Page 49 of From the Myths of Kings

Adresin frowned, his bloodless lips thinning into a hard line. “I don’t know where Saoirse is. I’ve been waiting for them to return for five days. Their task should’ve only taken a day or two, three at most.”

A sinking feeling pooled in Rook’s stomach. Five days? He should’ve flown here sooner.

“Who left with the heist party?”

“Saoirse, Hasana, Rymir, Tezrus, and Neia all left for the coastal cliffs together. They took a small boat and rowed to that cave. The last I saw of them, they were rowing into the grotto.” Adresin pointed to a distant opening in the cliffs choked with pounding surf. “Tezrus was confident he could find the Terradrin Relic in the Under Kingdom. If everything had gone to plan, it should’ve only taken them a few hours to travel from the coastal tunnel into the Under Kingdom. Something must be holding them up.”

Rook squeezed his fists together. A chill of panic trailed up his spine. “Why haven’t you gone looking for them? Why haven’t you taken a team to the cave?”

“Most of our best fighters are still recovering below decks,” Noora answered solemnly. “And the Under Kingdom is heavily guarded. I doubt I would be able to sneak in without catching the notice of Grivur’s underguards.”

“Recovering? From what?”

“We were attacked by a sea monster halfway across the Southern Sea. It was ancient, by the looks of it. Saoirse believed it was one of the beasts Selussa released from the Fretum.”

“Titans,” Rook cursed. His eyes found the splintered railing, taking in the gashes clawed into the deck. He’d seen what those beasts could do firsthand. The gore-splattered Merfolk with haunted eyes came to mind. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think Selussa’s creatures would find you. I hope the loss was not too great.” So much for their diversion plan.

“We lost several good warriors, but it could’ve been a lot worse. By all rights, we shouldn’t have even survived.”

“How did you survive?” Rook asked over the rain, eyeing the split wood and shattered taffrail. The claw marks looked enormous.

“It turns out that Saoirse has a sea monster of her own,” Noora replied. “Kaja, she calls the beast. Her sea dragon saved us at the last moment.”

Dragon? Rook’s head was spinning. There were so many questions forming on his tongue. But there was no time to ask them. He needed to find Saoirse.

“Maybe the Relic was buried farther in the earth than Tezrus initially believed. Perhaps they’re simply delayed in their search.” Even as Rook uttered the words, he knew it was a hollow explanation at best. Tezrus was a stone-singer. He could hear the call of diamonds through miles of stone. If he focused hard enough, the scholar could no doubt locate the ancient shard of moonstone with his abilities. It shouldn’t have taken them five days to find it.

Rook ran a hand through his sopping-wet hair. His heart thundered in his ears. “I’ll go to the coastline, then. Maybe I’ll find a clue as to what happened to them in the cave.”

“We’ll go with you,” Adresin said. “If something happened to them, you cannot go alone.”

“I’ll scout out the cave first,” Rook hedged. “If I find anything that might indicate where they went, I’ll come back for you both. You should both stay with the ship until I find any leads.”

Adresin nodded, sliding his sword back into its scabbard. “Be careful.”

“Don’t get yourself killed, princeling,” Noora added. Concern blazed in her dark brown eyes.

“I’ll try not to.”

Rook’s muscles groaned as he launched himself from the ship and aimed for the sea cave. The brief pause in flying had caused his sore wings to tense up and every wingbeat felt like agony. But the panic that burned in his blood seared away the pain like a fire at his heels.

He located the sea cave Adresin had pointed to easily enough. The cave’s jagged mouth yawned open, eroded after years of pounding tides. The unruly surf battered against the rock made more restless in the storm. He dove for the opening, hovering just above the churning waters. His wings felt heavy in the rain, every rise and fall sending excruciating pain splintering down his spine. He pushed onward and slipped into the cave as a spray of salt water broke against the bedrock.

The cave gouged into the cliffside like a sore. Inside, it smelled of salt and rotted seaweed. A collection of fine sediment formed a beach-like embankment at the end of the cavern. The walls were coated in glowing moss that reflected off the slick stones. The tide washed into the tunnel, lapping hungrily up the embankment. It would be flooded soon. He had to move fast.

Rook landed on the soft mound of sediment, his boots sinking into the damp slope. Sea water surged up to his ankles as another wave lapped up the bank. He drew his sword and inspected the weather-beaten walls. He wished he had a torch to illuminate the shadowed grotto. At least it was semi-dry, giving him a much-needed reprieve from the pounding rain outside. He prowled the perimeter of the cave and searched for any offshooting tunnels. But he found nothing, the walls bare of any cracks or crawlspaces to sneak into the Under Kingdom. He did, however, locate a small rowboat tucked into the corner of the cavern. A thick rope lashed the boat to a rock, preventing it from drifting out to sea when the tide swept in. Rook kneeled next to the boat. Perhaps Saoirse had left a clue as to where they’d gone.

Suddenly, a growling sound echoed through the chamber. A bolt of fear shot through his heart as the cave wall shuddered. Rook leaped over the side of the boat, taking shelter in the shadows just in time to see the solid rock wall buckle and shift like pliable clay. Rook ducked lower behind the boat, watching as a small cavity opened in the stone. He realized the growling he heard echoing off the walls was the rough friction of rock reforming itself into a new shape.

“?is growing restless,” came a voice. A pale-haired figure appeared in the opening, her hands outstretched to meet the undulating stone. She lowered her arms once the cave settled.

A stone-singer.

“We’ve got time,” answered another voice, this one from a male with moon-pale skin and an eye patch over one milky eye. “Grivur will wait as long as he needs to.”

The woman looked around the grotto, pale eyes roving over the encroaching tide that bubbled up the slope of sediment. Rook tried to make himself small as possible. The heartbeat pounding in his ears was so loud he swore she might be able to hear it. Though they didn’t carry any torches, the Terradrin guards’ eyes were well-adapted to see in the dark. It wouldn’t take more than a lingering glance at the shadows to find Rook crouched against the boat.

“Nothing,” the woman hissed, her bright eyes skipping right over the row boat. “How long is this going to take? I thought someone from Hasana’s little rebellion would come for them by now.”

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