The Dome
its highest point, they arrived at the sea. Moira stood on the beach, her feet sinking into the sand, listening to the crashing waves. A new sea, one she had never seen from above.
Okea.
Salty droplets sprayed her face, and the scent of seaweed filled her nostrils, the aroma of the beach which she learned about from Nerida’s ocean.
Nerida’s ocean. Her home. A whole eternity ago.
Pyrros and the others joined her.
“Now it’s just a matter of finding Ea.” Ever sounded calm.
Nerida looked at Pyrros. “How far can you fly? If it’s way out there, I mean.”
“If I need to rest, I can always float on the surface, but I can’t go without fresh water for too long,” Pyrros said. “That’ll be more limiting than how far I can fly. With the nap back in the forest, I’m refreshed.”
They were all silent for a moment, contemplating the logistics of the task ahead of them.
“I can swim out and search on my own,” said Nerida. “I have no limit in the sea. I’ve got everything I need to live there.”
Pyrros shook his head. “Who knows what’s in that water, and you might get lost. It’s an unknown sea, and you’re looking for an island that could be anywhere. The map might not be correct. I don’t want you to go alone.”
Ever nodded. “I agree with Pyrros.”
Nerida turned around and met his gaze. They stared at each other as if able to see straight through each other. “And of course, it’s entirely for my safety, right?”
Pyrros broke in. “The spell said we must be four. We need to stick together.”
“And the clock is ticking,” said Moira. “What if we lose you and we need to spend time trying to find you again?”
Nerida did not protest further. Together, they would leave the beach behind and fly towards the horizon. The island was not visible from their current position, and Moira fretted over how far they would have to travel to find Ea. Would they make it to Ea this way, or would they need a boat after all?
Anything to get her wings back, right?
But did she want to return home? Glancing at Ever, she was not so sure anymore. Even if she got her wings back, Aurora was no place for humans. And even if it were possible to make it a place for one human—perhaps owing to her princess status—he would not be able to fly, let alone live in Aurora.
A sting of guilt coursed through her. He still did not know the reason behind her fervent wish to find Ea. He did not know she belonged to Aurora and was, in fact, the crown princess of the air people. And she did not know how to tell him.
Would the truth disappoint him? Would he still find her attractive? Or would he think she had lied again? If she was honest with herself, she knew she had—and although he had forgiven her before, how far could she expect his compassion to stretch?
Swallowing the hard lump in her throat, she admitted to herself that her desire to find the island was not as strong as it had been before.
Why not simply pretend to be human, a slightly disfigured one with the small lumps on her shoulder blades as reminders of her previous life, and stay with him?
But they had said the spell, and Pyrros and Nerida were there for her sake. She pushed the thoughts of regret away.
Soon sweat ran along her forehead and down her back, the humidity rising to unbearable levels. It might as well have been the warmest day since she had crashed after the storm, and the complete lack of shelter made it impossible to avoid the sun’s rays. Their eyes swept back and forth over the calm ocean below them, a dark blue mirror reflecting Pyrros’ vast figure.
Moira’s stomach growled. Taking out the little food that remained from Gereon, they ate in silence. After lunch, Nerida slid into the sea, her skin reddened by the scorching sun.
Moira had not seen her in this kind of endless water since they had left Nerida’s native ocean. Back then, she had not stopped to admire Nerida in the water.
Watching her closely as Nerida swam and jumped, she took in every detail of how beautiful Nerida was in her element. The large fins, useless on land, were perfect for life below the surface. Each movement was graceful and effortless. As she sank below the surface, her face relaxed, and Moira wished she could see her down below, watch her swim, and be everything she was supposed to be in her true form.
When they had flown for several hours, the sun so high it cast their shadows straight below them, Pyrros glided into the water like an oversized swan. He must have been thirsty, but he did not complain.
“How far do we continue?” Moira asked while they drifted.
Nerida floated on her back next to Pyrros, the long fishtail glittering silver and blue in the sunlight.
