Inside the tunnel, Mirella walked in front, her illumination spell casting a sphere of soft white light that pushed back the darkness and made the stone walls gleam like silver.
This time, they took the right-hand passage, following the steady sound of water.
The deeper they walked, the louder the sound became, until it echoed through the tunnel like distant thunder.
After fifteen minutes, the passage opened.
The underground lake lay before them.
Even though Sienna had already seen this place once, the sight still stole her breath.
The black water stretched into the darkness, calm and mysterious, like a hidden road beneath the mountain.
They stood on a stone platform roughly three meters above the waterline.
A broad sloping path descended to the lake's edge, its surface paved with stone but slick with patches of emerald moss. The footing was treacherous, and every step had to be taken carefully.
Sienna gazed across the water and sighed.
