Page 28 of Captured in Love
Raphaël walks over to me. “I’ve never heard of dragons living underwater. They were creatures of the sky. And besides, they’re all supposed to be dead, right?”
“You know, I wanted to be a dragon slayer when I was a kid,” Levi says, his expression awed. “Like the knights from the old stories.”
I snort. “You also wanted to be an astronaut and a firefighter. And Robin Hood.”
He nudges me with his elbow, grinning down at me, and suddenly, the mood lifts a little. Being around Levi is sometimes intense, but he lights up the room like the sun, his energy powering everyone around him. Knowing he’s here with me to face whatever is waiting for us is a huge boost to my confidence.
“Hey, you two,” Raphaël calls from where he wandered ahead of us, “you should come and see this.”
Levi winks at me, then takes a deep breath. I can’t see his magic because he’s not working a spell yet, but I know he’s powering up to undo any curse that might be waiting for us. I do the same, because dragons or not, we’re in a strange underwater place that’s probably riddled with hexes.
I walk forward and come to a stop at a ledge where the short passageway leading from the entrance chamber ends. A sharp inhale of breath disturbs the quiet, and a moment later, I realize it’s mine.
“Oh gods,” Levi murmurs next to me. “What the fuck is this?”
We stand at the outer wall of a massive space that’s too big to be called a cave. There isno waythis chamber is human-made, nor is it a natural formation. It’s too regular, too large to be formed by anything other than magic. If I’d been impressed by the size of the entrance chamber, I’m floored by this sight.
In the middle of the enormous space stands an active volcano. Its crumbling gray slopes bear the evidence of previous eruptions, hardened tongues of once-molten rock flowing toward the base, though none of them seem to have caused any real damage to the city surrounding it. A plume of gray smoke rises from the crater, but rather than contaminating the entire chamber, it flows straight up to a flue or chimney of some sort, an opening so high up the ceiling, it’s barely discernible from our vantage point.
A wide raised moat filled with water circles the base of the volcano, and around it stand dozens of stone mounds with openings for windows and doors, some large and tall enough to fit several regular-sized human houses, others small, little more than huts. The air smells faintly of sulfur, and a puff of steam rolls from behind one of the houses, dissipating moments later.
So many questions tear through my mind, but I finally settle on just one. “Wherearewe?”
“It must be one of the hidden dragon cities,” Raphaël muses, his gaze distant. “Before the Great Witch Wars of the twentieth century, they lived all over the world, and especially Europe. I thought their settlements were all destroyed, but they seem to have hidden this one.”
I want to ask how he knows, but he frowns, then looks down at his feet, and I somehow sense he doesn’t want to talk about it, not now.Something to discuss later.
Levi stares out toward the city. “But it’s deserted.”
I think of the silvery scale I pocketed in the tunnel. “Maybe not entirely. We should be careful.”
Raphaël casts me a sharp glance, then pushes us both deeper into the passageway. “We’re too exposed. You two should wait in the chamber while I go and scope out the place.”
“Nope.” I remove my cap and gloves and tuck them into my belt. “No way are we getting separated.”
Levi agrees fervently. “The last time we left her alone, Einarsson ambushed her in our room.”
I squirm at the memory. I didn’t exactly mind being ambushed by the hot, tall Icelander, but I’m not about to say that out loud. I wish I had dry clothes to change into—they would make exploringa lotmore comfortable—but we’re not going to stay here for long. If we can sense the obstacles in our track, we’ll be in and out of here fast.
“What do you want to do now?” Raphaël asks, running his fingers through his black hair. Somehow, it looks perfect even after being squished under his diving cap, which is just unfair.
Levi walks to the edge of the stone shelf and peers down. “There’s a staircase. A big one. I say we descend, then try to find out where the tokens are hidden.”
“This place is huge,” I mutter. “It’ll take us ages to search for the tokens.”
Raphaël squints at the view. “I’d check the large buildings first. They were likely more important than the smaller ones.”
I crack my fingers and put myself behind Levi. “Okay, you go first, and I’ll follow, ready to throw up a shield if we’re attacked.”
Levi carefully lowers himself off the first step, which had clearly been made for a creature much bigger than us. “You know one good thing about picking this location? Apart from Einarsson, I doubt anyone else is crazy enough to come here.” He pauses for a second, then adds in a more serious tone, “But then we thought that about Egypt, too.”
I grunt as my soft diving boot catches on an exposed bit of rock. “You keep telling yourself that when we meet a fuckingdragon.”
Levi grins at me. “But wouldn’t that be the coolest? Oscar would never believe me.”
At the mention of his younger brother, I think of my siblings, who would go absolutely nuts if they heard of this place. I can’t help but return Levi’s smile. He’s right. As dangerous as this adventure is, it has also taken us to some of the most incredible places in the world, and we’re not even done with the second task yet.
“Shame we don’t have a way to take photos,” I say. “I’d love to show—”
