Oz rolled his eyes before settling on a piece of driftwood. “I find it relaxing. Real fishing, though. This was kind of cheating.”
I chuckled. “Well, sorry this couldn’t be more leisurely. We’re in a hurry.”
Noc came to my side and peered at the bag. “How, exactly, is this going to work?”
“I’m going to jump into the water, wait for a Revmandra to appear, and then tame it. It’s pretty simple.” I tried my best to keep my voice level, to downplay the risk associated with this taming. I wasn’t lying—in theory itwassimple. But Noc saw right through my words. His jaw ticked as he folded his arms across his chest.
“Leena.”
Sighing, I met his hardened gaze. “I’m not lying, it’s just… It’s going to look…violent. But I swear, I’ll be fine.” I threw up my hands as I talked, speeding through my words to try to make my point before any of them could interject. “Revmandra are attracted to treasure. More than one will appear, and they’ll fight for the right to claim the treasure as theirs. Only one will win. I will be able to tame that one.”
For a long moment, no one said anything. Finally, Oz cleared his throat, brows inching together. “Then why did you say charming one is dangerous? It’s not like they’re attacking you, just each other.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Sometimes Charmers can get grabbed in the process. A Revmandra might try to steal me rather than fight the others, which will cause the others to attack it, and I might get a scratch or two.”
Noc’s words were ice. “Mightget a scratch or two?”
“Sneaky bastards,” Calem muttered.
Oz clasped his hands together and toed the sand with his boot. “What if we just jump in and pull you out?”
“That won’t work.” I shook my head, begging them to understand. “If you intervene, you’ll be perceived as a competing Revmandra. One of two things will happen: you’ll either die, or you’ll successfully save me and the Revmandra will scatter. Since you’ll have ‘won’ the treasure, I won’t be a viable lure and I’ll be unable to charm one.”
“We’ll just take the boat, then. No sense in you getting hurt over this,” Oz said.
“He’s right.” Noc gave his brother an appreciative nod. “We can take the current back to the surface. It won’t be pleasant, but at least we’ll be safe.”
“And then what?” I turned to him, placing my hands on my hips. “Row our way to Rhyne? That should be our last resort. What if Harlow is waiting for us? Or Varek and his fleet of ships?”
Noc didn’t say anything. Only stared.
I took advantage of his silence and kept going. “We can’t outrun a fleet, not without a Revmandra. And you said it yourself, Varekknowsyou’ll be visiting this ruin site, one way or another.” Slowly, I moved toward him and gripped his hands in mine. “Wemustmake it to Rhyne. We need their help. You know I can do this. I can tame this beast.”
He pressed his eyes closed for a moment, then opened them and let out a quiet sigh. “I know you can.”
“It’s the only way.” With light fingers, I lifted his chin. “You can’t intervene. Do you understand?”
A muscle feathered down his neck, but he nodded. “Just be careful.”
“I will.” Planting a quick kiss on his lips, I backstepped into the water. I swallowed a curse. The biting cold felt like needles threading through my skin, but I kept going until only my head remained above the surface. I moved away from the shore and Yuna’s Ruins, treading slowly to keep myself from sinking. I’d have to submerge eventually, but not yet.
Minutes stretched by. My heart pounded in my ears as I waited. Had my mother or father tried to tame a Revmandra? I glanced over my shoulder at Noc. His entire frame was rigid, and thin shadows dripped from his fingertips, barely restrained. Maybe it was impossible to tame this beast with one’sanam-carastanding by. Had my mother been pulled under and my father reacted? Had he died trying to save her, only for her to be accidentally mauled in the process? A shiver raced through me, completely unrelated to the cold. I wouldn’t blame Noc if he came storming into the ocean after me. I don’t know if I would’ve been able to stop myself if our roles had been reversed.
Turning my back to them, I closed my eyes and focused on my Charmer’s magic. A subtle warmth rolled through my limbs, chasing away the sting of the frigid water, and a pale glow bloomed around me. I was a living lure, using the possibility of my Charmer’s Bond to attract interested beasts.
The steady cadence of water droplets dripping from stalactites filled the cavern as time crept by. And still I waited. My magic continued to pulse outward with every beat of my heart, until finally something grazed my calf.
My breath caught in my throat. No matter how prepared I’d been, there was no avoiding the unsettling feeling of something monstrous lurking below. Or the knowledge that I couldn’t outswim it. Circling beneath my feet along the ocean floor, the Revmandra moved with a fluidity few creatures could match. The giant, salamander-like beast was the size of a small whale and just as ferocious. Three horns similar to moose antlers grew from the base of its neck. In the glow of the lichen-covered cavern, the creature glimmered. Which was no surprise, given its entire back was covered in treasure. Revmandra hoarded shiny objects and permanently affixed them to their hides via a sticky, unbreakable adhesive they could secrete on command. This one was covered from head to tail in gold aurics and rare stones—a testament to its prowess in battling other Revmandra for treasure.
A few seconds ticked by, and four more appeared. They encircled me slowly, snapping at one another as they made their rounds. Any minute now, the battle would begin. After one final look at Noc, I sucked in a sharp breath and allowed myself to sink beneath the surface. That was the only signal the beasts needed. They attacked in a flurry, bodies sliding over each other like eels and white water churning the surface. Vicious snarls were somehow audible even with water filling my ears. They struck without restraint, gleaming white teeth cracking against glittering hides. Those with fewer treasures glued to their backs were vulnerable, and soon, a muddy-red haze filled the ocean.
One Revmandra slithered closer. Unlike the rest, it wasn’t engaged in battle. Which only meant one thing: I was about to be snatched. I braced myself for impact just as the beast lunged. With one of its webbed hands, it sank its claws into the soft flesh of my thigh. Stars exploded behind my eyes as pain ruptured deep in my muscles. Blood bloomed in a cloud around me, the scent alerting the other Revmandra to my predicament. My captor drew me close to its body and then bolted, knocking the air out of my lungs in a flurry of bubbles. The remaining beasts abandoned their battles and raced after us. It didn’t take long for a larger Revmandra to crash into us. The force of the hit set me free, and I hurried to the surface to refill my lungs before submerging again.
Chaos reigned around me. Enraged, garbled roars and the nerve-racking scrape of nails on metal filled my ears. Pain throbbed in my leg in time with every beat of my heart. But I was alive, and the Revmandra had started to dwindle. The smaller, injured beasts swam off to lick their wounds and seek treasure elsewhere.
Finally, only two remained. They rammed each other with their horns with such force the water trembled. One managed to get its claws beneath a piece of treasure on the other’s hide, peeling back the layer of aurics and stones to reveal tender, pink flesh. The beast howled, and, rather than sacrifice treasure it’d already accrued over the years, submitted, rolling over to expose its soft white belly—the one space Revmandra didn’t adorn with jewels so they could fool their prey while swimming above their heads. The winning beast released its grip and slunk through the ocean to float before me.
Quickly, I undid the sack at my waist and first presented the fish to the Revmandra—food to replenish the energy it expended while fighting for the right to claim me. It ate quickly, expectant eyes tracking the remaining treasure. With one webbed claw, it poked at the seashells, knocking some to the side. Once it was pleased with the selection, it rubbed its bare snout against the shells until they affixed in the few open spaces along its hide. The beast did an excited barrel role when it spotted Yuna’s pearl, and the force of the unexpected current nearly sent me crashing into the island wall. Like an otter, the Revmandra dragged its claws over its skin until it found a hole and then placed the pearl there.
