Serenna froze in his arms, imagining a horde of those creatures skittering above them.

Obviously feeding her terror, he continued, “There are beasts fouler than scorpions for those brave enough to venture into the belly of our fortress.” Serenna’s skin pebbled at the vulnerability, knowing nothing about this area of the world. “You wouldn’t want to find yourself alone in the dark with a vulpintera.”

Holding her breath, Serenna strained to hear anything beyond her frantic heartbeat and Fenn’s boots thudding against the stone. I can’t fathom what kind of creature could be worse.

“And what is a…vulpintera?” she asked in a hushed voice, as if not to summon one. “Do they have even more legs?”

Fenn flashed his fangs in a nasty smile. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Serenna swallowed, picturing an abomination like a giant spider.

“Lykor keeps one as a pet,” Fenn said, his tone menacing. “I imagine Aiko is quite hungry since she’s missed her last few meals.”

Serenna stiffened so violently that she feared her spine would crack. She laughably clutched the front of Fenn’s leathers, as if she could locate a shred of safety in the wraith warrior.

“See, sitting still wasn’t so difficult,” Fenn said, shifting her. Serenna didn’t appreciate that glimmer in his eyes and his chuckle rumbling through her. “Since you were barely plodding along, I figured you’d prefer being catatonic cargo.”

Serenna crossed her arms, hunching like a disgruntled vulture, silently fuming at the arrangement and stubbornly refusing to be grateful for the warmth.

“So what are you? My personal jailer?” She shot a glare up at him, assuming his wraith vision caught the full effect in the dim lichens starting to carpet the walls.

“‘Nursemaid’ might be a more appropriate term.” He ducked under a cluster of hanging stalactites before ascending a narrow staircase, the steps chiseled into the stone. “I have plenty of practice, as the stars saw fit to torment me with eight sisters.” Serenna frowned, nearly incapable of imaging someone with so many piercings and weapons entertaining adolescents without frightening them. “But Lykor tasked me with finding out what else you can do with your earthen magics and if you know anything useful.”

Serenna scoffed, unsure what to do with the admission. “Doesn’t telling me defeat the purpose of you trying to covertly extract that knowledge?”

Fenn’s voice mirrored her own bewilderment. “Who said it has to be a secret?” He shrugged, her body moving in his arms with the motion. “Lykor didn’t specify.”

A flicker of uncertainty sparked and smoldered. No one offered information without a price, a motive, or her prying it out of them. Either Fenn was a brilliant manipulator or he was incredibly straightforward and she’d be wise to figure out which.

Ears perking, Serenna heard water gurgling in the distance. Glowing light crept back into her vision as the tunnel yawned open. She released a relieved sigh that they were about to leave the abysmal darkness—and the scorpions—behind.

At the top of the stairs, Fenn weaved through a dangling curtain of luminous vines, revealing another expansive cavern. Twisted stalactites suspended from the ceiling glistened with frosted blue and green light, casting the surroundings in an ethereal glow.

The humid air encompassed Serenna like a blanket, thawing the chill in her bones. Realizing that she was leaning into Fenn’s chest, she jerked in his arms, not letting herself relax. I’m going to fall asleep if I’m not walking.

“Put me down,” she ordered, simply to see if he would.

Like a dog following a command, Fenn lowered her to the ground with an unexpected gentleness for being a brute.

Serenna sniffed, flinging her hair over a shoulder and smoothing out her damp leathers. Drawn by an enchanting shimmer in a mound of stalagmites, she traced aqua veins similar to frozen waves in an icy sea.

Inspecting more bioluminescence as she wandered around the chamber, Serenna glanced up at her guard, who vigilantly tracked her every move. “Aesar said this place was an ancient druid capital?”

Fenn nodded, leading her toward a rushing stream. A faint layer of fog swirled above the water. “Some unexplained magics preserved this forgotten stronghold over the centuries, leaving it untouched by time.” He reached up to trail his talons across low-hanging moss.

It made sense why the elves had no knowledge of such a place if it was hidden in the Wastes. Serenna wondered how Lykor had discovered the keep, though she doubted she’d glean that tale from him. But if Fenn was going to pluck information from her, then she could do the same.

“How many wraith wield Essence?” she asked. “Like that other warrior from the war room?”

“‘That other warrior’ is my father. You can call him Kal,” Fenn said, reaching the water’s bank. “And he’s the only one—Lykor distributed some of his abilities to him not too long ago.” He unsheathed a knife from his bandolier, kneeling by the stream.

That seems a little out of character for Lykor. But the fact that power could be returned momentarily sprouted a seed of hope before it rapidly withered. Serenna nearly laughed at the absurd thought. Lykor returning her power seemed less probable than him setting her free.

Serenna studied Fenn as he busied himself with untying the scorpion from his belt. Cyan blood spilled into the swirling water as he gutted its corpse. I knew he was going to eat that horrid creature.

