They took a boat out to the deepest point of the harbor, the twins rowing in perfect synchrony, their strokes smooth and practiced. Kaelen sat at the bow, the crystals in his lap, watching the water change color as they moved from the shallow inshore waters to the deep channel that marked the harbor's entrance. The water was dark here, almost black, and the cold radiated up through the hull of the boat like a warning.
Kaelen stripped off his coat, his shirt, his boots. The cold hit him like a wall, and he gasped, his breath misting in the air.
"Ready?" Aperi asked.
"Ready."
Kaelen lowered himself over the side, the crystals tied to his belt in a leather pouch. The cold was immediate, intense, a shock that drove the air from his lungs and replaced it with something that felt like fire. His body screamed at him to surface, to breathe, to escape, but he forced himself down, kicking with his legs, his arms stretched out before him.