Ever reviewed the map. “It should be somewhere here. According to the map, the island should be right off the coast.”
“Are you good to go on?” Nerida asked Pyrros.
He nodded.
Moira wondered what would happen if they turned around. Would something chase them, forcing them towards Ea as it had done on land? Would the dragons wait for them if they returned to shore? The thoughts made her shudder.
Nerida dove below the surface again while Pyrros rose upwards, the water running off him like a hundred tiny waterfalls.
They continued flying low over the ocean, so Nerida’s white shadow was still visible beneath the surface. Moira continued to search for the elusive island. They had now ventured so far into the ocean that land was no longer visible. In front of them, the sea expanded into the sharp horizon, infinite in appearance, and although Moira knew it must end somewhere, the scene sent chills down her spine. The air was glittering, and Moira blinked, on the verge of exhaustion.
I am sure the heat’s getting to me, she thought, yawning heavily, and perhaps it’s frying my brain because the air shouldn’t sparkle—
A loud bang made her ears ring, and everything shook. Moira’s sleepiness vanished. They had crashed into something, and it threw Pyrros back. Moira tried to stay on, but while her heart thundered in her chest, her body went numb.
She fell off in an arc, hitting the surface and sinking into the cold water. Panic rose, and she gasped for air before she went under, desperately wanting to swim toward the surface, but her body was unresponsive.
She hated water. Flashes of her first near-drowning flashed before her eyes. She was drowning again.
Despite frantic attempts, moving was impossible, as if every muscle had been paralyzed.
Her lungs burned.
Breathe, she wanted to breathe, but she knew she could not; it would be her end.
Nerida.
Where was Nerida? Her guardian angel, her protector, her wonderful friend who had and would follow her into any danger.
Peering through the dark water, the glittering surface was already much farther away than a moment ago. She was sinking deeper into the ocean’s abyss. She would die here, die in the water two weeks after she had survived the storm against all odds. The water was always going to be her grave; it had been waiting for her.
Black spots danced in front of her.
It was time to give up.
She closed her eyes and stopped watching the elusive surface. Her mouth filled with salty water and it tasted of salt, and there was none of the oxygen she craved. She needed to breathe, needed air, needed—she couldn’t remember what she needed.
Disconnected, as if it were someone else, she felt familiar, tender hands wrapping around her.
Those white arms were familiar. She was sure she knew them.
The black took over anyway.
She woke up in Pyrros’ claw, vomiting cascades of water and coughing until her throat was raw. Had she inhaled water after all, although she had tried best not to?
She hung there, panting, once more surprised and grateful that she was alive. She coughed and spat, and there was water everywhere. Water. Moira looked at it with disgust. She hated water, wanted to scramble away from it, but she had no strength left.
“Thank the seas,” Nerida mumbled, and Moira tried to lift her head, to protest that no, the sea was the last thing she would ever want to thank. She was able to move again, though it took every ounce of energy she had.
Pyrros looked from Moira to Nerida. “How are you two?”
“I’m fine,” Nerida said, squinting at them from the water.
“You saved my life. Again,” Moira said, surprised at how raspy and foreign her voice sounded coming from her raw throat. “If it hadn’t been for you, I would have drowned—again.”
A hint of pink shone on Nerida’s cheeks, and Moira didn’t know if it was from emotion or the sun. “It was nothing. You would’ve done the same if you could.”
“Yes, but—”
Nerida raised a hand and waved it off. “Are you okay, Pyrros? You also almost drowned just now, too.” Moira turned her head, trying to look at him from his position in his claw.
“You were also drowning?” It was no more than a whisper, her throat sore. “What happened?”
“That’s what I’m wondering, too.” Nerida looked toward the site of their crash. “I saw something glittering, and then I was thrown back and paralyzed. That’s why I couldn’t help you immediately.”
Moira frowned. “I also saw something glittering in the air. I was exhausted, and I thought it was my imagination.”
