"There's nothing you can offer me that I would want."

"Not even immortality?" Valefor asked, raising an eyebrow. "That usually gets people. Not to mention powers beyond your imagination, an army of servants at your disposal, and of course, everything I have to give, which is nearly unlimited. And once you're my bride, we will rule the world. We can do as whatever we wish."

He walked toward her as he spoke, his words getting more emphatic.

"Really, think of that, Lily. You could have anything you wanted. You could be anything you wanted. I would give you everything your heart desires."

She stared up at him, her chin high, and she told him, "The only thing my heart desires is Lux."

Valefor sighed resignedly, but he didn't seem upset. She'd thought his rage might flare up again, but he only nodded.

"That's what you say now, but if there's one thing I've learned living on this Earth for the past millennia, it's that young hearts are fickle," Valefor said. "You'll forget him. And then you'll see what I really have to offer."

"I will never love you." She shook her head adamantly. "I will never obey you, and I will certainly never marry you."

"You'll change your mind."

"I won't," she insisted, but he'd already turned his back to her and was walking away. "I will do to you what you have done to me. You took away the one thing I cared about most in this world, and so I will do the same. And if what you want is me, then you will never have me."

"Yes, I've heard you, but I'm tired of this conversation now." He smiled thinly at her. "I think it's time you see your quarters."

Valefor went over to the door, and Lily charged at him. She didn't really have a plan of attack. She just felt that she had to do something. Throwing the rope from her ankles around his neck, she jumped on his back, trying to choke him. His skin burned her, but she continued to pull tightly on the rope.

He didn't even struggle, though. He grabbed the rope, tearing it in half with hardly an effort, and he elbowed her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. Pain shot through her, and she barely stopped herself from vomiting. She cradled her belly and gasped for breath.

"Lily, I'm sorry for that, but you made me do it." Valefor looked down at her. "You do understand that, don't you?"

She coughed because she couldn't speak, and Valefor sighed. He opened the door and summoned the guards to take her to her room. Two large ogres came in to get her. They towered over Valefor, their dark skin mottled brown and covered in warts. They tried to pull Lily to her feet, but she couldn't stand, so they dragged her out of the room.

Ira had been standing outside the door, and he watched her pa.s.s out from pain as the ogres took her away. Once she had disappeared around the corner, Ira stepped into Valefor's chamber.

"So it didn't go as well as you planned?" Ira asked.

"Not exactly." Valefor picked up the rope she'd tried to strangle him with, pulling it between his hands. "But I didn't think she'd accept right away. She needs to see reason, and a few days in the dungeon without food or water ought to do that."

"You're going to torture her into loving you?" Ira asked.

"Don't be ridiculous," Valefor scoffed and tossed the rope into the fire, making it blaze for a moment. "She'll never love me. But she doesn't need to. She just has to serve me, to accept me as her one true leader."

"Why can't you just make her marry you?" Ira asked.

"That's not how it works," Valefor shook his head. "She has to choose me. But she will. Give her a few days of suffering, and she'll beg for me to marry her and set her free from that pit."

15.

The swamp gurgled around them. Bubbles rose to the surface, and when they popped, they made the noise of a crying child. This had given it the Weeping Waters, and that sound of a child in danger had led many unsuspecting travelers to their death.

Wick and Lux made their way carefully across the swamp, using stones, trees, and the occasional patch of land to avoid stepping in the sludge. Touching the water wouldn't mean certain death in itself, but both Wick and Lux knew the source of the weeping bubbles.

Hidden beneath the murky film were fish the size of grown men with teeth like blades, waiting to snap at anything that entered the water. They made the crying sound, sending it out in hopes of luring someone to rescue a child that did not exist. Like a siren song, they called to their prey, tricking them into becoming a meal.

Wick knew her way through the swamp better than Lux, having traversed more times than she would've liked. Once across the wretched water was more than enough. It smelled putrid, of decay and death, and the crying call of the fish was maddening.

A ma.s.sive tree had tipped over in the center of the swamp, and its large roots were splayed out above the surface, thick as tree trunks themselves. When they reached it, Wick stopped, standing on a large rock that jutted out of the swamp. She'd been leading the way, and Lux stood on the rock behind her.

"What's wrong?" Lux asked, keeping his voice low. The creatures in the water listened for any sound, any reason to leap from the water.

"It didn't used to be like this." She motioned to the overturned tree in front of them. "Below the tree used to be a small island. It was a respite in the middle of swamp, where you could catch your breath without fear of being eaten alive."

"Where's the island now?" Lux asked.

"I don't know." Wick shook her head. "When the tree went over, the island must've gone with it. I suppose the roots were holding the dirt in place, and without it, it just sunk."

"We still have to go across. Island or not."

Instead of replying to that, Wick bent down and slid off her shoes. They were little more than worn cloth, more like socks or slippers than true shoes, and they had nothing to grip with on their bottoms. She put the shoes in her satchel, then reached out carefully and stepped onto the root in front of her.

Since they were roots, they were smoother and slicker than the other trunks they had stopped on. Some of them were even covered in mud or moss, making them even more slippery. While most of the roots were quite thick, not all of them were. Going across them meant stepping on narrow roots, ones that might even snap under their weight.

