Stolen Princess

25. He Calls You Deerhling

"Danaya!" Sosha shouts at me, and I scramble to stand as she pulls me up by the scruff of my tunic.

"I'm fine!" I shout back through the rain, but Talon isn't listening. Instead he holds my face in both hands and glares at me darkly, murder in his eyes.

"Tal -" I try to choke out, but then a tingling warmth and the short spark of blue magic flows against my cheek, over the bridge of my nose as it mends the broken bones and stops the bleeding.

"I'm going to hang him from the nearest -" Talon begins through gritted teeth, and I've never seen this kind of bloodlust in an Orc before.

"Nevermind, go!" Sosha orders, turning me towards the cliff. I don't wait for her to shove me off, just bend my head and dive towards the dark, cold water.

It's the silence that comes to me first as I break the surface and sink beneath the turbulent waves above. I pump my arms and legs in a practiced stroke, heading in the direction of the cavern's opening just ahead. It's quiet in the water, I don't even see the other knights as I push myself forward, knowing the air in my lungs won't last long. But for just a moment, it feels peaceful... you can't tell it's storming when you're down here.

I reach the entrance to the cavern and swim upwards, towards the cave opening. I break through the surface and gasp for air. I'm the last to arrive it seems, as there isn't another living soul left here. I swim towards the slick rock floor of the cave and pull myself out of the water.

I stand in the darkness for a long moment, trying to catch my breath and hear past my own gasps at the same time. I know from memory there are four tunnels from this opening, and though they each weave and careen through the undergrounds of my father's shores, some of them reconnect further in... the only problem is there's no way of knowing which one houses the Orcen crest ring.

I hear a scuffle between some of the contestants from the tunnel furthest to my left, I know that Alek's favored path is the next one, so I choose the far right and begin at a run.

This tunnel is mostly straight, but it goes down a steep decline, further into the ocean floor than the rest. My eardrums pop with the change in pressure as I press onward at nearly a sprint. The others will have the advantage of arriving before me and choosing shorter pathes, but none of them grew up hiding from their tormentor in these dark tunnels, and luckily - I did.

It doesn't take long before I hear the first scratching against stone... the selkies have found me. I shiver as more of the little noises cluster, their talons scraping against the walls of the tunnel, and I hear a few overhead as well. I try to calm my nerves... but I was bitten by one of the slimy things as a child, and I'll never forget the horrible burning sensation from their saliva. It's not poisonous, but causes an itch all through you like no other. More scritching, and I duck my head into my shoulders just a bit, but I'm sure I only imagined it brushing against my hair.

A thought occurs as I slow to keep from falling as the floor goes to a steep angle. I pause to reach for my purple flames, only half convinced I'll be able to find them. The sound of water dripping through the caves echoes off the walls, but otherwise, I'm alone in this darkness. I relax my chest, pulling my stomach in tight as I breathe. And then I reach one last time... I envision the violet flames sparking within my bone marrow, embers that smoulder and grow, I imagine them pushing along my veins, through my arm and into my palm.

And then I'm holding a small piece of purple fire against the darkness around me.

Tiny claws scuttle away, back to the edge of the shadows my flames casts around me, and I take a deep breath... the little devils will leave me alone so long as I have my flame.