Bridging the Ancient ✓

Chapter 40

My startled gasp echoes through the well, slithering all the way up to Renit, who immediately braces his hands on the inside wall of the well, leaning over the side to get a better look. I stumble back but my feet don't budge so I land on my butt, water splashing around me.

"What happened?" Renit asks desperately. I shake the skull from my grip, where my hand had been locked around the mouth of whoever died down here.

My breaths come in heavy rasps as through the surface of the murky, moss filled water, the skull stares back at me. Then, it begins to sink back into the sand. That can't be good.

I stand on shaken knees, bracing my hands against the cold stone. Expecting my power to give me the answers as to how old this well is, I receive nothing. My power doesn't work down here. The well is dulling my power. That had to be another tip that was smudged out years ago from age—the well dulls a witch's power to make it even more difficult to retrieve this box.

"Renit?" I ask, my voice shaken. "Renit, can you use your power?"

He pauses for a moment, looking behind his shoulder. "Yes, I can use it," he responds. His voice, slightly frightened, does not help my fears.

"I don't have access to mine." I stare up at him, resting the back of my head against the stone to fully view the confusion on his face. He blinks, then furrows his brows.

The only time I haven't had access to my power was with the titanium band. All those weeks Renit kept my power locked away, I didn't necessarily need to access it. But on the trail, when the rebels attacked, I needed it the most and I couldn't stop Bren's group from hurting the prince without my power.

This moment feels precisely like that one did. A heavy churning in my gut, my heart racing, vomit rising into my throat. I don't have my power and if there's any other threats down here, I could find myself in severe danger. If there are more skulls underneath the water...

"That's fine," Renit soothes. "You don't need it. If anything goes wrong, I'll go down there."

Strands of my hair trickle with the poisonous water after I landed in it, dripping down my clothes. I pull the strands back behind my head to avoid them finding their way into my mouth while I'm searching. I force myself to stand, rocking back and forth as my feet stick further into the sand, and bend down to begin searching once more.

My hand closes around the ribcage and I squeeze my eyes shut, only for a moment. I can't let that bother me. It's just a body, someone that died down here when they couldn't get out. Over time, their body sunk into the sand and their death was quick, ended by the poisonous water. I try to keep that thought in my mind, a release of quick death, as I move my hands around the body to find another hard lump waiting for me.

"Please don't be another body," I whisper to myself. A splinter digs into my finger and I nearly sob with relief as I yank with all my might and tug that box back to the surface.

I spot the gold edging first, then the strong lock, and the dark wood framing it all. My arms burn with the effort to yank it from the sand. Renit hollers from the ground, excitement filling his voice as he witnesses what I pull up. I lift the box over my head and expose it to the smiling prince, who claps in gratitude.

"Time to come up!" He exclaims, so much joy in his voice.

I tuck the box underneath my arm and attempt to lift my boots. But they don't budge. My entire leg doesn't dislodge. I try again, this time tugging on the rope to give myself further lift, but nothing moves.

My blood runs cold. The skull I found, the owner of it didn't die down here. They were sunken and suffocated in the sand. The more I try to set myself free, the more I sink. My heart begins to panic, racing uncontrollably, and I grapple for the stone wall but find no footholds.