by Katrina Ryan
At the end of the pier, Victoria saw a simple, wooden boat, like the one she and Sarah had used to travel to Atlantis. If anybody else had told her this would be their method of transport for the day, she would have been inclined to mention that there were many better ships nearby, but she trusted that Athelea had good reasons. Once they were situated, Athelea invoked a dex under her breath, and the boat gently lurched forward. It accumulated speed over the next few minutes, until it was out of the harbor and racing through open water faster than Victoria thought should have been physically possible. She exchanged a glance with Sarah, who didn’t look surprised. Victoria remembered she had experienced this before.
“How exactly do these boats work?” Victoria asked.
“It’s quite simple,” Athelea said. “The boat uses a dex to pair to an Atlantean navigator, who then only has to think about the direction and speed of the journey. The boat does everything else, using some of the passengers’ energy.”
“I thought it might be something like that,” Victoria said. “It explains why Sarah and I felt so exhausted during our journey here.” When she looked up, Atlantis was already some distance away. In this summer sunshine, it was easy to forget that they were on a quest rather than a leisurely excursion. Tom and Nick would love this, Victoria thought, but I would never want them to be here if Caelan is around.
She found her thoughts drifting back to the burnt feather. How did Caelan get into Atlantis? she wondered. Without a way to keep him out, she needed to find a way to defend Atlantis. An army of Atlanteans seemed like the only way. If the Lifeglasses are real, we might still have a hope.
She snapped out of her daydream when the boat began to slow. They were approaching an island with rugged cliffs and golden beaches. It looked exactly like the island she and Sarah had visited a few days earlier, but they’d done the journey today in less than an hour.
“Is this the Isle of Time?” she asked in disbelief.
Athelea nodded.
“We definitely got the route to Atlantis wrong last time we were both here,” Victoria said to Sarah, laughing humorlessly. “That was such a short journey.”
“I’m sure it helps knowing how to operate the boat,” Athelea said kindly. She tied the boat to the same pier Victoria and Sarah had used, and the three disembarked. Victoria looked around, wondering if she should finally tell Sarah and Athelea about the ghosts in the lake. Now that they were on the island, the omission felt like a mistake.
“Tell me, Victoria,” Athelea said, making Victoria jump, “should we proceed directly to the Domain?”
Stop being so paranoid, Victoria scolded herself. Wait until we know if the Lifeglasses are real. Avoiding the path by the lake, she led the way to the Domain. Slowly, the sense that she wasn’t supposed to be on the island increased as the temple came into view.
“Do you feel that, too?” Athelea said. “Sarah and I noticed it the last time we were here. Ancient Atlanteans invoked a dex to ward off intruders.”
“That makes sense,” Victoria said. “I felt it last time, too.” They were on the Domain steps. Praying that the stone wasn’t still blocking the entry to the passageway, she knelt and got to work. The stone slid aside as if it had never been stuck, and Victoria stared down the gaping, black passage, too relieved to feel nervous anymore. Athelea invoked a dex, and torches that Victoria never would have seen burst into flame down the passageway.
Bloody practical dexes, Victoria grumbled inwardly. They were more useful than she wanted to admit.
“I can wait here,” Sarah offered. “You need someone to keep guard.”
Victoria sensed Sarah was giving her an opportunity to spend time with Athelea. She flashed Sarah a smile, knowing she understood the extent of her gratitude.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Athelea reassured Victoria. “Go ahead.”
Refusing to get her hopes too high, Victoria held her breath and proceeded down the steps. When she reached the bottom, she couldn’t quite believe what she’d not seen during her last venture here. It wasn’t a funerary crypt, like Sarah had guessed. The enormous, circular room was filled from floor to ceiling with shelves of thousands of tiny hourglasses, glittering serenely in the light of ancient torches.
The Lifeglasses were real.
