The sea smelled of rust and magic.
By the time Aria and her companions reached the northern cliffs of Lathros Bay, the winds carried a voice none of them could name. It sang in broken tongues—part lullaby, part warning. A promise and a curse.
Kael stood at the edge of the cliffs, staring at the gray waves crashing below. "You're sure it's down there?"
Aria closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "It calls to me."
Beneath the churning water, the third Emberline vault waited. Not buried under sand or stone like the others, but drowned by time and betrayal.
---
The Whispering Depths
Their descent into the bay began at dusk. Mira had fashioned breathing runes from scraps of emberstone and Lior's enchanted bindings. When activated, they glowed faintly against their throats.
"We have an hour," Mira said. "Maybe less if the currents shift."
Aria was already waist-deep in the cold water. Kael joined her, jaw clenched.
"If anything goes wrong," he started.
"You'll save me," she interrupted with a faint smile. "You always do."
Then they dove.
Down and down, past coral and stone, into the abyss where light faded. The silence was crushing, a weight that settled in their bones. Even with the runes, the pressure made their limbs heavy. And the vault still lay deeper.
There, etched into the floor of a drowned cathedral, was the sigil.
A spiral of flame wrapped in waves.
As Aria touched it, the water vanished.
---
Vault of the Sea
The moment her fingers met the symbol, the ocean peeled away. One second they were submerged—the next, they stood in a dry, echoing chamber of glass and pearl.
Walls shimmered with sea-light. Fish swam through currents outside the transparent vault, watching as if they knew what was about to happen.
Three thrones stood in the center.
One empty.
One cracked.
And one whole.
"This vault wasn't built by fire alone," Lior murmured.
"No," Aria said. "It was built by the ones who turned against it."
A figure appeared on the third throne—tall, cloaked in silver kelp, with skin like wet stone and eyes like moons.
"Daughter of Ash," it said. "You seek what you are not ready to hold."
"Then test me," Aria said, stepping forward.
---
Trial of Drowning
The being raised its arm, and the chamber became a tide.
Water rushed in—not outside, but within her. Aria gasped, choking as memories poured into her lungs.
Her mother, burning. Her village, falling. Kael, bleeding in her arms.
She couldn't scream. Couldn't move.
Only drown.
But then—
She remembered. Herself. Her name. Her fire.
And she breathed.
Not water.
Light.
Flame burst from her core, and the tide shattered. The being fell to one knee, pearl crown tilting.
"You are not what we feared."
"No," Aria said. "I'm worse."
---
The Third Flame
In her hand appeared a sphere of liquid fire—blue and glowing. The drowned flame.
She took it.
And felt everything.
The grief of gods. The hunger of oceans. The sorrow of her bloodline.
She collapsed to her knees.
Kael caught her.
"You did it," he whispered.
But Aria only wept.
---
Surface and Storms
When they returned to land, thunder rolled across the horizon. The sea behind them turned black with warning.
Lior helped Mira stand. "Three vaults. One remains."
"And him," Mira said.
Far off, lightning split the sky—and within the storm stood a shadow with gold eyes.
The Sovereign was coming.
And the last vault was his.