Page 47 of Coral Prince Conundrum
“Okay, but you might need assistance,” my brother says.
“Go,” I reply urgently.
“I will be the assistance,” Priya says, hopping onto the sea dragon. My brow furrows when she wraps her arms around me. “This dragon will not go near the rocky crags. We will have to swim there, and you might need a better water mystic.”
She’s not wrong. I smile at her, then at Oroy, overjoyed that my siblings are supporting me. “Thank you. Now go!”
I whip the reins up and down, and Oroy runs off. With that, my sister and I are speeding down the waterway to the ocean. I gaze up at Pelly and pray to the ocean gods that the bird is not wrong, and that I’m not too late.
Ten pulse-pounding minutes later, Pelly swoops down. My sister was correct in presuming the sea dragon could not go close to the rocky southern beaches. Leaving the dragon behind, Priya and I jump into the water, then swiftly swim closer to the jagged shore. No one ever visits here, and given how sharp the rocks beneath my feet are, I can see why. Pelly squawks above, pointing to one of the farther caves.
“Are you sure about this?” Priya asks as we approach the land.
“Yes. Pelly was tasked with guarding him, along with Drakey.” The thought of Drakey almost dying has my mouth dry, but I cannot hesitate now. Daryl, my soul, my very heart, needs me.
We make it to a cave blocked by several tall boulders, jutting out like stone pyramids. Pelly lands on one and points the way with her beak. This cave would be difficult to find without eyes in the sky, but I can see how something drifting may have ended up here.Please be here in one piece, Daryl.
Priya and I make our way to the shore. We hike up the rocks and enter the dark cave. Fortunately, there’s a small path, a one-yard-wide ledge for us to walk on. The stones are sharp on my feet, but I don’t care. The structural integrity of this cave is tenuous; the longer Daryl is here, the more likely he is to die.
My heart races as I scan the area. Dark water is below this natural walkway, but I don’t see anyone. The sunlight barely breaks through the cave’s entrance, so I have to squint.Ocean gods, I beg of you, he has to be fine.I’ll spend my life devoted to him, protecting him, loving him, whatever it takes. He’s too important to me.
I realize now that he truly is my soulmate. I need to tell him that.
Pelly flies in and squawks in a circle a yard away. When I spot a figure clinging to a rock, my heart nearly leaps out of my chest. “Daryl!”
For a brief moment, I’m afraid he’s not alive. Those fears are dispelled when he turns and blinks at me. He’s clinging to a ledge, breathing haggardly, and his eyes are sunken in. It’s been less than two hours since I let him go, but he looks like he’s been dragged through the very underworld itself.
“He’s here!” I say to my sister, then quickly amble toward him. I leap into the inlet of water, and it goes up to my waist. The rocks scratch my feet as I wade toward him.
“Daryl!” I lift him up and seat him on the cave floor opposite the previous path. “Are…are you alright?”
“Seero,” he croaks. Then, he hisses and points below—his ankle is bloody.
He almost drowned, and now he’s injured. The sharks could have feasted on him. I almost lost the love of my life. “Daryl…”
“Guess…I’m going to need some aquatic aerobics,” he says with a wry, exhausted smile. I let out a pained laugh and then sit next to him.
“Come on, let us get you out of here. I am never letting you near a whirlpool again.”
He shakes his head. “It wasn’t just a…whirlpool.” His breathing is labored. I need him to get back to a hospital, and I hope my medical team can treat a surface-dweller.
“What?”
“Someone…did this to me,” he says in a raspy tone. “And Drakey. Is he dead?”
I shake my head and cradle him close to me. “No. He’s alive, barely. But we need to get you home.”
Daryl coughs. “A water mystic. She…did this to me.”
My pulse pounds at the confirmation that yes, this was an assassination attempt. I nod and say, “Everything will be alright. We’ll…get you home. Home with me. I’ll take care of you, Daryl.”
I hold him close, and Pelly squawks again. I laugh and whistle for her to return home. She flies away, but as she gets to the cave entrance, a water bubble traps her.
Huh?
In the distance, a silhouette blocks the light of the tunnel. The water bubble flies off, and Pelly’s gone. My precious bird might be dead, and the danger looms closer.
“I cannot let you do that,” my sister says. She waves her hands, and the water beneath us flies up. Daggers of dark ocean water hit the already crumbling ceiling of the cave.