Chapter Twenty-Two
LIFEGLASSES
Victoria stared with a racing heart at the pile of glass and bright blue sand on the ground in the middle of the floor, exactly where she’d fallen on it a few days before. All the other hourglasses she could see were shelved neatly, frozen in various positions. She guessed that at least two were still moving somewhere in the room, and one of them was her own, but those weren’t what she was here for. “Where should we start?” she asked Athelea.
Instead of responding, Athelea began to walk around the room. Victoria followed silently. Up close, she could see that each Lifeglass had a name engraved along its rim in beautiful script. Athelea searched through them, never touching any of them for more than a few seconds to read before she moved on to the next.
“They’re sorted by family bloodline, and then by age, I believe,” she said at last. “That makes everything quite straightforward.”
Victoria nodded, even though there was little she could do with that information. “Are you looking for somebody specific?” she asked, though she suspected she already knew the answer. If she was Athelea, and if Tristan had a Lifeglass, she would be looking for his.
“Family members,” Athelea replied simply. After a minute, she stopped walking to flip a Lifeglass over. “It’s just a theory, but I suspect it might be easier to bring back an Atlantean with royal blood than common. That was my cousin’s Lifeglass. She was my closest friend. I’m afraid the sand isn’t moving yet.”
The women fell into contemplative silence as they continued around the room. Victoria wondered whether Caelan knew about these hourglasses, and she instantly regretted where the thought led her. If there was one way he could truly ruin Atlantis, it was in this room. He can never know, she realized. It was time to be honest with Athelea about her last visit here, before it was too late.
“When I was exploring this island last week, I went into the lake,” Victoria said. Athelea immediately looked up from the Lifeglasses, and Victoria took a deep breath. “When I got into the water, I was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of ghosts. They dragged me down to the bottom, and I nearly drowned. Do you think they were Atlantean souls?”
Athelea regarded Victoria with a gentle expression. “I’m sure it was a terrifying experience,” she said. She didn’t seem angry that Victoria had waited so long to share this information. “To me, that sounds like a dex to frighten intruders. They could not possibly be genuine Atlantean souls.”
Victoria sighed. She never would have thought of dexterity, but it was the most obvious explanation. All the hope and fear she’d felt about the ghosts vanished, and the Lifeglasses were now the most promising way of bringing the Atlanteans back and restoring Atlantis. She followed Athelea in silence for a few more minutes, checking whether the Lifeglasses were showing any sign of life, and then returned outside to see if any Atlanteans were there. She found Sarah keeping watch over the monument, and her hopes faltered. The rest of the island was empty and still.
“The Lifeglasses are real,” Victoria announced. Sarah gasped, though Victoria thought her excitement was premature. “They’re all frozen, so we turned a few over anyway to see what happens.”
“Are they moving now?”
Victoria shook her head. “Athelea’s still working on it, if you want to see for yourself. I can wait here.”
Sarah flashed a reassuring smile before she proceeded down the steps. Maybe the Atlanteans will come from the lake, Victoria thought with a shiver, despite Athelea’s earlier reassurance. She watched the water for any sign of color or movement, but after five minutes, nothing had happened. She jumped as Athelea and Sarah materialized through the doorway, neither seeming to have any news or be in any h
urry.
“Where are they?” Victoria sighed. “How quickly will they come back?”
“That’s an excellent question,” Athelea agreed. “None of the books I’ve read have had any information on how the Lifeglasses work. It is possible that the Atlanteans have already appeared in Atlantis, and we only need to return to the mainland to meet them.”
Victoria hesitated. While Athelea had a fair point, she wasn’t convinced. “What if they arrive here after we leave?”
“We can come back tomorrow,” Athelea said. Victoria sighed, but nobody seemed to notice. “If the Atlanteans were to appear today, they would probably be here already. There’s no use waiting around when the process could potentially take time.”
“A few days is too late,” Victoria said, fighting off the horrible image of Atlantis burning. It was bad enough that Caelan wanted to burn Atlantis, but if he succeeded and the Atlanteans ever came back, they would have nothing left of their homes. After all the hope Athelea had placed in her, she would have failed everyone completely.
