SILVER POV'S
A smile tugged at my lips.
Being inside an elevator could only mean one thing, the next set of riddles would finally lead us to our destination: Herb C.
The system screen flickered before new words appeared.
"This last riddle is about nature. There are only three left. Solve them, and they will lead you to your heart's desire, Herb C."
Natasha read the riddle aloud.
"All about but cannot be seen, can be captured but cannot be held, no throat but can be heard."
I stared at the words, completely clueless. I didn't even know where to begin.
Judging from the look on Zoah's face, he wasn't doing much better either.
Natasha, however, seemed deep in thought. She took a slow breath before speaking.
"All about but cannot be seen," she repeated. "That means it must be invisible, yet its presence can be felt by different people at the same time."
"Go on," I urged.
Her explanation already made more sense than anything I could come up with. Natasha really was intelligent. It was a good thing she hadn't died. Such intelligence would have been a terrible waste. Maybe someday, if we ever managed to get along, I'd ask her what had caused her coma. Of course, that would only happen if she stopped pursuing Zoah.
"Can be captured but cannot be held," Natasha continued thoughtfully. "This is nature, not sorcery. So what can be captured without physically holding it? And what has no throat yet can still be heard?"
I frowned.
"I don't know."
She tapped her chin as she analyzed the riddle.
"It must be related to currents. What has currents?"
"Water," I blurted out immediately.
The moment the word left my mouth, both Natasha and Zoah turned to look at me.
Damn.
Why did I say that?
Zoah raised an eyebrow.
"You seem to have a thing for water."
"I don't." I shook my head quickly. "Actually, I hate water. Or maybe water hates me."
Natasha scoffed.
"You drink water, don't you?"
"Aside from drinking, bathing, and household chores, I avoid it whenever possible."
She rolled her eyes.
"What else is water used for?"
"Swimming."
The answer came naturally.
Zoah's gaze sharpened.
"You can't swim?"
I grimaced.
"I always end up drowning whenever I try."
Natasha blinked.
"Seriously?"
"Well... there was one exception."
Both of them looked at me expectantly.
"I sort of floated."
"What do you mean, 'sort of floated'?" Natasha asked.
"I half-floated."
A brief silence followed.
Zoah frowned.
Natasha looked at me as though I had lost my mind.
"Half-floated without sinking? That's ridiculous. Stop hallucinating, baby girl."
"I'm serious," I said firmly. "This isn't a hallucination."
"Sure it isn't, Water Girl."
Before I could argue further, Natasha turned back to the system and typed in her answer.
A second later, the screen flashed green.
CORRECT.
Answer: WIND.
The elevator chimed softly as the doors began to slide open.
ZOAH'S POV
"Water Girl."
Natasha's nickname echoed in my mind as she entered the answer.
Oddly enough, it suited Silver.
My gaze drifted toward her.
She was still muttering under her breath about Natasha's teasing, completely unaware of the thoughts racing through my mind.
Half-floated without sinking.
The statement shouldn't have made sense.
No human could lose consciousness in water and remain suspended. The moment awareness faded, the body would naturally sink.
Yet Silver claimed she had floated.
Not completely.
Not normally.
But enough to avoid sinking.
It was strange.
Far too strange.
Only one race possessed such an ability.
Mermaids.
Even unconscious, a mermaid's body would remain supported by the sea. Water protected its own.
But Silver wasn't a mermaid.
At least, she shouldn't be.
She hated water. According to her, she nearly drowned whenever she came into contact with it. No true mermaid should suffer such a fate.
Yet the possibility refused to leave my mind.
My thoughts drifted to another mystery.
Lord Lugard.
The Guardian of Osiranea.
A god of water.
Why would someone like him take an interest in Silver?
Why possess Charles's body, force out his soul, and assume his identity?
Why stay so close to an ordinary human girl?
None of it made sense.
Unless Silver wasn't ordinary.
The possibility sent an uneasy feeling through me.
Then my own thoughts mocked me.
As if you're any different.
I clenched my jaw.
The voice wasn't wrong.
I had taken an interest in Silver too.
But unlike Lord Lugard, my reasons were selfish.
Everything I was doing was for Violet.
I wondered how she was doing.
Whether she had awakened yet.
Violet wasn't weak. The blood of Lucifer flowed through her veins. If anyone could survive such a fate, it was her.
By now, she should have opened her eyes.
And if she was awake, she had undoubtedly already sent someone to watch me.
A spy hidden somewhere on Earth.
A faint smile crossed my lips.
Stay strong, Violet.
I'm close.
Closer than I've ever been.
Soon, I'll obtain the cure.
And when I do, nothing in Heaven, Earth, or Hell will stop me from bringing you back.
"You're not listening, Zoah."
Silver's voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me back to reality.
I blinked and turned toward her.
"What is it?" I asked.
"The next riddle." She folded her arms. "Natasha, read it again."
Natasha glanced at the screen and sighed before reading aloud.
"Three lives have I. Gentle enough to soothe skin. Light enough to caress the sky. Hard enough to crack rocks."
I frowned as I considered the words.
Three lives.
If it had been nine lives, I would have immediately guessed a cat, or perhaps a phoenix.
But three?
Nothing came to mind.
"Water."
Silver spoke with surprising confidence.
Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"And how exactly are you so sure?"
Silver rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Oh, for goodness' sake, just type it already."
Natasha didn't move.
Silver groaned in frustration.
"You know what? Move."
Before Natasha could protest, Silver shoved her aside and typed the answer herself.
I couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of my lips.
This girl and her attitude.
Silver possessed the temperament of a tigress, fierce, fearless, and impossible to intimidate.
She charged headfirst into situations that would make most people hesitate.
It was one of the things that made her stand out.
She was also intelligent.
Far more intelligent than she gave herself credit for.
Of course, I had never told her that.
Compliments and Silver rarely ended well.
My gaze lingered on her for a moment.
I knew she had been hurt earlier when I compared Natasha to her.
She had tried to hide it behind sarcasm and stubbornness, but I had noticed.
Silver wore her emotions more openly than she realized.
She was probably wondering how Natasha and I knew each other.
The truth was much simpler than she imagined.
I hadn't found Natasha.
Natasha had found me.
A memory surfaced in my mind.
I had been sitting alone in a bar late one night, gathering information about the herbs, when a young woman approached my table.
She introduced herself as Natasha.
The same woman whose life I had saved in exchange for Herb B.
I expected a simple expression of gratitude.
Instead, she sat down and informed me that she had heard I was searching for several rare herbs.
Since I had saved her life, she wanted to repay the favor by helping me obtain them.
I accepted.
At the time, it seemed like a convenient arrangement.
Besides, I thought it might be good for Silver to have someone around her age.
A companion.
Someone she could talk to.
Although I quickly realized Natasha's motivations weren't entirely selfless.
She wasn't interested in helping me out of gratitude alone.
I could sense it from the beginning.
Natasha admired power.
And she had already learned exactly what I was before approaching me.
She knew I was a Dragon God.
Unlike Silver.
A faint smile crossed my lips.
When I transformed earlier to save them, the expression on Silver's face had been unforgettable.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Wonder.
Never in her life had she witnessed anything like it.
She hadn't questioned me yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time.
Silver was many things.
Patient was not one of them.
The moment we obtained Herb C, the questions would begin.
Endlessly.
Relentlessly.
And knowing Silver, she wouldn't stop until she had every answer.
I released a quiet sigh.
Well...
It was inevitable.
After today, my identity would no longer remain a secret.
And somehow, that thought worried me more than facing the dangers ahead.