The forest deepened as they pressed on, shadows stretching longer between the trees. Puddles dotted the ground, shallow pools that hummed with faint ripples as if stirred by an unseen hand. Serenya slowed, her gaze locking on the trembling water. Something inside her tightened, and without thinking she grabbed Kael's wrist.
"Follow me," she hissed, pulling him forward.
Stumbling steps carried them faster than his weary legs could manage, but she dragged him all the same. The ground blurred, oaks and brush whipping by as if the island itself urged them deeper. Hours seemed to slip away until Kael collapsed against a tree, breath ragged, sweat streaking his brow. Serenya's chest burned too, her lungs aching with every inhale, yet her body refused to stop until the trees broke apart.
Before them stretched a lake, silver under the dimming sky. Serenya moved without thought, stepping into its cool embrace. Her body eased as the water lapped at her skin, carrying her weight until she floated, breathless but steady. She shut her eyes, nerves unspooling with every ripple.
Only then did she speak, her voice soft, almost certain."We'll be safe here."
Kael staggered from the treeline not long after, still panting, his boots dragging across the dirt. He stopped at the lake's edge, hands on his knees, and stared at Serenya floating lazily in the water like it was a bed made just for her.
He blinked. Then squinted. Then finally shook his head with a huff.
"Unbelievable," he muttered. "You drag me halfway across the forest like the sky's falling, only to throw yourself in the first pond you see… just to relax?"
Serenya cracked one eye open, the faintest smirk tugging at her lips. She didn't bother answering.
Kael stepped closer, irritation bleeding into his tone. "Do you have any idea what you've just done? A water source like this—every beast within miles drinks here. You've basically rung a dinner bell. And you—" He pointed at her, the glow of the lake casting across his tired face. "You're without your power. Tell me, on land—where another higher being rules—what makes you think you can just slip into water and wield what's lost to you?"
Her smirk faltered. She hadn't thought of it that way. Not yet. And worse—she hadn't even considered returning to her true form beneath the surface.
Kael shook his head again, muttering under his breath like a man both baffled and irritated by her recklessness. "Spirits. Always more pride than sense."
Serenya drifted lazily in the lake, her chin barely above the surface. "You sound like an old man," she said finally, her voice lilting with mockery. "Always warning, always grumbling. Do you ever breathe without complaining?"
Kael folded his arms, his glare sharp. "Do you ever think before acting?"
She let out a soft laugh, one hand trailing through the water. "Thinking is for those who can't feel. I follow instinct. It's why I'm alive."
"It's also why you'll be dinner," Kael shot back, stepping closer to the bank. "Instinct makes fools easy prey."
Before she could retort, the lake beneath her gave a low, deep rumble. Barely audible—like a growl hidden under the water's skin. The ripples spread in slow, concentric waves around her body.
Her smirk stiffened. Without a word, she began edging herself toward the bank, still graceful, but with a stiffness Kael didn't miss.
"Oh, now you listen," he said, lips quirking into a half-grin. "Took a lake growling at you to prove my point?"
"Shut your mouth," she hissed, sliding closer to shore, water dripping off her arms. "You're lucky I don't drown you for that tone."
He chuckled, the sound sharp and humorless. "Without your power? Please. You'd just splash me and hope I trip."
Her eyes narrowed like daggers. "I could still do it."
"And I'd still walk away dry," Kael countered, extending a hand to pull her out.
For a moment she refused, pride warring with her better sense. But the rumble under the water grew again, and Serenya finally grasped his hand—if only so she could yank herself onto the shore and shove past him with a muttered, "Don't think this means you're right."
Kael laughed under his breath, shaking his head. "Spirits. Pride first, survival second."
The rumble grew sharper, vibrating through the water beneath her like a warning. Serenya froze mid-step, silver eyes scanning the surface. Ripples twisted unnaturally, not from her movement, not from the wind. Something was coming.
Kael tensed beside her, eyes narrowing. "See?" he muttered, more to himself than to her. "The water doesn't lie."
Before she could react further, a shadow broke the surface—a jagged, glimmering mass, moving too fast to fully register. Serenya's heart lurched, instincts screaming, and yet she stayed frozen for just a breath too long.
The next instant, Kael was pushing her backward, his fire-stained branch swinging in a wide arc. "Move! Now!"
Serenya stumbled onto the bank, water dripping from her hair, her lungs burning—but she couldn't stop herself from stealing one glance at the lake. The shadow lingered just beneath, circling, testing, waiting.
Her lips curved in a tense, sharp smile. "So… you were right. There's always something watching."
Kael shot her a look, half annoyed, half impressed. "And you're lucky it's curious, not hungry."
The forest held its breath with them, dark and alive. And somewhere beneath the lake, whatever had stirred waited—patient, silent, and hungry.