But words failed her, and she boarded the boat with Sarah and Athelea. The journey back to Atlantis seemed to last forever. Imagining an army of Atlanteans assembling on the main island, Victoria felt her anticipation grow as the main island came into sight. She had no doubt that Athelea could convince her people to fight against Caelan, and Atlantis would finally be safe. But docking the boat in an empty harbor, Victoria felt her heart fall. The city ahead radiated the same abandonment that Atlantis had known for millennia.
It was foolish to entertain hope, Victoria scolded herself. She numbly followed Athelea to the Hall of Divinity and waited while Athelea lit a candle, her mood worsening by the minute. If the Lifeglasses didn’t work, she didn’t know who or what could ever have the power to bring the Atlanteans back.
Nobody said a word on the walk to the palace. Victoria wondered whether it would be a good idea to mention the burnt feather now, but she could imagine the news would make Athelea even more overprotective and reckless. She sensed the others were already being careful not to mention the Atlanteans, and she especially didn’t want them to be delicate with her about Caelan. Athelea would never let me out of her sight if she found out, Victoria decided. This is my problem to deal with. As the group of three walked up the Royal Tower, she resolved to find a solution herself.
“Now we wait,” she sighed, sinking onto her bed. She desperately wanted a moment to herself to sulk and plan a new strategy, but when the others sat down too, she realized she wouldn’t get that anytime soon.
“Now we wait,” Athelea agreed with a grim smile. “Let’s be patient. We’ve done everything we possibly could, so whatever happens, I don’t want you to feel disappointed. We should congratulate ourselves for having discovered the Lifeglasses. Would either of you like wine?”
“Yes, please,” Sarah and Victoria said in unison. Athelea laughed and distributed three generous glasses before moving to the balcony. The view of Atlantis made Victoria feel better instantly. From here, she could look out for both Atlanteans and smoke, or any other sign of activity. The sun was already getting low on the horizon and would set in a matter of hours. Time was running out.
“I could tell you more about Atlantean history,” Athelea offered after a few minutes of pregnant silence.
Victoria glanced at Sarah, trying not to keep a neutral face. She wasn’t sure she could handle any more revelations this week, though Athelea had promised she no longer had any secrets. Sarah, however, was already looking at Athelea with rapt attention, happily oblivious to Victoria’s panic.
“Atlantean history,” Athelea said with a laugh, but Victoria caught the discreet emphasis that Athelea had intended just for her. She relaxed, realizing that Athelea, too, wanted to keep the conversation neutral. “I would like to teach you real Atlantean history. I suspect that the rest of the world doesn’t know the truth.”
“What was Atlantis like in the end?” Sarah asked. “Was it as corrupt as the myths say?”
Athelea's expression darkened, and Victoria could see the pain she was trying to hide. “Yes. In the years before the Destruction, many Atlanteans wanted to revise the ancient laws,” Athelea said. “However, they feared my father so much that nobody ever dared to suggest it. The Atlantean courts had really been under my father's power for years and never would have gone against him. Our people had lost faith in the monarchy and government, and I don't entirely blame them. Even though we had just won a war, the Atlanteans in power wanted more. They wouldn't rest until Atlantis was restored to its full glory.”
“Who were the most famous or infamous Atlanteans?”
“When a demon supposedly killed King Atlas, the Atlanteans needed a new leader. The people felt his son wasn’t suitable to reign, though he did take the throne eventually, and they didn’t even consider his daughter. Many generations later, Prince Adrias, King Atlas’s descendent, and his beautiful wife were poised to take the throne when Adrias’ younger brother, Caitas, murdered him and took the crown for himself. Conflict and instability continued to grow over the next few generations, and our society slowly deteriorated. At some point then, legend says, the Atlanteans received the Sentence. We have had it for generations since.”
