“No. They’re used to it. I promise they’ll be okay.” I shot her a smile, then dragged them into the water. “Don’t be scared. You’ll be able to breathe just like normal.”
“Daddy,” Rasha said.
“It’s okay, peanut. Want me to go first so you can see?”
Rasha nodded, so Hiro released my hand, stepped in front of us, and dipped his head underwater. He stayed there for a long time before Rasha knelt down and went under herself. Hiro grabbed her hands, so I released hers, and he pulled her around. It was pretty shallow here, but Hiro managed to keep them under for a while. Eventually, he popped up with a grin. “I think we’re ready.”
I nodded toward Rebe, who was gently swimming around, waiting for us. “Let’s go.”
Hiro nodded and pulled Rasha up until she was holding onto his shoulders, and the three of us made our way over to Rebe. The kelpie swam closer and gave us their back. I pushed Rasha onto Rebe’s back, saying, “Hold onto Rebe’s mane. Hiro get behind her, I’ll go behind you.” They followed directions, and since I couldn’t reach Rebe’s mane, I wrapped my arms around Hiro’s waist and whispered, “You okay?”
Hiro squeezed my hands before wrapping his strong arms around Rasha and gripping Rebe’s mane. “Everyone good?”
I nodded, and Rasha said, “Yep.”
Hiro said, “We’re ready, Rebe.”
My friend let out a noise that sorta sounded like a whinny, then dove into the water. I squeezed my eyes shut because this part always made me woozy, at least until I had time to adjust. After a minute, I opened my eyes, and just like every other time Rebe had taken me in the water, I was blown away.
The water here was crystal clear so I could see far into the distance. There were fish swimming everywhere, and so many magical creatures I didn’t know where to look first. Some of the sea creatures were similar-looking to the ones from our realm, but just like the rest of Faela, things weren’t always what they seemed. Sometimes you’d see a tiny fish eat one as big as a person, and… yeah, Faela had a way of playing mind tricks on you.
Nevertheless, it was beautiful under the water here. Where each individual land above stuck to mainly one color, in the oceans, rivers, and lakes, all the colors were mixed together. And the fish were bright and sparkly. A few even seemed to be covered in glitter— like someone dipped it in glue and rolled it in multi-colored glitter. They came in all different sizes: big, small, fat, thin. Some had a billion fins or octopus-like arms. Others had none and didn’t seem like they’d be able to move, but they did. Every time I peeked in the water here, I saw something new.
There were plenty of humanoid-esque creatures under the water as well, but they didn’t tend to come near us, either because they were scared or maybe because they were pissed that we were in their space.
And then there were the plants. Most of them were harmless to us, but there were a few that bloomed beautiful flowers that were actually deadly. But whether they were dangerous or safe, they were gorgeous and just as colorful as the fish. The coral under the Pink Isle matched the land, a bright pink with white little flowers blooming in certain areas, and even though it was hard when you touched it, somehow, it seemed to move in the water.
Everything in Faela was gorgeous, and under the sea was like a whole new world. I hadn’t visited this area in a few years, so it was almost as if I was seeing it again for the first time.
When I saw a bright orange fish swimming in our direction that had seven fins and something on its head that looked like a dragonfly but was really its extra fins, I tugged on Rasha’s arm and pointed it out. Over Hiro’s shoulder, I saw her smile widely.
The whole way down, I spent the entire time searching for orange fish to point out to her. And she was smiling and giggling.
When Rebe swam us into the tunnels, I took a shuddered breath. They’d brought me in the tunnels only one other time—but not all the way to the sacred waters, only to an offshoot from the main one where their living quarters were. I wasn’t a huge fan of the enclosed spaces, but luckily, the main tunnels were wide enough to let more than one kelpie pass through at a time.
It was dark in the tunnels, but there were pink flowers lining the walls that glowed and illuminated the space. The flowers naturally grew beneath the Pink Isle, so there was an abundance of them. There were also plenty of fish in the tunnels and caves, but not nearly as many as out in the open water. It felt like Rebe was twisting and turning through the complicated caving system for hours, but it was probably only twenty minutes before they slowed, turned into a cave, and surfaced.
As soon as my head popped out of the water and I sucked in some fresh oxygen, I said, “Oh, thank the Mother. Are you two okay?”
“I’m fine,” Hiro said. “Rasha?”
The little girl turned her smile on us. “That was so cool!”
We all chuckled at that.
As we climbed off Rebe’s back, I asked Rasha, “How’s the breathing? You feeling okay?”
She nodded.
Rebe shifted back to their fae form and grabbed a piece of fabric from the ground—kelpies left fabric all over the place so they could cover themselves no matter where they shifted, which was how I’d had some to give them earlier—and said, “I made sure the spell helped her breathing so there was no worry for her.”
“Thank you,” I said.
They waved me off. “Follow me.”
Rebe headed down yet another tunnel, so Hiro grabbed Rasha’s hand and followed with me right behind them. It took a few more twists and turns before Rebe led us into a very large cavern. It was a lot taller than I’d expected, maybe a hundred feet or so in the air, and the cave walls were a sparkling purple. In the center of the cavern was a huge pool of pink and purple water. It appeared like someone had swirled paint together to make a pattern. I took a step closer and realized it wasn’t water at all, but more of a mud-like substance.
There were two other kelpies in the cavern, and Rebe walked over to them and quietly said in Fae’lee, “Can we have the room for an hour, please?”
The two looked at each other, and the one on the right said, “Of course, Rebe.” Kelpies were always so polite. They nodded, and the one that spoke rested his forehead to Rebe’s for a second before they walked out with nods to us. I didn’t know either of them, which was strange since I knew most of Rebe’s friends, but I suppose it had been a few years.
Turning to Rebe, I pointed at the strange mud stuff and asked, “Is this it? This is the spring water?”
They smiled. “Everyone assumes it’s water when we call it a spring, but it’s more like mud. A combination of Faela sea water and the dirt from beneath the Pink Isle. Magical properties from both.”
“And it’s safe?” Hiro asked.
“Of course. If you drink—”
“More like chew,” I said out loud by accident.
Rebe chuckled. “Right, if you eat or drink it, its magic will travel through your body, strip away some parts, then build you back up and make you whole.”
“And it lasts forever? We don’t have to keep coming back?” Hiro asked.
“Correct. The magic is that potent.”
When Hiro didn’t make a move closer, Rebe stepped up to the spring and scooped a handful into their mouth. After swallowing it down, they said, “It’s safe, I promise.”