The Waterboy by Talena Winters

Author:Talena Winters [Winters, Talena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-11-13T12:17:04+00:00

CHAPTER 2: THE MOTHER'S HEART

The Opal Palace was built in the shape of the Holy Triquetra, representative of Atargatis herself—each of the three wings were in the shape of an ichthys fish conjoined in an infinite path. A ring of indoor and outdoor terraces and gardens replicated the circle that bound the symbol in unity.

At the core of the structure was the Mother’s Heart, a vast tricorn-shaped marble chamber tiled in rock crystal that was founded in the bedrock below sea level. The room housed the Heartstone—the gift of Atargatis and power source for everything on the island, the most important of which was the barrier that protected Sirenia from unwanted eyes.

Access to the chamber was well guarded at the upper levels. But once you got past the entry point to the staircase that led you down six storeys—where one could access the pool of water that perpetually filled the bottom of the chamber—not so much.

Calandra had sneaked down to the chamber so many times that getting past the guards at the top of the stairs with two extra people hardly even required her to be creative. So far, no one had discovered her solo nighttime forays into the depths of the palace. It was only when she was with Tanni that trouble seemed to find her. Or rather, she found it, and dragged Tanni into it with her. No wonder Tanni hadn’t wanted to come.

By the time Calandra, Tanni, and Osaze reached the antechamber that opened into the Mother’s Heart, Calandra was seriously beginning to regret her impetuous decision to sneak out of bed tonight.

All she’d wanted was a swim to clear her head and help her forget the unsettling undine man in her dream. But now she had a major problem, and his hand was growing sweaty in her own. She could think of no quieter place to solve it than the tunnels that serviced the base of the Mother’s Heart chamber—not even the servants went there unless they were assigned to clean the Mother’s Pool. The few people allowed to go there rarely felt that admiring the beauty of the Stone without a glass barrier in the way was worth the effort of the multiple flights of stairs required to enter the chamber. It was one of Calandra’s favourite escapes.

Tanni leaned against the wall of the small room and caught her breath. Her normally placid expression was pinched in frustration and flushed with exertion. She looked at their male companion, who bore the expression of someone determined not to panic—or perhaps determined not to throw up.

“I hope whatever you wanted to talk about was worth this, Calandra kor’Delphine.”

Calandra gave her friend a sharp look. “I’m not the one who Released a taps.”

“Well, I’m not the one who dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night,” Tanni snapped back, crossing her arms.

Calandra bit her lip on her retort and glanced at Osaze, who stood looking around the small chamber, clenching and unclenching his fists. Releasing a human without authorization was a capital crime for adults.

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