Athelea held out her right arm, where her Sentence was visible, and Sarah did likewise with her left. Victoria looked down at her own wrist with a new perspective. The black words under the frayed ribbon had become so familiar to her over the past week that she’d almost forgotten they were there. But they had become a part of her now. They were a link to the people of Atlantis, and she loved the Sentence even more for it. After a second, she untied the bow for the first time in a week and set the ribbon on the bed. It felt amazing to have the Sentence exposed, to no longer be ashamed or worried about it. “I never really understood what it meant,” she admitted. “Will it ever go away?”
Athelea had been eyeing the ribbon with a proud smile but frowned now. “It is impossible to say. I’m sure Atlanteans have tried every possible method to remove their Sentences, but nothing has ever worked. I haven’t researched it myself, but I expect we might finally be absolved and no longer have to carry the curse once Atlantis has a proper, righteous leader.”
She glanced at Victoria and then at her own Sentences, her eyes watering with hope. But Victoria knew that after her failures today, she simply couldn’t be right the person to help.
The women talked for another hour before Athelea finished her wine and departed. Victoria still felt too restless to sleep and instead listened to the wind and the rain pound on the windows. A bell tolled midnight in the distance, and Victoria wondered whether dexterity powered clocks around Atlantis. In the silence that followed, she could swear she heard footsteps across the room.
“Everything okay?” she asked, wondering for a fleeting moment if this presence was Sarah or an Atlantean. The footsteps continued, and a second later, Victoria found herself standing in the hallway outside her room, facing a shadowy figure she instantly recognized as Caelan. In the faint moonlight, they stared at each other for a few seconds. Victoria was torn between screaming for help and preparing to fight, although she knew she was in trouble whatever she did.
“I see you’ve discovered starlight. I knew you were very clever,” Caelan said evenly.
Victoria detected a hint of admiration or jealousy in his voice. He doesn’t know about Athelea, she realized, thankful she’d changed into one of her old shirts for the night. She shoved the thought out of her mind, suspecting Caelan wouldn’t have been impressed or intimidated if knew how much Athelea had helped her since arriving in Atlantis. “Maybe I have,” she replied, matching his steady tone. Behind her back, she felt for the wall and realized Caelan had already cornered her. She took a small step forward, and to her surprise, he took a full step back, increasing the distance between them. So defensive. She wondered if he’d overestimated her training and was expecting her to attack first. Pushing her luck, she smiled. “Do you feel threat
ened?”
“No,” he said. Something in her instincts told her this was a lie, but she kept her expression blank, focusing on keeping her mind clear. Athelea’s training would never be more important than now. “I’m giving you an ultimatum, Victoria. You have one day to leave Atlantis. If you are still here after sunset tomorrow, I will burn every atom of Atlantis to the ground. If you ever return, I swear I will kill you. The decision is yours to make, and you know the consequences perfectly.”
Victoria stared at him, stunned. This threat was different from those he had made before. Hurting her because of a prophecy was one thing, but to destroy Atlantis made no sense. The land was defenseless and innocent. Before she could challenge Caelan, he took another step back and vanished into the shadows.
Even if he was afraid of her now, Victoria didn’t need a dex to detect truth to know that he meant every word he had said.
Chapter Twenty-Three
ACHILLES HEEL
An hour later, Victoria was still wide awake. She had tried to sleep, but she felt sick with worry and paranoia. Every sound she heard outside the door or through the window made her jump, even if it was just the wind or rain. She had no idea where to find Athelea to let her know what was happening, or if she even wanted to have that conversation.
Realizing she wouldn’t fall back to sleep, she decided she would brave the rain to try to talk to Celeste. She knew leaving her room could be a reckless idea, but she had nothing to lose in return for the star’s insight. Caelan already had his chance to say and do everything he wanted, Victoria thought, pushing herself out of bed. He’d given her one day of truce, and even though she didn’t want to trust him, she did. At least for today, she was safe on her own.
