Before Riwenne was able to strip Lyda’s powers and lock up the dangerous high priestess, Lyda tried to create another floating city. She sacrificed many lives to raise the sea port, Damondytti, into the sky. Now the town is nothing but a barren rock slowly drifting around the sky–and it’s losing altitude. Riwenne tried to fix what was wrong, but it does have the SEA that other floating cities have to keep them in the air. So Riwenne has to find a way to stop it before it falls and crashes into people living on the ground.

Destroy the Floating Rock

I landed in the center of the temple.

The altar was still open from our visit yesterday. I descended into the tunnels. The pull on my magic was stronger than ever. This greedy thing wanted to drain me dry.

When I reached the heart, the sun looked bigger and brighter. The light flared when it touched me, but my goggles protected my eyes.

“It’s time to sleep,” I told it.

The sun pulsed again, but I couldn’t tell if it was different than its earlier reaction to me. It was such a foreign thing, this burning ball before me, that it was hard to read.

I stretched out my hands to the sun and it came to me eagerly, reaching for my magic. But this time, instead of feeding it, I latched onto its energy and drained it away.

It struggled a little at first, but I shushed it, soothing it into a state of calm. “You’re going to sleep,” I repeated. “All your struggles are over and now you can rest.”

Magic poured into me but I didn’t try to hold onto it. I offered it to Quilla, praying that if there was anything like a soul inside of this magical heart, she would guide it into the afterlife. I was just the conduit that the energy flowed through.

Within minutes, the light faded from the ball and then flickered out. It seemed to be relieved at the end. This life had never had a purpose or guidance, filled only with loneliness and hunger, until I had released it.

The ground shifted beneath my feet and began to drift downwards. I felt another source of power guiding it gently into the sea, instead of letting it free fall. The magic looked pale blue mixed with blue-green, and I realized that the sky and sea were working together. Deryt and Vilqa must be combining their powers.

When I stepped outside, I found the rope ladder waiting for me. I climbed up into the airship just as the rock touched down on the surface of the ocean.

I looked down and saw the waves close over what was left of old Damondytti. “Be at peace,” I whispered, then shut the door behind me.

Kyra put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay? Do you need to go rest now?”

I shook my head, since I hadn’t used any of my power. “I feel fine. Are we ready to go to Haman now?”

Amena looked up from the radio, her dark face looking gray from sudden strain. “About that. We got news while you were gone.”

I sank into my seat heavily. “What news? Have the planetary warriors been spotted?”

Amena glanced at the others. “They got to Haman ahead of us.”

The words struck me like a blow. There was no way the others could have gotten there faster. We were so far ahead of them.

But I could see that she was holding something back. “Tell me.”