Ever said, “I’m guessing that the dome is a defense barrier around Ea, so not just anyone with a ship can sail there.”
Ever—Moira had all but forgotten about him, but there he was, sitting on Pyrros’ back as though nothing had happened. He was dripping wet, though, so he must have been in the water as well.
“But I don’t see an island,” said Pyrros. “Have you seen anything under the surface?”
Nerida shook her head.
“It’s probably hidden by the barrier.” Ever scratched his neck with one hand. “The entire island is magical, so it’s possible, I’d say.”
Nerida did not seem to enjoy agreeing with him, but nodded. “So, how do we get through? I get that not anyone and everyone should be able to stumble across the island, but it must be possible to get in. Otherwise, there’s no point in it existing.”
Ever had no answer to that, and neither did anyone else. After almost drowning before even getting onto the island, Moira had half a mind to skip the entire Ea thing. A bed. That was all she wanted, a soft one with a proper duvet and several pillows. And a warm, well-cooked meal with cutlery.
But they had chanted the spell together, like an unbreakable oath, and Moira was not keen on finding out what would happen if they didn’t follow through.
“Do you even think we can fly back to land?” she asked because she had to. “Or will the spell punish us if we try?”
Ever shook his head. “We probably shouldn’t even try. We’ve got no choice but to continue.”
Two hours later, the exploration of the barrier had given them the image of a magical, glittering dome over a section of the sea, but not the slightest clue about how to enter it. When they reconvened, Moira noticed that the others shared her exhaustion, too.
“So, we have come all this way, but we can’t get in. Great.” Moira spat the words, anger and hopelessness filling her up to the brim. She hadn’t felt this disappointed before, not even when Pyrros had betrayed her and she had been trapped in the witch’s lair.
“Shh,” Ever said, stroking her arm. “We’ll manage, together.”
“Together,” Pyrros repeated the word. “We enter together, and know what that means—wasn’t that the spell? I think we need to touch the dome, all four at the same time.”
Moira’s heart skipped a beat.
The spell.
Pyrros had memorized the entire text, and perhaps he was right.
She reached down and hugged him. “You are brilliant!”
“We don’t know if I’m right,” he said. “Save the praise until we get in.”
But it was right. It must be right.
“There’s no way to try it except to, well, do it.” Nerida looked at the glittering dome. “We have to touch the barrier again, and you guys will be risking your life. If we’re wrong, I may not be able to get you in time.”
“It’s the best idea we have,” Moira said, throwing her arms out, refraining from mentioning that it was also the only idea they had. “We can’t just give up.”
They looked at each other. Ever gave a slow nod and Pyrros looked at them with anxious eyes. “Maybe we should think a little more.”
“We’ll die out here if we don’t move on,” said Ever. “The sun is setting, and I don’t want to try a night out at sea on a dragon’s back. No offense.”
Nerida sighed. “I agree with Ever.”
Moira could tell how much she would have preferred not admitting that.
“You need to jump into the water,” Pyrros said to Moira and Ever. “If we’re supposed to touch the barrier simultaneously, you can’t sit on my back.”
Moira looked at Nerida. “Will you hold me?”
Nerida nodded.
“I’ll do the same,” said Ever, smiling.
Moira swung her leg over so both her legs were on the same side. Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slid downwards.
Nerida grabbed her as soon as she got into the water and held a steady hand on Moira’s arm, pulling both Moira and Ever toward the barrier. It glittered in the sunlight, and now that she knew it was there, she could not understand how she had failed to see it before.
In silence, they lined up next to each other. Moira’s heart was pounding, and she both wanted and did not want to touch the barrier. She did not want to be thrown back, did not want to drown, did not want to experience her lungs burning again. But having come this far and so close to getting her wings, she also did not want to give up.
Moira took Nerida’s hand, and on the other side, she held Ever’s.
Ever put his hand to Pyrros’ neck.
“On three,” Nerida said. “One, two.”
They raised their intertwined hands, and Pyrros tilted his head forward.
“Three.”