Worlds of Waves and Shadows

Seven

"At....Atlantis? Like the one in the...the Greek legends?" Sarina stuttered.

"No, that's just a rumour we spread to help keep our home safe from the greedy sights of you humans." One of the men sneered at Blue Eyes.

"What?" Kaenisa said, completely blank at this point, "How...how did you even build this structure underwater? And why haven't we ever heard of it? How did it go undetected...especially by submarines?" Kaenisa questioned, still baffled that the Atlantis she had heard in stories was real.

"Tech," the other man grunted, a hint of pride in his voice. "The cloaking shield makes us invisible to any human contraption, even fancy submarines."

"So, like a giant invisibility cloak for your whole city?" Sarina chimed in, her voice laced with a nervous excitement that bubbled just beneath the surface. 

It was like something straight out of a science fiction film, and despite the situation, a thrill shot through her.

"But why keep it a secret? And how did you build this whole place underwater anyway?"

One of the flanking men paused, his cold gaze dissecting Kaenisa as if she were a lab rat. She suppressed a shiver, forcing her own glare back at him. His shaved head and steep monolids, somehow accentuated by his weathered face, gave him an air of an unapproachable monk. An unsettling feeling snaked its way down her spine.

They continued walking, Kaenisa's impatience growing with each step. Just when she felt like she couldn't take it anymore, their captors stopped abruptly, statuesque and silent.

"What is they doing?" The boy asked, to which Sarina replied with a clueless shrug.

A sudden gust of wind forced Kaenisa to shield her face with her arm. When the wind subsided, she peeked through her fingers to see a sight that stole her breath away.

Hovering a few feet off the ground was a large, crescent-shaped disc, levitating thanks to miniature boosters strapped to its underbelly. Deep grooves ran across its surface, mirroring the crescent body's shape. On its tip stood a man clad in a midnight blue uniform, holding a strange staff with a gleaming black orb at its top. It looked like something straight out of a science fiction convention.

Kaenisa watched, a knot of dread forming in her stomach, as the three men climbed aboard, the craft dipping slightly with each added weight.

"Come on," the leader said, gesturing towards the disc with a curtness that brooked no argument.

"Over my dead body," Kaenisa retorted without missing a beat. She wasn't about to get on some flying contraption with these dubious characters, not without a fight.

"Where are we going?" Blue Eyes asked, pulling Kaenisa with her.

"To a place that would determine whether or not you are what we think you are." The Leader said.

"Okay. Wow. Didn't know you were into riddles..." Kaenisa trailed off, crossing her arms.

The Leader heaved a sigh, "For the millionth time, if we wanted to hurt you, you would not be standing here right now." The Leader looked like all he wanted to do, was go home and take a hot shower. And she empathized, to some degree.

Sighing, she reluctantly boarded the ship along with the others.

His ice-blue eyes seemed almost transparent under the artificial sunlight, tired, as they pinned her under their unwavering stare. Strangely, they weren't demanding, just....heavy. 

"Now, place your feet in those notches." He instructed, reverting to his cold, detached demeanour.

They all followed hesitantly.