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He didn’t need a map or Dimitri’s guidance to know when the lake came in sight. It was more an inlet, really, connecting directly to the sea, and huge, with a city arrayed at the top and protected forest and grass areas wrapping around the bottom. A postcard kind of place, to be sure.
And somewhere in the lake was a mage who needed help.
The question was where, exactly?
It wasn’t like Vasily expected the mage to be obvious from the air. If he were out in the open, he would have been found long before now. Still, this all looked like either city or the protected government land it was. Just where could he be?
Rodrigo, with Ha Na riding on his back, circled around to fly at Luka and Vasily’s side. They slowed to a lazy pace, almost hovering.
“You sure this is the area?”
“Dead sure.” Luka said with full confidence. “I just don’t know where exactly in this area. As soon as he showed me the lake, I woke up. The only clue I have is he’s at the deepest part of the lake.”
Rodrigo gave a low thrum in the base of his throat, a sound of understanding.
Ha Na lifted a finger, mischief playing around her mouth. Never a good expression coming from her. “I see much swimming in your future.”
He and Luka shared a look, an instant agreement on both their parts, before Vasily answered, “Luka and I will dive into the water and take a quick look around.”
“Have fun, dears!” Ha Na waved them on.
Vasily didn’t dive right in. He lowered his altitude, adjusting until he was almost skimming the water’s surface. A storm hovered overhead, the humidity thick enough to feel against his scales, the coolness of the air not unpleasant after the exertion of flight. Vasily didn’t focus on any of that; instead, he cocked his head slightly so he could peer into the water.
Well, he tried, anyway. With the storm moving in, the water’s surface was choppy, turning it nearly opaque. Dammit, he could barely see his own reflection. This was useless. He snorted in disgust and frustration, sucked in a breath, and dove sharply in.
The world under the surface of the water was a very different place. It was cool, sometimes with warm spots, but it glided over his skin in a refreshing way. He kept his head down, steadily swimming toward the bottom, most of his momentum due to his lashing tail.
Dragons had amazing lungpower and could hold their breath for much longer than a human. That said, they did have limits. Vasily was aware of those limits as he swam around the bottom of the lake. Which was much deeper than he initially thought, and he hadn’t thought it shallow to begin with. He started at the middle, working his way out in a rough circle toward the shoreline. Every now and again, he’d come up for air, suck in a breath, and dive back in.
Luka was doing the same—he caught sight of his lover’s form popping up for air when he did—but he was on the opposite side of the lake. It would help if they knew where the deepest part of the lake was, but of course there was no handy guideline for that.
The lake was relatively clear—surprisingly so. Not many fish, or bugs, or much of anything in here. Some vegetation growing up from the bottom, that was about it. Was it due to all the lightning that hit the lake? That had to be it.
Vasily could feel his lungs burning, the need for air suggesting he go up again now. Yeah, he could pause here and—wait. What was that? A glimmer of something, sharp and metallic, under something else that shimmered for a second.
Burning lungs forced him up, even though curiosity ate at him. Vasily mentally marked the spot in his head before coming up, gasping air. He found Rodrigo and Ha Na hovering nearby.
He called to them, “I think there’s something down there. Going back for a better look!”
Ha Na waved him on. He dove back in, orienting toward the spot he’d spied before. This time, he was able to focus better because his pesky body wasn’t demanding things like air.
Shit, there really was something there. A cave entrance?
Vasily put more effort into swimming, and the closer he got, the weirder it became. If he was in some kind of Indiana Jones movie, this would make better sense, but for one thing, he had no soundtrack. Still, looking at this entrance felt surreal. It was surrounded on all sides by metallic markings, like an archway that had been framed in. He couldn’t begin to read the symbols, but then, that was Luka and Sam’s department. They were the brains of this operation.
The strong feeling of magic permeated the water. He’d bet there was a ward stretched between those symbols. For what purpose, he couldn’t fathom. Keeping air in? Protection? All the above? The more he stared at it, trying to find some way around it, or at least a good peek inside, the more frustrated he became. Burning lungs demanding oxygen didn’t help.
