Fire of the Sea

Chapter 26

Collin was at the beach with Jasmine by his side when Genevieve arrived.

"Are we really going to go to the palace of Thálassa?" Jasmine asked. Her face was bright with excitement.

"Yup," Genevieve confirmed.

"How are we going to get there? I mean, we can't breathe underwater."

"Don't worry. I have my ways." Genevieve gestured for the two to follow her to the other side of the beach.

***

Collin was staring at a gigantic, solid stone wall that was about 50 feet high. "You want us to run through this wall?" he asked for the hundredth time.

Genevieve sighed, exasperated. "Yes."

Collin ran a hand through his messy hair, green eyes opened wide with shock and a bit of fear. "I'm not doing it."

Jasmine laughed upon seeing Collin's face. "You don't think she's lying, do you?"

"How do you know if she's lying or not? We've never seen an enchantment before. For all we know, Gen could be setting us up. I mean, it would be a good laugh to have us running and smacking against a stone wall."

"Seriously, Collin! You don't trust me?"

"No."

"I'll go first." Jasmine said.

"What? Have you lost your mind?" Collin said, shocked.

Jasmine ignored him and backed up for a running start. She steeled her eyes in concentration. With brief hesitation, she started running towards the wall. Her feet agilely flew across the ground as she got closer to the entrance. Jasmine's heart pounded as her nervousness began to creep up on her. In the final moments, she closed her eyes and braced for the impact as she flew through open space weightless. "Jasmine!" Collin cried out.

"Now do you believe me?" Genevieve asked, one eyebrow raised, as Jasmine disappeared on the other side.

"I can't leave my sister, can I?"

Genevieve shook her head, laughing. "I don't expect you to."

Collin backed up until his heels touched the edge of the ocean. He nervously wiped his sweaty palms on his jacket. He took a deep breath in through his nose and his mouth as he tried to slow his beating heart.

"Seriously Collin?" Genevieve asked, slightly exasperated. "We don't have all day! Plus, you're being overdramatic."

Collin squeezed his eyes shut. I hope I don't die today.

He ran forward, his eyes closed, feeling himself fly through the wall, sending shivers over him

As Collin ran into the cave, he bumped into Jasmine, toppling over her.

"Collin!" She yelled in surprise.

"Sorry." Collin coughed as he scanned the area and tried to familiarize himself with it. The cave was deep and wide, its opening covered with some enchantment to make it look like part of the rock wall.

In the middle of the spacious opening, there was a deep, clear pool with a golden light at the bottom. The light reflected off of the water and patterned the black, sparkly walls. Scattered along the perimeter of the cave, multicolored, glowing crystals shone. Stalactites dotted with smaller, colored, light crystals dropped from the ceiling high above them.

Collin was amazed by the beauty of the cave, but Genevieve snapped him out of his trance. "Come on," she gestured for Jasmine and Collin to follow her deeper into the cave. The three walked silently in the dark. As they walked farther and farther into the cave, the rocky stone slowly turned into stone covered in patches of sea anemone and other sea life, like guppies and clownfish, gradually turning into a pearl path. Collin marveled at what he was seeing. He had never been underwater. After walking for thirty minutes, marveling at his surroundings, Collin, Jasmine, and Genevieve reached a large ivory-pearl door. Genevieve slid her hand over the door and it automatically opened. Inside, Collin saw vibrant flashes of blues, greens, and gold along with silver embellishments. Collin was in awe of the Thálassa palace. "Come, we need to hurry up." Genevieve stepped into the palace of Thálassa, Jasmine and Collin trailing her in wonder as they snuck into the palace.