“Wait.” Serenna stared at Fenn’s back, registering that he hadn’t used the elven term ‘sire.’ “Your father? You have a father?” The wraith must’ve strayed from elven customs. She couldn't blame them, considering what they’d suffered—and who’d caused it.

Soft plops of water tumbling from the ceiling broke on the stream’s surface. Fenn paused, holding the chitin still. Serenna nearly heard him blink before he gaped over his shoulder, clearly taken aback.

He suddenly smirked, revealing the point of a fang. “I was unaware you’d require enlightening as to where wraithlings come from, but if you need a demonstration—”

“No,” Serenna quickly interrupted, her cheeks heating. “I meant… Nevermind.” The chamber somehow became even hotter. Serenna cleared her throat as Fenn’s gaze followed the flush racing up her ears. Mind churning, she strained to think of something to say in order to distract him from finding amusement in her embarrassment. “How is this stream warm when the mountains are frozen?”

Fenn frowned, shaking the scorpion out as the current carried away its entrails. “Your magics don’t tell you?”

Tightening her lips, Serenna shot Fenn a flat look, knowing he was gauging her capabilities so he could report them back to his leader. She’d willed the current to move earlier when she’d dumped it over Lykor, but she hadn’t considered what else she could do with that power. Fine. She’d entertain him this time—but only because she was curious too.

Like she did with calling the wind outside of the war room, Serenna allowed herself to drift. Eyes unfocusing, she reached out to the world differently than when she heaved Essence from her Well. Instead of wrenching magic toward her, she faded into the surroundings, allowing the world to dissolve.

Ignoring the heavy air and plants creeping into her perception, Serenna aimed her awareness into the stream, the water nearly humming with power. Following the current, mind swimming between the rocks, she delved further into the caverns, detecting the source.

Blinking, Serenna returned her attention back to the chamber. Interested to experiment with her abilities, she cast her magic out like a net. Hauling on the water, Serenna called a tiny orb of liquid to her palm. “The stream flows from a cluster of hot springs,” she said, assuming he knew the answer.

Fenn nodded, tying the gutted and washed scorpion back onto his belt. “The Lagoon—our community baths that you were inquiring about—isn’t too far from the molten heart of the volcano.”

Serenna fumbled with the water. The sphere shattered, splashing to the ground. With an irritated huff, she yanked on the droplets, reassembling them. “For one, I wasn’t asking about your Lagoon.” Watching the liquid dance above her fingertips, she debated the next question before deciding that she had to know. “And you bathe…together?”

“Oh, we do more than bathe,” Fenn said, chuckling darkly. “But since you’re uninformed as to where wraithlings come from, I’d wager you’re not prepared to appreciate the activities that occur.” He stretched, scraping his talons along the point of a stalactite. “Though you’re welcome to join. I expect the evening will lead me there.”

Of course the wraith are promiscuous like the elves. I guess some elements of culture are simply everlasting. Unable to resist the urge, Serenna lobbed the globe at Fenn. He extended a claw to catch it. Releasing her power, the shape burst. The water crashed into his waiting palm, splattering to the ground.

Fenn growled and shook his fingers. “I won’t walk into that ruse next time, you water pixie.” Choosing another set of stairs at this apparent crossroads, he angled toward a pathway illuminated by lichens.

As she followed, Serenna’s legs started to burn from the exertion of climbing upward. Losing count of the steps, she began to desperately hope they neared the end.

When she almost thought about asking to be carried again, a trickle of sunlight poured onto her face. Serenna squinted against the improbable light and then gasped when the tunnel opened up, revealing a massive expanse.

Serenna’s mind wrestled with the enormity of the space. The wraith didn’t live in a cave. They lived in an underground city.

Tilting her head back to marvel from their vantage near the middle level of the stronghold, Serenna’s jaw dropped. Thousands of feet above, the crater unfolded to the sky, eclipsed by the setting sun flashing in angled glass. Suspended from the interior mountain slopes, hundreds of mirrors hung, bouncing around shafts of the fading light.

Serenna rushed to a balcony. Leaning over, her eyes greedily absorbed all the city’s sights, stretching out in every direction. She couldn’t decide where to look first.

Rectangular buildings were carved straight into the rock, lining the walls as far as she could see. Far above, glowing plants in various shades of blues and greens clung to the volcano’s sides. The clash between the luminescent hues of the vegetation and the earthen tones of the dwellings was strikingly vivid—a universe of jewels draped like stars in the sky.

Infected with a charge of wonder and fascination, Serenna didn’t shy away from watching the multitudes of wraith carrying on with their daily lives. There’s so much life here. Scores of natural stone bridges arched across the cavern’s empty spaces, connecting each winding level of the fortress.

“Where do you live?” Serenna breathlessly asked Fenn as he joined her at the overlook. He kept shooting glances at her like he expected her to sprout wings and fly over the edge.