Before them, something jutted from the sea, made of perfectly white marble.
Gates.
The Forgotten City of Swordscale
A sailor who nearly drowned surfaced only to claim he had seen a city beneath the water. When his captain went to investigate, it was gone. Nothing to discover.
Hundreds of years ago, waterbreathers took to the sea, fleeing the great Osteria War. Their emblems were useless in the land-based battle, so instead of choosing a side, they left to build their own settlement beneath the sea, with one goal: forever-lasting peace.
And so, the underwater city of Swordscale was created.
Record of any past wars were burned and forbidden to be put to paper—the idea of battle erased altogether. The waterbreathers sought to raise children who did not know anything but peace, convinced it would mean they would never have conflict. Inhabitants were not allowed to leave, for fear that they would see the rest of the world, where war raged on.
And to keep any potential threat out, Swordscales made a deal with the blood queen, who spun a spell that allowed the city to move in an instant. Its location is constantly changing, as it sweeps across the seafloor.
A mysterious moving city of peace, born from war.
5
The City of Sandstone
Vesper reached dangerously far off the ship to touch a finger against the marble gates. “I can’t believe it,” she said.
Engle scoffed. “Yeah, I can’t believe no one’s knocked down these gates yet, either. I mean, they’re just sitting in the middle of the sea, waiting to sink the next ship that sails by?”
Vesper turned to him. “These gates are typically hidden far below and don’t rise for just anyone. They’re an invitation.”
“To what?” Tor asked.
She grinned. “The hidden city of Sandstone.”
There was a moment of quiet.
Engle scratched the side of his head. “The what?”
Vesper blinked. “You all haven’t finished the book, have you?” She scoffed. “Surely Sandstone is in that book of legends.”
Melda crossed her arms across her chest. “I finished it last night.” Of course she had. Tor found himself once again grateful for the existence of Grimelda Alexander. “And it is. Both of the two forgotten cities are mentioned.” Of course she had. Tor found himself once again grateful for the existence of Grimelda Alexander.
“So what is it?” Tor asked, glancing warily at the gates. An arch curved like a crown sat at its top. Its doors were just barely open.
“An underwater city, like Swordscale,” Vesper said, a gleam in her eye. “One that fell centuries ago. Its ruins are said to contain many lost wonders.” She touched the gates once more. “Only those invited may enter. It’s hidden to everyone else.”
Engle raised an eyebrow. “If it’s so hidden and secret, how did it fall anyway?”
Melda frowned at the mess below, their breakfast smeared across the deck. “You’ll have plenty of time to guess, while they explore. I’ll be in my room.” She turned to go, then she said over her shoulder, “Don’t take long. We can’t afford to lose too much time.” She held the arenahora above her head for good measure.
Engle’s face fell, suddenly realizing he wouldn’t be able to see the city. “Fine. Bring me something nice, will you?” He trailed Melda downstairs, grumbling about their interrupted meal.
Tor was left with Vesper by his side. Her shoulders were pink, the sun already having left its mark on her. The bridge of her nose was now golden, freckles quickly forming. She looked wistfully at the gates. “I’ve always dreamt of visiting Sandstone,” she said. “Never, in a thousand years, did I believe I would.” She offered Tor her hand.
For a moment, he considered not taking it. He had loved the sea for as long as he could remember, taking early-morning swims in the ocean before school, memorizing every bit of the seafloor off Estrelle’s coast. Swimming was his passion—that was why he had risked everything by making his Eve wish.
But he hadn’t swam since he had been made a wicked. He hadn’t wanted to…not once.
Which meant he hadn’t known what it was like to explore the ocean as a waterbreather.
Vesper looked at him knowingly. “I’ve spent my entire life in the seas,” she said. “Now, I’m above it, air chapping my lips, sun burning my skin.” She looked past him, mind somewhere else. “Change is only bad if you let it be.”
Tor swallowed. The sea lapped below, reaching for him. Calling him forward with its siren call. His stomach swirled with guilt. Not only for the sacrifices that were needed for him to have gotten the emblem he had always wanted, but also for taking precious minutes out of their time-sensitive journey for something as trivial as a swim. But this wasn’t just for his benefit, he reasoned—maybe they would find something useful in the underwater city. Vesper had said it was rumored to contain lost wonders. Perhaps one of them would help in their search for the pearl.
He took her hand.
And jumped.
* * *
Underwater, Tor saw the gates extended for miles, down to an abyss. Vesper swam through the small opening, beckoning for him to follow.
He did, diving deeper and deeper below.
Past the gates, the water looked exactly the same as it did on the other side. A few schools of fish passed him by without a glance. Vesper swam straight down, farther and farther without a thought. Tor followed, reaching forward, then back, bare feet kicking behind him. He had never been so deep before—deep enough he would have drowned before making it back to the surface.
The sea changed colors every ten or so feet, getting slighter darker. Green, to light blue, to deep blue. The sun above, a golden, fractured light, began to dim. His ears started popping at the pressure.
Something lurched in his chest. His lungs constricted painfully, and his throat ached.
Vesper turned around to face him. Then, she spoke, as easily as she had on land. It had a slight echo. “Tor, breathe.”
He hesitated, even as
