[Nikolai]
I kept one hand firmly on Isolde's head, feeling her body tense beneath the water's surface. She struggled at first, an instinctive panic from someone who didn't know the lake's properties and I hated that I couldn't explain before shoving her under.
But there was no time.
The footsteps were getting closer, echoing through the cavern in that strange, distorted way sound travelled here. I needed her hidden, and I needed her calm.
Thankfully, drowning in this lake was impossible. The water was both ancient and enchanted. You could breathe in it if you stopped fighting, though most people never stayed under long enough to figure that out.
I was hiding her for two reasons.
First, everyone else still thought she was the thief they'd been searching for. If they found her now, ali
