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I cleared my throat to get her attention. Her gaze flicked back to me, though her fingers kept tracing the water. “Are you any good at holding your breath?” she asked, tone casual, as if drowning was just another item on today’s itinerary. Maybe that’s why I was on edge.

My thoughts flared hot for a moment. I didn’t give her a real answer; confusion knotted it in my throat.

“Why?” I managed. I could hold my breath fine, but I wasn’t a competitive swimmer with practiced lung control.

From the far end of the lake, a splash ruptured the surface distracting me from my momentary panic to a new fear that crept up my spine like cold fingers. Two dark masses drifted through the depth, slow and deliberate. Large ripples spread across the lake’s surface, echoing into the soft edges of the cavern. A single stone dislodged from the ceiling and dropped into the water, sending a sharp splash through the center, followed by another flicker of shadow dancing beneath the waves.

Valentina’s smile didn’t sit naturally on her face; it wobbled at the edges, her eyes still pinned to the water. “Because if this goes wrong… they’ll drown you.” Her hands trembled, barely, but enough. Real concern. She caught the shake and stilled herself so fast I almost doubted I’d seen it.

My mind processed her words a second too late, disbelief cushioning the blow. But when it hit. They’ll drown you. My stomach dropped clean through the floor of my body. My eyes drifted back to the glimmering blue shift beneath the surface. “Who exactly is going to drown me?” I whispered. Before she could answer, I saw the truth for myself.

An enormous steel-blue caudal fin broke the surface, just the tip, flicking icy droplets in our direction. I barely caught the spotted scales, a gradient of deep turquoise fading into silver before it vanished again, the movement too quick to fully grasp. If that sixth sense had been ringing alarms before, they were screaming now—but my eyes stayed glued to the water.

A second fin surfaced twenty feet away, slick and obsidian, water glinting off it like polished glass before it slipped back beneath the surface.

The last few days had exceeded every childish daydream I’d ever had. One moment, I’d believed normal was the only possible reality. Now possible had fractured into something else entirely—and it was nerve-wracking. A chill settled into my bones, crawling up the base of my neck.

What else was out there, what else had I been living blindly beneath?

And why was it all revealing itself to me now, like some grand, unavoidable gesture?

Everything I’d ever been meant to know had cracked apart and rearranged itself, not as myth, not as stories told to children. Just truth standing right in front of me. Could I even trust my own eyes anymore?

I blinked, hard, half-expecting the figures to dissolve when my vision cleared.

They didn’t.

They drew closer.

Without ceremony, a dark, webbed hand tore through the mirrored surface and fisted my shirt, yanking me into the water. A sharp gasp tore from my lungs before my head plunged under. Panic shot through me as the rest of my body breached the lake with unprecedented speed. The world around me turned violent and cold all at once. Blistering liquid forced itself down my throat as bubbles burst from my mouth and nose in flustered streams. My chest burned inside my ribcage as the air ripped away before I could fight for it.

This was not how I wanted to go, fighting for breath and dignity. I was not going to be taken out by a human fable made real. As it heaved me deeper into the murky pits the shimmer of natural light above us dwindled into the depths of darkness. As the surface grew further away from me that panic that had risen in my chest turned into want. I wanted to survive and get out of its clawed grasp.

My fingers clawed at the intruder’s grip, muscles straining as they yanked me towards the bottom. Its razor nails drove deep into my ankle as I fought, drawing blood at its hold. I could barely make out the waves of dark hair whipping past my vision. I kicked blindly, driving my legs forward until I collided with something solid, flesh.

A streak of crimson and obsidian flooded my sight, not cutting, not striking, pressing me through the current with brutal force. A surge of adrenaline rushed through my veins once I was pushed pass the two figures in the water.

I used the momentum.

Twisting with the current, I pushed my legs as hard as I could. My lungs screamed at me as I surged upward, breaking the surface just long enough to see Valentina’s outstretched hand. A panicked wave recoiled back against my face as I kicked hard for the bank.

Just beneath me, fingers skimmed my ankle, then yanked, tearing a sneaker clean off my foot.

“Grab my hand!” Valentina screamed.

That was all I needed.

My fingers brushed hers, then locked. Valentina’s grip snapped tight around my wrist, and with a violent pull, she dragged me free, hauling me back onto the bank as the water closed in behind me.

I landed on top of her, my bare toes still skimming the lake’s surface. Every emotion swam through my body as I tried to collect myself. I had almost forgotten she was underneath me as rage tried to stir inside my body from the violation. My eyes caught hers staring up at me with relief, and something else I couldn’t name sparkled just beneath the surface. That is when I really notice how my chest easily fell and rose on her, our breath syncing. I was locked in that warmth just for a moment until razor-finished nails scraped against the sole of my foot.

I shoved away from her, jerking my feet free of the water. I collapsed onto the bank, dragging deep, ragged breaths. “Thank you.” That’s all I could manage because if it weren’t for her, I would have surely drowned, maybe even be eaten. I wouldn’t put it past them.

“Just don’t die,” she said, smirking as she sat back on her knees.

Everything I thought was myth was unraveling before my eyes.

When I pushed myself upright, two beings rose from the water.