Page 40 of Of Serpents and Ruins
A deep voice with a cool edge spoke out of the water mirror. The waters rippled with each syllable. "Fine. Fine?"
"Fine."
I watched as the waters stilled. Perhaps I should use the mirror to speak with Stella as well. She was with Auntie Runa now. I could apologize for almost killing her. See her face. Ask her how she was. If she wanted to speak with me.
My fingers brushed the cool rim of the basin, and I brought Auntie Runa's water mirror into my thoughts, but there was no pulse of magic, no connection to indicate that magic was present in the water there. She'd probably cut off the connection to reduce ways for the Gola Resh to slip past the wards. Wards and other protective magics not cut deep into the very heartstones of our people had become trickier to maintain.
Perhaps I could send a message another way. Perhaps—
The entire castle shook. The stone walls and foundation had been built to both absorb and withstand tremors, and this one didn't feel as strong or large as most of the earthquakes, but something was off with it. A strange burning sensation moved across my body, rippling out through my muscles as if it coursed in my veins.
As I seized one of the ledges fixed into the wall, another tremor rocked the castle foundations. I clung to the slick surface for support as screams and shouts echoed from the courtyard below, the water in the water mirrors sloshing and spilling.
The tremors passed.
The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, a dangerous heat spreading over me.
This wasn't an earthquake. Not a true earthquake.
There was a charge to it. Similar to when the Gola Resh summoned the hourglass before the collapse of the capital.
The hourglass.
The mini raptors fled the chamber, hissing and calling out, all except Scarlet, who bolted to me. She hissed and dropped low to the ground, her ruby eyes fixed behind me on the iron table and the hourglass.
Dread surged over me like a tidal wave as I turned to face it.
It stood where it always had, but the otherworldly glow had returned. The light of the iridescent sand surrounding the representation of the consumed city glowed. The red and black sands had returned to their vivid colors, and the sands hissed down into the lower bulb.
My blood went cold.
The curse against Sepeazia had resumed its countdown. The sand resumed sliding down past the lines that marked the days that remained.
We had twenty-nine days before all was destroyed.
STELLA
As I supported Auntie Runa's head, Kine took her pulse. Elias brought wet cloths and placed them across her throat and forehead.
"What's happening to her?" I cried.
"It's a seer trance," Elias said, shaking his head. He cupped the side of her face as he examined her. "She's receiving a vision, most likely."
Kine nodded in agreement. He finished checking her head to ensure there were no wounds or cuts. "She could be like this for a while."
The trembling and shaking had stopped, and her pulse had steadied. Whimpering, baby triceratops nudged her. The other creatures did not appear as concerned. It was as if this happened rather frequently. Even Buttercup just gave a soft whoosh of her breath against Auntie Runa's forehead.
"Let's get her to her room," Elias said. "Once she starts to recover, we can move her into the waters to ease the vision's arrival."
"Agreed." Kine clicked his tongue. His brow remained knit.
Together, he and Elias lifted Auntie Runa's now still body and carried her down the hall to a cozy bedroom with circular windows like mine.
I turned down the embroidered quilt and stepped aside as they placed her on the bed. The room smelled like water lilies and clear running water, peaceful and pleasant as the stone fountain that spilled water over its ladder. It seemed untouched by the jarring or earthquake or whatever it was, aside from some trinkets that had crashed to the floor and a couple of pictures that had fallen. Like the other pieces of furniture, the bed, dresser, and tables were bolted to the floor.
Elias drew the covers up over her and placed the back of his hand against her forehead. "The onset was far more intense than most I've seen, perhaps because of whatever caused that earthquake, but…I think she's all right."
"Then why isn't she waking up?" I knelt beside her, gathering her hand in mine.
