The enormous serpent was not trying to escape the drowned city.
It was trying to keep something inside.
Prince Rowan realized this when a second movement disturbed the black water beneath the ancient streets.
Far below the colossal guardian, something vast pressed against a submerged stone gateway.
The surrounding ocean began to rise.
Not in ordinary waves.
The water lifted into the air as though an invisible hand were pulling it upward.
And beneath the surface, Rowan saw an enormous shadow moving against the moonlit ruins.
He tightened his grip on his sword.
“What is that?”
His black dragon, Varr, gave a low, uneasy growl.
The creature had stopped breathing fire.
Its amber eyes were fixed on the glowing cyan symbol across the guardian’s face.
Each time the mark pulsed, the shadow beneath the city retreated.
Each time the light weakened, the shadow pushed upward again.
Rowan felt a chill.
The golden-armored serpent was holding back something far more dangerous than itself.
And he had nearly destroyed the very symbol keeping it imprisoned.
The drowned city of Nareth had vanished from the maps of the northern kingdoms nearly four hundred years earlier.
According to legend, it had once been the wealthiest harbor in the world.
Its black stone towers rose above beautiful canals. Enormous bridges connected palaces covered in silver and gold. Merchant vessels arrived from kingdoms beyond the western sea.
But Nareth had possessed something no other city could claim.
A guardian older than its kings.
The creature was known as Asterion.
Its serpentine body stretched longer than the greatest royal warships. Massive golden armor bands encircled its scales. Two enormous twisted horns crowned its head.
And across its face glowed a mysterious cyan seal.
People believed Asterion had been created to protect Nareth from invading fleets.
But the old stories had never explained why an entire city suddenly disappeared beneath the ocean.
Now Rowan was beginning to understand.
Nareth hadn’t simply been destroyed by a storm.
Something beneath the city had required a prison.
The water exploded beside Varr.
An enormous golden-armored coil emerged from the darkness.
Rowan pulled sharply against the riding harness.
“Climb!”
Varr spread his gigantic black wings and rose above the ancient pillars.
Asterion turned its colossal head.
The cyan seal on its face flashed.
For one terrifying moment, Rowan believed the guardian would attack again.
Instead, the serpent moved between the riders and the opening beneath the submerged streets.
Its massive body coiled around three ancient stone towers.
Golden bands tightened against the pillars.
The entire city trembled.
Then a deep sound echoed through the water.
BONG.
An ancient bell.
The cyan symbol grew brighter.
The shadow beneath the city retreated.
Rowan stared.
“The bell is connected to the seal.”
Varr gave another low growl.
The prince followed his dragon’s gaze toward the tallest surviving tower.
A narrow stone balcony stood above the waves.
Its walls were covered with ancient symbols.
“Let’s see what the people of Nareth left behind.”
Varr turned toward the tower.
They landed on the broken balcony.
Rainwater streamed down the black stones.
Above them, the full moon illuminated an enormous circular carving.
Three bells surrounded the image of a serpent.
Below it, an ancient inscription had been cut into the wall.
Rowan brushed away the moss.
He recognized several symbols from the royal archives.
His father had once shown him a book about the lost civilizations of the western sea.
Most scholars believed the stories were exaggerated.
But one passage had described the Three Bells of Nareth.
Rowan slowly translated the inscription.
“When the ocean opens its mouth, three voices must answer.”
Beneath the words were three images.
A northern bell.
An eastern bell.
And a great central bell beneath a crown.
Rowan examined the final carving.
A colossal shadow stretched beneath the city.
Its open jaws surrounded the roots of the towers.
Below it appeared another inscription.
THE WARDEN WEARS THE SEAL.
THE WARDEN IS NOT THE ENEMY.
Rowan stepped backward.
He looked toward Asterion.
The enormous serpent was still holding the submerged gateway closed with its armored body.
For four hundred years, it had stood guard over something the world had forgotten.
And the people who encountered it had probably mistaken it for the danger.
Just as Rowan had.
A powerful tremor shook the tower.
Several stones broke away from the balcony and splashed into the sea.
