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“And yet you didn’t bring an army.”
“Because it won’t be an army that solves the problem.”
“Are we referring to your dream again?”
He shifted behind me as he sighed. “Yes, and I am aware of how crazy it sounds. Yet I know this coming fight won’t be won by strength of numbers but rather by our courage and wits.”
I snorted. “Nice speech. And easy for you to say given you have a magic and an elekium sword.”
“You, too, have the power to do things, but if it helps, how about your own elekium blade?” He pulled a sheath with a dagger from his waist and placed it in my lap.
“I can’t take this. What if you need it?”
“I have my sword. Take it. I insist.”
And I’d be stupid to argue. I slid it into a hidden pocket. “Thank you.”
“Don’t. I’d do anything to keep you safe.”
I could have pointed out the irony of him bringing me along on a dangerous mission, but then again, would I have been any safer in the Seventh Jewel? I sure felt secure in our little cellar, wrapped in each other’s arms, not doing anything more. This wasn’t the time or place to be getting intimate.
Despite his claim that we didn’t need to keep watch, I’d wager I slept more than him. His presence soothed my anxiety. If he was tired the next morning, he didn’t show it.
We left our cozy room and headed for the junction, and I couldn’t have said why I was nervous. Could it be because we would pass under the Third Jewel city? A city that no longer existed. Why?
Did my tummy churn with giddy pleasure because Daksh insisted on holding my hand and giving me sweet smiles?
Or perhaps my anxiety stemmed from the chilling certainty we weren’t alone.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Not long after the junction we found signs of civilization. Platforms appeared with writing on their walls. I couldn’t read most of it.
I pointed. “I see more signs of boats being used.” The mooring posts remained, as did berths that angled away from the main tunnel.
“It’s a little baffling to imagine that much water flowing under the sands,” Daksh admitted, leaping onto a platform and offering me a hand.
“Where did all that water go?” I asked.
“Probably drained in the same cataclysm that destroyed most of the cities.” A cataclysm that varied depending on who told the story. Some said it was floods that washed the world clean of sin. Others that a war was waged among gods. The less religious blamed it on an earthquake. The truth of it might never be known because much of the history from before that time was gone. Only remnants of the splendor we’d once been capable of creating remained, in the forms of art and architecture that no one could explain.
We followed the platform that flanked the canal. It ended in a massive grate that went from floor to ceiling.
“I guess they didn’t want people floating through,” I said, peering between the bars. I couldn’t see anything.
“The mechanism to raise the gate is on the other side,” he remarked, running his fingers over the bars.
I glanced back at the platform, the wall showing signs of archways sealed over. “We’re stuck.”
“Not yet, we aren’t. Stand back.” He pulled his sword, and it glowed bright.
“Why cut it? Aren’t you going to magic it like that lock?”
“Moving small tumblers is one thing. Raising something of this weight?” He snorted. “Even I’m not that strong.” He slashed at the metal in our way. The various severed pieces fell with clangs.
We passed through, following a channel that split as we entered a cavern that extended overhead and far below, too far to see the bottom. But more amazing?
“There’s a city.”
