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The swirling mist cleared. When it settled, and I could see into the case, I snarled, raging in the small chamber.
The case was empty.
"Rotting burning ashes!"
I wanted to slam something until it shattered into pieces, much like how I felt.
"Where in the rot is this stone?"
If I was all the way down here looking for the stone, and it wasn't here, it meant someone knew that angels would try coming for it. Not just any someone.
King Bakari Ezrathen Au'Pearl.
If he had a hunch there would be a potential heist to nab the stone, where would he move the stone to? My brain felt pulled in a myriad of directions until one solution slammed me in the forehead.
"Bloody bastard took it to his chambers. He had to. Which means... rot."
I shot out of the small chambers, raced across the vast treasury, and began flying through the water to get back upstairs. My wounds screamed at me to stop, but I couldn't. I had lost so much valuable time and all for a farce.
"Rot!" I yelled again.
My throat ached. Sides burned as if on fire. My wings grew tired under the weight of the sea. It took much longer to get back to the main level from the treasury. I rushed past the dungeon, racing against time. When I reached the door, it was closed.
I pulled up short.
I knew for a fact I'd left it ajar. Now, it was closed. One cautious shove had it opening again. I began to think. Who had been here? Who knew I was down there?
Swimming out into the empty hall, I sniffed.
Salty sea and mint.
"Corellis," I blurted. Then my eyes narrowed. "No. Raeshelle."
I drawled the name, letting it come out nice and slow until I felt my body tingling with the heat that wasn't coming from my wounds. "You were here, weren't you, my princess?"
I smiled until I began laughing to myself. She was probably trying to get the stone herself. It's what I'd do. I looked around. It's almost like I could sniff her out. There was another scent that lingered in the air. It probably belonged to Kianga. That one never left Raeshelle alone. Raeshelle's scent was strong. It left me feeling heady. I wanted to shake it off and focus.
But I couldn't.
Something in me raged, twisting and turning, demanding I follow her scent now. Stupidly, I listened to that incessant voice.
Tracking by scent was a skill a past mentor taught me long ago. I'd used it for my first stay on Ashbone Island. Now, I navigated through the halls of the sea king’s palace, following that trail of salty sea and mint. By the time I stopped swimming, I felt almost drunk from it.
"Payè, please!"
I sobered up fast. Blinking, I looked around me. I was in a hangar. From what I could see, it had stalls for underwater chariots and also sea beasts like seastallions. It would be nothing to fit a massive shrark in here. Skies. I prayed there weren't any. Shrarks had foul tempers. Slipping close to a low wall between the entry and the rest of the hangar, I crouched low, sneaking a peek over the wall to see who was there.
"Please, King Bakari. Please reconsider. It's Raeshelle! Your dayè!"
"Silence."
I flinched at the roar of the king. I knew what that was like. It wasn't fun being disciplined by a king.
"How could you give her up to die?"
That voice belonged to Kianga. She was yelling, but it sounded strangled. A garbled sound that made me shiver. I poked my head out and found there were two mammoth sized, all black shrarks in the hangar. Atop each were Raeshelle and Kianga. Both angels were chained around the neck, wrists, and ankles.
"I will say this one last time."
