched in pleasure and her breath came faster as orgasms swept over her in cascading waves.
She climaxed three times in the space of a minute, and still her desire remained unabated. I could feel her fingers digging into my back, her legs squeezing my hips as she pulled me deep inside her. Our lips locked and the nerve-tingling energy crackled between us. Finally, she gave one last echoing shout of pleasure as a final, powerful orgasm racked her, and I gave into my pleasure and climaxed with her.
For long moments, we remained standing, our bodies pressed together, with her arms and legs wrapped around me, our hearts hammering in our chests. Her eyes locked on mine, and she pressed a fierce, lingering kiss to my lips.
“I thought this would be wonderful,” she whispered in my ear, “but this was even better than I expected.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. The exhaustion was somehow gone, and even though I had just climaxed, I felt more than ready to go again.
So I did, and Rizzala gasped as we spiraled toward another mind-numbing orgasm.
Then we were both out of breath for words, and I carried her back to the sleep roll so we could pass out.
Chapter Ten
I had hardly lain down on the hard stone floor before I felt myself drifting off. I must have fallen sound asleep, because the next thing I remembered was Rizzala shaking my shoulder.
“Ethan,” she said, “we’ve got to move out.”
I was halfway to my feet before my eyes opened fully. To my surprise, I found Arieste, Irenya, and Letharia sitting nearby, wide awake and staring at me with amused grins.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you snore a little bit?” Irenya asked, and her smile widened. “I think it’s really cute.”
“How long have you been awake?” I asked as I blinked the last of the sleep from my eyes.
“Irenya woke about two hours ago,” Rizzala said with a yawn. “She took watch so I could rest.”
“Damn,” I said. “I didn’t mean to sleep for so long.”
“I had it under control,” Irenya said and shrugged. “Besides, Rizzala and I decided that you needed to rest after all the magic you used saving our lives. When Arieste woke up, she agreed.”
“The more you rest,” Arieste put in before I could respond, “the more your body can repair itself from its use of the magic. For what we are to face today, it is in all of our best interests that you are as recovered as possible.”
I wanted to continue the argument, but I couldn’t deny that a few hours of sleep had done me a lot of good. I hadn’t slept since the night Arieste returned from Windwall, and that had been a couple of days ago. Now, I felt rested, energized, and ready to face the new day. When I tapped into the fire and ice powers, they surged through my body with none of the pain I’d experienced the previous day.
“Thank you,” I told them.
“You look out for all of us,” Rizzala added. “The least we can do is return the favor.”
“Besides, we were enjoying our conversation so much that we didn’t want to disturb you,” Irenya said. Something about the twinkle in her eyes and the little grins on the other three women’s faces made me feel suddenly self-conscious. I probably didn’t want to know what they’d been talking about.
“Here.” Arieste held out a cloth-wrapped bundle. “Not much, but as close to a decent breakfast as we’ll get.”
“Suddenly miss our days traveling into Ironfast,” Irenya lamented. “At least Captain Daxos packed those delicious rice balls, rather than these stale trail biscuits.” She sniffed and pushed the food aside. “I’ll pass, I think.”
Letharia, Rizzala, and Arieste didn’t seem too bothered by the dry biscuits, nuts, and now-hard cheese. Our meal was meager, but it was enough to give us the energy we needed for the day ahead.
“By my calculations,” I said, “we’re getting close to those four towers I saw as we flew toward Emerald Deep.”
“I believe you are right,” Letharia replied with a nod of agreement. “We have crossed most of the distance to King Dentas’ palace. Perhaps another half hour of travel and we should reach the end of this tunnel.”
A thought struck me. “Did any of you find it strange that there was just one long tunnel?” I asked. “If these crypts were supposed to go through the city, it seems odd that there be a single passage to and from the palace” I turned to Letharia. “It’s probably too much to hope that the tablets have anything about that, right?”
Letharia drew out the tablet and studied it, then shook her head. “I find nothing to indicate the presence of any intersecting corridors.”
I pondered for a moment. “Maybe there are hidden side passages,” I said. “Like secret passages that connected with hidden doors. The only reason we didn’t find them is because we didn’t know where to look.”
“Perhaps that is for the best,” Rizzala said. “After all, if the city is submerged, the other corridors could be deep underwater as well.”
“Which begs the question of why this passage isn’t underwater,” I said. The thought had been nagging me since we left the quicksand behind. “The tunnel would have to be watertight to preserve the skulls back there, so maybe the entrance to the palace is watertight as well.”
“A reasonable assumption,” Letharia said.
“You said the nagia were creatures of both land and water, right?” I asked the dark-skinned woman.
“Yes,” Letharia replied. “They can survive underwater for hours thanks to their gills, but they prefer to breathe air through their human-like lungs.”
That made sense, given what I’d seen of the water monsters during the battle of Whitespire. The nagia looked like pale-skinned woman with long blue hair and human features, so they very likely had at least some of the organs of the humans they resembled.
“So if the nagia are living in King Dentas’ palace, it probably means the palace isn’t fully submerged under the ocean,” I said. “They’d made their nests on dry ground, so there has to be parts of the palace that were sealed against the ocean.”
“The towers!” Letharia sat bolt upright, her eyes flew wide, and she bent to study the tablet. “Yes, here it is! King Dentas built a tower for each of his concubines, but made them out of some strange transparent material he found when lightning struck sand on the shores of Emerald Deep.”
“It’s called glass,” I told her with a grin.
“Glass,” she repeated, as if tasting the word. “This glass allowed light to enter the towers and gave the concubines a view of the world around them, but sealed them from any external threat. King Dentas sought to protect that which he valued most in the world.”
“So all we need to do is reach the towers and find a way in where there is no water,” Arieste said. “Once inside, this glass will protect us from the ocean, correct?”
“That sounds about right,” I said. “All we need to figure out is how to get from wherever this passage ends to the f
our towers.”
“Didn’t that tablet say that King Dentas brought his concubines to the temple with him?” Irenya asked.
Letharia’s eyes narrowed. “It did.”
“Of course!” Realization dawned on me. “Irenya, you’re a genius! If King Dentas sealed his concubines into the towers, then it stands to reason that there would be a secret way to get from the towers into this passage.”
“So those corridors could be as watertight as these,” Arieste said. She gave Irenya a dazzling smile of approval. “We can travel between the four towers through the secret tunnels.”
“If they exist, of course,” Letharia said.
“Well, let’s go find out!” I said with a grin. I brushed the crumbs off my clothes, stood, and helped Letharia, Arieste, and Irenya to their feet. Rizzala was already moving to retrieve her fallen pack and double-headed magical spear.
Within two minutes, we had all stowed our gear, shouldered our packs, and made ready to leave. I could feel an undercurrent of nervous excitement running through the four women, the same excitement that flowed through me. At the end of this tunnel, we’d face the nagia, and that meant we were one step closer to bringing down Curym. None of us doubted it would be a tough battle, but I could see the resolve in the four pairs of eyes that met mine, even timid Letharia’s. After this battle, the last of Iriador’s dragons would be defeated and our continent would have peace. That was something worth fighting for.
We lit our last two torches, and I took one to the front of our little group. Rizzala walked beside me, with Irenya just behind us and Arieste and Letharia guarding our backs. Whatever happened, whatever enemies we faced, we would deal with them together. Our combined strength and magical power made us a force to be reckoned with.
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