Varr spread his wings protectively around Rowan.
The prince rushed toward the edge.
Beneath the dark water, the enormous shadow was moving again.
This time, Rowan could see its shape more clearly.
A monstrous head pressed against the ancient gateway.
Its pale eyes were larger than the windows of a cathedral.
Long, black tendrils twisted through the water.
Its mouth opened.
A deep vibration rolled through the entire city.
Rowan covered one ear.
The sound seemed to come from inside his bones.
Then the ancient bell rang again.
BONG.
The creature retreated slightly.
But the cyan seal was growing dimmer.
Rowan looked toward the tower carvings.
“Three bells.”
He turned to Varr.
“We’ve only heard one.”
The dragon lowered his head.
Rowan understood.
The remaining bells had stopped working.
And without them, the guardian could no longer maintain the prison.
The first bell stood inside the northern watchtower.
Its bronze frame had survived the centuries, but enormous iron chains hung motionless around it.
Rowan climbed onto Varr’s back.
“Take us there.”
The dragon launched into the storm.
Asterion watched them pass.
Its cyan mark flashed once.
But it did not attack.
Rowan hoped that meant the guardian understood what they were trying to do.
They landed on the northern tower.
The massive bell hung above an open chamber.
Its heavy clapper was trapped beneath a rusted iron bracket.
Rowan approached cautiously.
He placed both hands against the bracket.
It wouldn’t move.
He drew his sword and forced the blade into the narrow gap.
Metal scraped against metal.
“Come on.”
He pushed harder.
The bracket shifted.
Then a violent wave struck the tower.
Rowan lost his footing.
He slid toward the open edge.
Varr immediately caught the back of his cloak with his teeth and pulled him away.
The prince stumbled onto solid stone.
For a moment, he simply stared at his dragon.
“Thank you.”
Varr snorted.
Rowan smiled.
“Yes, I know. I should have watched my feet.”
He returned to the bracket.
This time, Varr placed one enormous claw against the bell’s supporting frame, keeping it steady.
Rowan wedged his sword beneath the rusted iron.
He pushed.
The bracket snapped.
The heavy clapper swung free.
A tremendous bell note rolled over the ocean.
BONG.
Blue light raced along the tower’s ancient carvings.
Far below, Asterion’s cyan seal brightened.
One bell had awakened.
Two remained.
The eastern tower was almost completely submerged.
Only its highest stone arch stood above the waves.
Rowan circled it on Varr’s back.
A bronze bell hung beneath the arch, but its striking mechanism had become trapped behind a heavy iron gate.
The prince studied the structure.
“We can’t reach it from here.”
Varr lowered his head toward the gate.
A thin stream of orange flame escaped his jaws.
Rowan immediately raised one hand.
“Not the whole tower.”
The dragon stopped.
Rowan looked toward the rusted locking mechanism.
“Just the hinge.”
Varr adjusted his position.
Then he released a narrow, controlled burst of fire.
The metal hinge began glowing.
Steam rose from the wet iron.
Rowan leaned from the saddle and struck the weakened fastener with the flat of his sword.
It broke.
The gate swung open.
Behind it hung the enormous bronze clapper.
Varr caught the attached chain with one claw.
He pulled.
The clapper struck the bell.
BONG.
A second wave of cyan light spread through the water.
The ancient symbols along the submerged streets awakened.
For the first time, Rowan could see an enormous circular design beneath the city.
Three glowing lines extended toward a central stone platform.
But the third line remained dark.
Rowan looked toward the greatest tower in Nareth.
“The last bell.”
Then the ocean beneath them erupted.
A massive black tendril burst through the water.
It wrapped around the eastern tower and began pulling.
Stone cracked.
The bronze bell shook violently.
Rowan shouted.
“Varr, move!”
The dragon leaped into the air.
The tendril tightened around the tower.
With a terrible crash, the upper arch collapsed into the sea.
Rowan looked back.
The bell had already sounded.
Its cyan connection remained visible beneath the water.
But the creature below was no longer resting quietly.
It had begun fighting against its prison.
