Fighting against a weary haze, Serenna blinked the chamber back into focus. Gulping in breaths, she swayed, a flickering flame on the cusp of being snuffed out.
Steam coiled above the exposed rocky surface. Smooth, flat metal as large as a door gleamed like a silver mirror in the sun, somehow unharmed from the magma.
“How am I supposed to move that?” Serenna asked, arms shaking as she held the flaming tide away from the revealed strip of earth.
In answer, a burst of Essence whirled around Fenn—a sight Serenna still wasn’t accustomed to seeing from a wraith. He punched out a claw, casting down a blue stream of force. Forehead furrowing in concentration, the pressure of his magic hummed in the air. On silent hinges, the metal trapdoor swung open, revealing a darkened cavity burrowing further into the ground.
Fenn’s eyes widened, glancing between her and the pit of darkness disappearing below. He asked, “If I warp down there, can you keep the magma back?”
A strike of unease flashed in Serenna’s chest. “Take me with you. What if there’s more fire down there?”
She bit her cheek, restraining her worry that he’d be charging into the unknown alone—that line of thinking would only encourage him to prove that he could.
Fenn chewed his lip ring, studying her and then the open hatch—weighing the risks to her safety, she had no doubt.
“I might lose my control for a moment after we jump,” she admitted, trembling from the strain of holding the magma back. “But I should be able to keep the flames away from us if we go down that entrance.”
Taking matters into her own hands when Fenn continued to hesitate, Serenna clasped his claw. Pulse thrashing in anticipation, she met his apprehensive gaze with an encouraging nod.
His fingers curled around hers, the pressure providing a familiar warning. Bracing herself, Serenna sucked in a breath as he hauled her into shadows.
The world tilted on its axis before her feet hit the ground next to the open hatch. Vision swimming, Serenna reoriented herself, throwing her palms forward. A burst of energy streamed from her fingertips as she drove away the magma sloshing toward the tunnel’s mouth.
“Let’s hurry,” Serenna gritted through her teeth, preventing the fire’s advance by flinging a steady pressure against it. Wrestling the heat of the swell for much longer would surely stretch her to her limit.
Compulsively scraping his talons against the lip of the entryway, Fenn stooped as they walked down a set of stairs into the tunnel’s darkened depths. Guided by him as they disappeared below the lake, Serenna walked backward down the steps to keep the fire at bay.
Focusing on the magma’s dim light when they reached the bottom, Serenna talked over her shoulder. “Do you see anything?” She didn’t dare break her wavering concentration by glancing around the dark cavern that had opened up around them.
Fenn’s voice came from beside her. “There’s a pedestal at the center of the chamber crowned with the Starry Heart.”
Serenna’s head whipped toward Fenn to gauge his sincerity. His eyes flared, glowing as he peered into the darkness. Fires slipping out of her control, Serenna riveted her attention back toward the entrance, redoubling her efforts. She thrust back the creeping magma from the steps, expelling it from the tunnel.
“Well, go get it,” she excitedly urged, waving him on. It was that simple? Brimming with a swell of smug triumph, Serenna couldn’t wait to rub in Lykor’s face that he’d been sitting on top of a relic this entire time.
Fenn’s grin matched her own before he melted into the shadows. A breath later, he warped back to her side. Proudly holding the retrieved Heart, blue light from his talent blazed from the crystal.
The ceiling groaned, the only warning before it caved in.
Dropping the relic, Essence exploded from Fenn. A fountain of force erupted, aimed straight up at the falling stone. He collapsed to his knees, punched down by the weight of the chamber.
Boulders crashed to the ground outside of his dome of power, entombing everything but a small pocket of space around them and the stairs leading out. Stony chips crumbled to the floor, streaming in a rush of pebbles. The surrounding rocks quivered, held back by his magic.
Terror spiked through Serenna’s ribs when magma seeped in through the shattered roof, dripping like flaming honey. Whirling her hands, she shoved away the fire’s slithering advance.
“It must’ve been rigged with magics.” Fenn’s body shook as he waged a war, wrestling his power against the disintegrating earth. “I didn’t know.” An arc of blue light surrounded them, holding back the bottom of the fiery lake. “She-elf, grab the Heart and travel up that staircase before more collapses.”
“What are you talking about?” Serenna looked frantically at him, then back toward the cavern’s exit.
“That’s an order,” Fenn barked, palms up, magic billowing out from him in waves. “Return the Heart to Lykor.”
Serenna bristled at his sharpened tone. “I don’t take orders from you. Get up before more fire comes in and the rest of these boulders fall on our heads.”
Fenn’s voice was strained. “I can’t move. You have to go before my magics deplete.”
The blood drained from Serenna’s face. Her eyes bounced around the cavern, now lit by Essence and the fire oozing along the rocks.
“I won’t be able to return to that bridge without you,” she whispered, silently meaning that she wouldn’t abandon him to a gruesome death.
Fenn growled matter-of-factly, “Move the flames, walk across the bared stone, and scale the walls.” His chest heaved, muscles wracking in waves. “There are enough ledges to climb out of the Slag.”
Serenna shook her head, unable to form any words, clenching her fists to clamp down her fear.
More magma seeped in through the cracks in the ceiling as the weight of the lake trickled through. Splitting her focus, Serenna rushed to block the fresh wave of fire from raining down.
“This is not a debate,” Fenn snarled. “Lykor needs that Heart. Go.”
“Let me untether myself and call him through the bond.” Fear festering, Serenna’s mind darted around a way out. “Lykor can come retrieve his precious relic and portal us out.”
“Are you even capable of mind-speaking across such a distance?” Fenn’s fangs extended from the strain, held immobile as if chains wrenched him down. “My Well is draining while we’re arguing. Move those flames from the entrance and leave.”
Serenna gasped as the roof caved in further, sending another cascade of small rocks tumbling to the ground. Magma hissed, splashing onto stone. Nearly on the verge of her own collapse, Serenna moved the lurking fiery sludge away from the exit, clearing the path up to the lake.
Ensuring she had a grip on her power, Serenna crumpled next to Fenn and grasped his arm. “Warp us out of here.”
“She-elf,” he said as an exhaled plea, an attempt to reason with her. “I can’t hold the boulders back and shadow walk at the same time.”
“You haven’t even tried!”
“Some things aren’t possible for magics.”
“Says the person who’s had Essence for a week!”
The fear in Fenn’s eyes mirrored her own. “I won’t risk you being crushed.”
“I’m not leaving you!” Serenna shrieked, her voice echoing against the silent squeeze of stone. Horror twisted through her gut, breaths coming in too fast as her panic spiraled out of control. “I’m not moving until you make me.” She swallowed against the tightness in her throat, choked by everything she’d left unsaid—the truth. “And you’re only going to do that if you warp us away.”
Fenn released a dark chuckle through his clenched fangs, clearly at the end of his battle. “Take the key around my neck and release yourself. Don’t you have shield magics? Wrap one around yourself and get out of here.”
Serenna snatched the Heart from the ground, clutching it to her chest. “I don’t know if I can tap into both powers at the same time—it’s something I’ve never tried before.”
“And yet you’re asking the same of me,” Fenn growled, a rightful accusation.
“I’ve seen Lykor warp and wield Essence.” Serenna chewed at her lip, considering Fenn’s argument while his body strained under her fingertips. “So you’re capable too.”
Fenn’s eyes dashed around the cavern, searching for another option.
“Warp us, Lieutenant,” Serenna hissed, on the verge of tears, her voice clogged with emotion. “I’m going to lose my hold on the magma as soon as you jump us, but you have time before the fire floods this chamber.” Her fingers tightened against his arm. “Use it.”