There was no other way through the swamp, unless they went back and around the Weeping Waters, and they didn't have time for that.

Lux followed suit and slipped off his own shoes. His were newer and far nicer than Wick's, but like her shoes, they didn't have soles for gripping. He didn't have a satchel to put them in, so he simply left them on the rock and went after her.

Wick stepped delicately from one root to the next. Her footing was nimble, and Lux found her surprisingly agile. He had to struggle to keep up with her, but her confidence worked against her. She jumped to the next root, and though she landed it, her foot slipped on a patch of moss, and she fell.

"Wick!" Lux yelled, and she caught herself before she tumbled into the water. One arm wrapped around the root, she dangled above the swamp, her bare feet mere inches from the surface.

"I'm okay," Wick said through gritted teeth. She tried to pull herself up, but her arm slipped and she almost fell again.

"Hang on." Lux scrambled across the roots, hurrying to get to her. "I'll pull you up. Just hang on."

"Be careful," Wick warned him. "You can't help me if you fall in."

Lux followed her advice but knew he had to move fast to get her. Her grip on the branch seemed tenuous, and he could see her satchel slipping from her shoulder. If that fell into the water, the fish would leap out after it and grab onto Wick, pulling her into the murky depths.

Wick felt the strap slipping down her arm, and she rolled her shoulder, trying to push it back up. She glanced down at all the bubbles below her feet, growing louder and more rapid, like the fish sensed she was hovering just above them. Her satchel had tilted to the side, and one of her shoes was hanging out.

It was going to fall, and she had to catch it before it did. Wick wrapped one arm tightly around the root, securing herself as best she could, and let go with her other arm, meaning to grab the shoe. But when she let go, her balance shifted, and she swung just slightly to the side. But that was all the shoe needed. It slipped out of her bag and tumbled towards the swamp.

"No," Wick whispered, staring in horror as the shoe splashed into the muck.

She turned back around to grab the root and try to pull herself up again, but instead of the tree, she got Lux's hand. He grabbed her and yanked her up, just as she heard the splash below her.

Wick was facing Lux, so she couldn't see it, but he could. A giant brown fish leapt out of the water, its skin thick with the swamp water. It had fins like a normal fish, but six long tentacles grew out of each of its sides, like overgrown catfish whiskers. That was how the fish could propel itself through the muddy swamp.

Its eyes were wide and gla.s.sy, glazed over with cataracts from never seeing light in the water. Its teeth jutted out in angles, like sharp daggers. When the fish opened its mouth, it was like a monstrous bear trap that clamped down on the air just below Wick's feet.

Lux pulled Wick onto the root next to him, and they both knelt there for a minute, catching their breath. Before the first fish had even landed back in the water, another one had jumped out. Within seconds, there was a feeding frenzy as they leapt into the air, snapping at nothing since they couldn't quite jump as high as where Lux and Wick rested.

"Thank you," Wick panted, but she wouldn't look at Lux when she said it.

"No problem," he said.

The crying of the fish had gotten even louder, sounding more like a screaming child now. They were starving and angry that their dinner had been taken away after being dangled in front of them. Because of this anger, one of the fish was able to leap out even farther, snapping its jaws dangerously close to Lux's leg.

"I think we should go," Lux said.

"Yes, let's." Wick nodded fervently, and they both hurried away from the fish.

Most of the fish stayed behind, hunting in the spot where Wick had fallen, but a few followed. Wick and Lux could see the bubbles below them as they climbed over the roots of the tree. They had slowed their pace a bit, both of them wanting to be more careful.

"These d.a.m.n fish are driving me nuts," Lux muttered.

"Just ignore them," Wick suggested, but that was easier said than done. The constant cries of a child could drive anyone mad.

"I'm trying to," Lux said, and no sooner had the words left his mouth than the fish calls quieted down. They were still crying, but more softly.

"Look, it's already getting better," Wick said, climbing onto the root in front of her. "And we're almost to the other side of the tree." She pointed in front of her to where a bit of the island still remained. "It's not that much farther until we're out of the swamp."

Lux actually did feel some relief in the quieting of the fish and knowing they were almost across. Everything would feel so much better on dry land.

"There should be another smaller island on the other side of that one," Wick said as they made their way toward it. "And then a few logs, some rocks, and we're out."

"Wick." Lux stopped moving and tilted his head, listening.

"Things might have changed, but that's the way I remember them anyway," Wick went on, not realizing that Lux had stopped.

"Wick!" Lux repeated, only louder this time.

"What?" Wick turned around to face him, annoyed at slowing down. She wanted nothing more than to be out of the cursed swamp.

But then she heard it too nothing. The fish had stopped crying completely. She exchanged a knowing look with Lux. The only reason the fish would be quiet was if a predator more dangerous than them were around.

In the silence of the swamp, it was easy to hear the slurping of something sliding out of the water. Wick and Lux looked behind them just in time to see the hump of a creature above the swamp. Its back was covered in green scales with razor sharp fins on its spine, and then it disappeared into the water again.

Lux turned back to Wick, his skin pale and his eyes wide.