Far beneath the drowned streets, the ancient gateway was opening.
Asterion threw its massive serpentine body across the widening gap.
Its golden armor scraped against the pillars.
The cyan symbol flashed desperately.
For a moment, Rowan saw the guardian’s enormous eyes.
They were not filled with hatred.
They were filled with exhaustion.
Asterion had been holding this gate for centuries.
And it was finally losing the struggle.
The great central bell stood inside a broken temple tower.
Unlike the other two, this bell was suspended directly above the submerged gateway.
Its enormous bronze frame hung from three stone supports.
One support had already collapsed.
The second had been damaged during the battle.
And the third was barely holding.
Rowan landed on the temple roof.
He rushed toward the bell mechanism.
Its heavy striking hammer was missing.
Below him, the water began rising through the open floor.
He looked for another way to ring it.
Nothing.
The bell was too enormous to strike with his sword.
And the central platform had almost disappeared beneath the waves.
Varr circled overhead.
Rowan felt panic tightening around his chest.
They had reached the final bell.
But there was no way to sound it.
Then Asterion moved.
The colossal serpent raised its head above the drowned streets.
Its twisted horns shone beneath the moonlight.
Rowan stared.
The horns.
They were massive enough to strike the central bell.
But there was a terrible problem.
Asterion was holding the gateway closed.
If it released its position, the creature beneath the city could escape.
Rowan looked toward the remaining tower supports.
He understood what had to happen.
Someone else would have to hold the gate.
Even if only for a moment.
Rowan climbed onto Varr.
The dragon watched him carefully.
“There’s one thing we haven’t tried.”
Varr released a questioning rumble.
Rowan pointed toward the ancient golden bands wrapped around Asterion’s body.
Several massive chains extended from those bands into the stone towers.
The chains formed part of the guardian’s anchoring system.
But one enormous bronze locking wheel remained above the water.
It controlled a temporary support barrier directly over the gateway.
If Rowan could lower that barrier, it might hold the opening long enough for Asterion to move.
“We don’t need to fight the guardian,” he whispered.
“We need to give it room to help us.”
Varr looked toward the mechanism.
Then back at Rowan.
The prince smiled grimly.
“Yes. I know it’s dangerous.”
The black dragon lowered his body.
Rowan secured his harness.
“Together.”
They descended toward the central platform.
Asterion’s enormous head turned toward them.
For a terrifying instant, Rowan saw the colossal guardian preparing to strike.
He raised one hand.
“No!”
Varr released a deep two-note call.
The black dragon’s voice echoed across the drowned city.
Asterion froze.
Its cyan seal pulsed.
Varr repeated the call.
This time, the serpent answered.
The sound was low and resonant.
It traveled through the water and stone.
Rowan felt the vibration beneath his armor.
He couldn’t understand the language.
But he understood its meaning.
Varr was asking the guardian to trust them.
The enormous serpent slowly lowered its head.
Rowan pointed toward the central locking wheel.
“We can hold the gate.”
Asterion watched him.
Then it moved one golden-armored coil aside.
A narrow passage opened between the pillars.
Rowan turned toward Varr.
“Now!”
They landed beside the ancient mechanism.
Rowan jumped onto the stone platform.
The enormous bronze wheel stood above him.
Its spokes were thicker than his arms.
He grabbed the lowest one.
It wouldn’t move.
He pulled again.
The wheel shifted slightly.
Then stopped.
Varr braced his foreclaws against the platform.
He caught the outer rim with his jaws and began pushing.
The enormous mechanism groaned.
Ancient gears awakened beneath the stone.
Rowan pushed harder.
“Keep going!”
The wheel turned.
Far below, a massive bronze barrier began sliding across the gateway.
Water surged upward.
The creature beneath it roared.
A colossal pale eye appeared between the opening stones.
Rowan felt its gaze settle directly upon him.
For one terrible moment, he wanted to run.
Then Varr pushed harder.
The barrier dropped.
With a deafening crash, it locked across the gateway.
The enormous shadow recoiled.
Rowan stumbled backward.
“We