"Run," he told her, but she already knew.

Wick turned and bolted forward, ignoring her earlier suggestion to slow down and be careful. What was coming after them now could easily jump over the roots, probably even the whole tree. If they didn't get out of here fast enough, they were as good as dead.

They moved as fast as they could and leapt from the tree onto the island. It was wet and muddy, and both of them fell when they landed. Wick had barely gotten to her feet when the sea dragon lurched out of the water. It crashed right into the island, sending mud and dirt flying, along with the swamp water.

The sea dragon's head was large enough that it could swallow Lux whole if it wanted to and its neck alone was twelve feet long. At the bottom of its neck were two clawed feet on two very short arms. Its body was long and thin, more serpentine than a true dragon. The swamp water couldn't stick to its skin, so the iridescent green scales that covered its body shimmered brightly.

"I hate dragons," Lux muttered, scrambling to his feet to get away from the beast.

In response, the creature fixed its golden eyes on them, then opened its mouth and let out a loud roar. The breath reeked of sulfur in a way that even Lux couldn't stand.

"Go!" Wick commanded, and they ran forward, ducking down as they did.

They barely moved in time to escape the fire that blasted out from the dragon's mouth. Lux moved in between Wick and the dragon, shielding her as best he could. The flames singed the back of Lux's neck, and he ran faster, pushing Wick along.

Wick ran across rocks in the swamp, using them like stepping stones, with Lux and the dragon right on her tail. Lux didn't turn back, but he could hear the creature crashing through everything behind them. It was quick in the water but lumbered on land, so their best chance at escape was to make it to dry land.

A weeping willow was in front of them, and Wick grabbed onto one of its long branches, using it to swing across. Lux reached for one and slipped, so he settled for grabbing onto a branch and climbing up the tree, toward the trunk where it's branches were stronger.

The dragon dove into the water, disappearing for a moment, and he could see Wick through the branches of the tree, standing on a giant boulder. The dragon would have a harder time getting to her than it would him, and that was a good thing for Wick, but it meant that Lux was probably his prime target.

"Don't you have anything to stop a dragon?" Lux asked, climbing as fast as he could in the tree.

"The only way to stop a dragon is to stab it through its heart!" Wick shouted back. "Get out of the tree before it comes back!"

Lux stood on one of the weaker branches and slid down it toward Wick and the boulder. Just when he got close, the sea dragon sprung out of the water, opening its jaws in front of him so Lux was posed to slide right in its mouth.

Thinking fast, Lux used the branch like a spring board and jumped up over the creature's head. This, of course, only enraged the dragon more. When Lux landed on the rock with a painful thud, the dragon roared, a growl mixing with its bellowing.

Wick pulled Lux to his feet, and they were running again. The dragon crashed down in the water next to them, making the rocks they had to cross slick and wet. Lux could feel the heat from the fire behind him when the dragon rose out of the water.

They were close enough where they could actually see the sh.o.r.e. There was a gap between the rocks and land, too far for them to jump. But an old tree grew out of the dry land, hanging over the swamp. Wick leapt forward and grabbed onto a low-hanging branch and then swung herself across to the sh.o.r.e.

Lux meant to do the same, but when he grabbed the branch, it broke, and he and the branch tumbled into the water. The good news, if there was any, was that the water wasn't as deep here. It only came up past Lux's waist, and with the dragon here, all the fish were too afraid to come out.

The dragon arched itself out of the water, staring down at Lux, and Lux knew he had nowhere to go. The water was too thick for him to able to outrun the creature, and the dragon seemed to know that. Its yellow eyes glinted with victory, and Lux clenched the broken branch in his feet.

When the dragon roared again in his face, Lux didn't back down. He was so close that the beast's breath blew back his hair. He could hear Wick shouting behind him, telling him to run or fight or do something. But Lux didn't move. Not until the dragon opened his mouth to breathe fire on him.

Lux crouched down, so the branch was safely below the water, and the let the flames go over his flesh. He couldn't burn, not from fire, but the dragon would lose sight of him in his breath. Once the fire covered him, Lux ducked down, submerging himself below the water, and using all his might, he churned through the thick swamp.

He came up right in front of the dragon's chest, and the beast didn't know what hit it, even as Lux rammed the branch right into its heart. It let out a confused roar, then thrashed around, letting out a few last puffs of smoke before collapsing to the ground. Its body lay spread out in the water but the head crashed onto the sh.o.r.e, a few feet from where Wick stood.

It would only be a matter of moments before the fish caught on that the dragon had become a free meal, so Lux hurried toward the sh.o.r.e as fast as the water would allow. Wick was waiting for him, and she held out her hand, helping pull him up.

"I really hate dragons," he said once he was safely out of swamp.

"But you're impervious to flames," Wick said, handing him a cloth so he could wipe the putrid water from his face.

"Just because I can't be burned doesn't mean that I enjoy it." He cleaned off his face and smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you."

He turned to start walking away, to continue on their trek, when Gula stepped out from a patch of trees. His face forever stained by goblin wings, his glowered down at Lux and crossed his arms firmly over his chest.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Gula growled.